There’s no sugarcoating it. The Philadelphia Eagles won an ugly preseason game over the New England Patriots on Thursday night in Foxboro. There was some good, some bad, and some downright ugly.
Here are three players trending up, and three players trending down coming out of Week 2 of the preseason:
3 UP
QB Tanner McKee
Is there a surprise QB competition brewing in Philly? McKee certainly made his best pitch yet to be Jalen Hurts’ primary backup. You could make the argument that McKee, who played all but a couple series in the second half and led a late game-winning touchdown drive , was the best quarterback on the field Thursday, and that includes star Patriots rookie Drake Maye .
LB Nakobe Dean
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni treated this game as an opportunity to give some defensive players, including Dean and veteran LB Devin White, some additional reps. Dean made the most of the opportunity. He led the team with five tackles and was one of the best players on the field, according to PFF:
TE E.J. Jenkins
It was easy to notice Jenkins Thursday night. He was consistent, hauling in all five of his targets for 47 yards. He made some eye-popping grabs in this one, working well down the seams and along the sidelines.
There is plenty of tight end competition in camp, but Jenkins looks the part. He could be playing for the Eagles on Sundays this season.
3 DOWN
QB Kenny Pickett
It was a rough night for Pickett. He completed 11 passes, but the only highlight was a 19-yard screen pass to running back Will Shipley.
That was kind of Pickett’s night . If the ball wasn’t coming out immediately, it wasn’t coming out. He was sacked four times and had a handful of the three-and-out drives that plagued him in Pittsburgh . The arrow is pointing down right now for the Eagles’ prospective No. 2 quarterback.
S James Bradberry
The Eagles continue to tinker with Bradberry at safety, and Thursday’s results were not positive. Bradberry came up with air on a missed tackle near the line of scrimmage, and was fooled badly by Patriots rookie Drake Maye’s play fake near the goal line:
Given Bradberry’s contract situation, it would probably take a trade to get the Eagles out of this awkward situation.
OL Max Scharping
To be fair, this was a bad night for the Eagles’ reserve offensive linemen in general. Sirianni did mention Fred Johnson as a standout, but going against Patriots starters for much of the first half, you had a good night if you simply didn’t get your quarterback killed.
Scharping replaced Johnson at left tackle in the second quarter and promptly allowed a pair of sacks on Pickett. Brett Toth continues to see snaps all over the offensive line, but his reps outside were shaky in this one as well. How the team handles its o-line depth on roster cut-down day will be something to monitor in the coming weeks.
MORE EAGLES NEWS:
QB battle percolating in Philly, and Jalen Hurts is just a spectator
Eagles prevail, but brutal night for Kenny Pickett, offensive line
Mekhi Becton's absence spoke volumes in Eagles preseason win over Pats
Trade winds blowing: NFL analyst thinks 2 Eagles could be shipped out
Top NFL skill position groups: Are the Philadelphia Eagles No. 1?
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