Category: Eagles/NFL

BALTIMORE — Before Saturday, Eagles edge rusher Joshua Weru hadn’t played a down of organized football. By the end of his first series, the ex-rugby player from Kenya had already notched two quarterback pressures.

Talk about learning on the job.

It was a special night for Weru and Uar Bernard, the Eagles’ two International Player Pathway program rookies, who both suited up for game action for the first time when the Eagles fell to the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, 24-7.

It was all smiles from both players after the game, but both recognize how much they have to learn.

“I started off on cloud nine, then I got brought back down,” Weru said. “But that’s learning. … It was cool. I felt a lot of ups and downs, but I’m just happy to have gone through it. I’m sure once I watch [film], I will learn a lot of things.”

Neither player lit up the stat sheet — the only stat they registered was Weru’s tackle and QB hit — but they certainly showed glimpses, which is what the Eagles were hoping for when they drafted Bernard in the seventh round (251st overall) and signed Weru as an undrafted free agent in April.

Their play drew praise from coach Nick Sirianni, who focused more on their journey to this point rather than dishing on their tape.

“How exciting for those two guys to be playing in an NFL football game,” Sirianni said. “It’s really cool how this game works out and the opportunities that they get. I just thought they played with really high effort and were into it the entire night. I think Josh had — I know there was a screen pass — but he looked pretty fast coming off the edge there on that one.

“I’ll have to study on Uar a little bit more. But to be able to come out here and play in an NFL game, it’s pretty cool and we’ll evaluate the tape and see where they were.”

On his first snap of the game, Bernard bull-rushed Ravens guard Emery Jones Jr. back five yards, using his impressive strength and 6-foot-4, 306-pound build to his advantage. He didn’t showcase many pass rush moves, but the play offered evidence that Bernard has NFL strength.

Weru made a clutch play during the second half, logging a hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Fagnano on third-and-9 and limiting his scramble attempt to just one yard in the fourth quarter. While the optimistic 23-year-old likes to focus on the positives, he said he’ll focus on what he can improve when he studies the tape afterward.

“I’m sure I’ll watch some plays and beat myself up about them,” Weru said.

This performance comes after weeks of solid play from the novice players in training camp. Weru has shown flashes of developing into a legitimate rotational edge rusher with his explosiveness off the ball and has a chance to win a roster spot. Bernard needs to work on his finesse, but his strength and size constantly turn heads in practice.

But it’s clear the Eagles’ plan is to be patient with them. Two weeks ago, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio even instructed reporters to stop asking about them because they’re both “light years away.”

“It’s going to take a long while,” Fangio said at the time. “You guys can get off that topic.”

BALTIMORE — The Eagles haven’t publicly said who the No. 2 quarterback is, and they still aren’t after one preseason game. It’s early, Nick Sirianni has said, and both Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee have taken reps with the second-team offense during the 11 training camp practices, though Dalton seemingly has at times taken more than McKee.

Nothing reveals the standing of a depth chart quite the way a game does, though.

The Eagles made their pecking order public when Andy Dalton trotted onto the M&T Bank Stadium field at 7:07 p.m. with Saturday’s starters. (The Eagles rested all of their projected starters on offense.)

But his lone quarter of action — three series without the offense gaining a first down — did little to show his status as the No. 2 is above scrutiny.

With the necessary caveats that Saturday night was the first preseason game, and few regulars dressed, and the game itself was entirely meaningless, the Sean Mannion era got underway with Dalton at quarterback, two penalties on four attempted plays, and an eventual punt after netting three yards.

Dalton’s next two drives ended in three-and-outs. There appeared to be some miscommunication between the 38-year-old veteran and second-year receiver Darius Cooper during the second series, and the third ended when Cooper dropped a third-and-5 timing throw from Dalton. The pass may have been thrown a little bit too hard, but it was a catch Cooper surely wanted back.

That was Dalton’s last snap of the game. He finished the night having completed three of his six passes for 20 yards. His quarterback rating was 57.6, and the offense netted 27 yards on nine plays with Dalton as the quarterback.

McKee was next up, and the Eagles gave their 2025 backup quarterback some extended run. The offense performed only mildly better.

We saw elements of the new-look offense under Mannion from the beginning of the game. The Eagles utilized more motion, and their quarterbacks took more snaps from under center. Their running backs ran more outside zone runs.

But it was a rough night for the offense overall. Of course, the Eagles aren’t going to be putting anything they want to keep close to the vest on film, but they failed to move the football with their vanilla stuff.

“We have a lot of mistakes that we put on film,” McKee said. “I’m included in that as well. As long as we don’t make those same mistakes, I think it’s going to be a positive. With a new offense, with so many things that are new, mistakes are obviously going to happen. That many is unacceptable, but we’re going to learn from it and be better.”

McKee got himself into a manageable third down on his first set of downs. He rolled left after faking a handoff and found Britain Covey in space to pick up four yards on a second-and-7 play. But the ensuing third-and-3 throw was too high for Grant Calcaterra on the sideline.

The running game got going on the next drive. Will Shipley started the drive with an 8-yard run before McKee connected with Cooper on a slant for 13 yards. It was the Eagles’ first first down of the day, and it came on their 14th play from scrimmage. A few Shipley runs moved the Eagles into Ravens territory midway through the second quarter, but a Jake Majors holding penalty pushed the Eagles back to their end of the field. The Eagles eventually punted after McKee couldn’t connect with Danny Gray on a third-and-12 throw.

After a brief, two-play drive before halftime, McKee returned for the third quarter and was sacked on third-and-7 on the Eagles’ first drive of the second half. The subsequent drive ended when McKee fired too high for Cooper on the right sideline.

McKee, who broke out and became the bona fide No. 2 last year during camp, exited after the third quarter with the Eagles trailing, 17-0, and behind in the first down department, 26-2 (it got to 30-2). He finished the night 6-for-10 for 35 yards with a 66.7 rating before giving way to rookie fifth-round pick Cole Payton. Payton quickly went three-and-out in his first series as a pro but led the team’s only scoring drive in garbage time, culminating in a 6-yard touchdown pass to Erik Ezukanma and the 24-7 final score.

What did it all mean? Perhaps not much, though if you were looking to be inspired by the new-look offense, which had two pretty experienced quarterbacks operating it for the first three quarters, you probably had a rough Saturday night.

On a night where the Eagles played a football game for the first time in eight months, their intriguing backup quarterback race was a bit of a snoozer.

The players were told a few days ago, they said, how the order would go Saturday night, but Dalton said the coaching staff said things could change week to week.

“I think it’s still a competition,” Dalton said. “It’s going back and forth the whole time, so I don’t know where this whole thing is going to go.”

Time is not yet of the essence. The Eagles return to the practice field Monday before heading up to New England for two joint practices vs. the Patriots and another preseason game there next Saturday.

It still remains hard to believe the Eagles keep both Dalton and McKee, which would have to happen either by cutting Payton or by keeping four quarterbacks. There is plenty of tape out there on both of them, but the film Saturday likely wasn’t going to make any team want to jump at the opportunity to part with draft capital to acquire one of them — a result Howie Roseman probably is hoping for before camp breaks.

There’s still time before then.

“I’ll let the coaches decide that,” McKee said. “My job is to go out and play when they call my number. How that’s going, I’m going to put in the work, do the extra stuff, do everything I can to have my case of why I believe I should be the backup, but ultimately the decision falls on the coaches.”

BALTIMORE — The end zone was nearly as elusive for the Eagles as the intrigue that surrounded the game.

The Eagles dropped their preseason opener, 24-7, to the Baltimore Ravens, a contest in which most of the starters on both sides rested. But while the Ravens offense managed to move the ball, picking up 440 net yards, the Eagles mustered just 159.

The Ravens picked up 31 first downs. The Eagles had just six.

The Ravens incurred three penalties. The Eagles were slapped with 10.

Here is our instant analysis of the Eagles’ first game of the preseason:

Plight of the passers

It’s preseason for everyone, including the Eagles’ veteran depth quarterbacks.

With Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Eagles offensive starters scratched, Andy Dalton was the first quarterback up. He had a shaky showing through three possessions, completing three of six pass attempts for 20 yards, good for a 57.6 quarterback rating.

His longest completion was to camp darling Darius Cooper on an 8-yard out-breaker on the second play of the game. But Cooper and Dalton also had a pair of failed hookups. On the second drive, Dalton’s pass on third-and-6 from the Eagles’ 43-yard line sailed incomplete over the middle of the field in an apparent miscommunication with the 24-year-old receiver.

On third-and-5 from the Eagles’ 36 on the third drive, Dalton’s pass for Cooper on a vertical route deflected off the receiver’s hands.

Dalton and the Eagles offense failed to pick up a first down in those three possessions, going three-and-out on each occasion.

“It’s preseason still,” Dalton said. “There’s a lot of vanilla looks. So I think that played a little bit of a factor into it. Now, we got ourselves in some tough situations with some penalties and some negative plays that affected it. … Just not getting that first first down. We never got into a rhythm.”

Tanner McKee took over for Dalton halfway through the second quarter. He suffered the same fate as Dalton on his first drive — a three-and-out — but fared better on his second.

The Eagles failed to score on that possession, but McKee completed two of his three passing attempts, a 13-yard in-breaker for Cooper and a 6-yard screen to Britain Covey. The 13-yarder to Cooper earned the Eagles their first first down of the game with 8 minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the first half.

Still, McKee wasn’t much better than Dalton. On 19 plays through five drives, McKee went 6-for-10 for 35 yards (66.7 quarterback rating). He was sacked once.

“I think whenever a game goes like that, yeah, it’s disappointing,” McKee said. “It’s good to get reps like that to learn from. A lot of times in camp, you make a mistake and obviously you want to play perfect. You never want to make mistakes. But if you can never make that mistake again, then it’s worth the mistake.

“We had a lot of mistakes that we put on film. Obviously, I’m included as well. And as long as we don’t make those same mistakes, I think it’s going to be a positive.”

Cole Payton, the fifth-rounder out of North Dakota State, took over early in the fourth quarter. He led the lone Eagles’ scoring drive of the game just before the two-minute warning, connecting with wide receiver Erik Ezukanma on a 6-yard scramble-drill touchdown pass.

The most exciting play of the game occurred six plays before the touchdown, when Payton converted a fourth-and-3 with his legs, picking up 17 yards on a scramble.

Payton went 4-for-9 for 37 yards and a touchdown (93.3 quarterback rating) on 14 plays.

Defensive risers

Despite the final score, a slew of Eagles depth defenders showed promise with almost all of the starters sidelined.

Jihaad Campbell was the only projected starter who took snaps, playing alongside Jeremiah Trotter Jr. for the first two Ravens possessions before returning to the sideline for the night. But it was Trotter Jr. who turned heads, especially on the Ravens’ opening drive.

On first-and-10 from the Eagles’ 28, Trotter Jr. blitzed the A gap and overwhelmed left guard Emery Jones Jr., tripping up Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley at the line of scrimmage for a sack.

On the ensuing play, Ty Robinson took advantage of the same guard, using him as a turnstile on his way to sacking Huntley for a loss of seven yards. The back-to-back sacks forced the Ravens to settle for a 49-yard field goal attempt, which kicker Tyler Loop missed wide right.

The secondary had standouts, too. Late in the second quarter, Kelee Ringo was flagged for defensive pass interference while grabbing at Ravens receiver Xavier Guillory in the end zone. But on the ensuing play, Ringo stuck with Guillory on a deep crossing route, and as Ravens quarterback Joe Fagnano rolled to his right, Ringo jumped in front of the receiver in the back of the end zone and made the interception.

Members of the secondary continued to make plays on the ball. Late in the third quarter, cornerback Shaun Wade forced a fumble on Ravens receiver Elijah Sarratt, which was recovered by cornerback Ambry Thomas at the Eagles’ 24-yard line.

Smael Mondon and Joshua Weru also had back-to-back quarterback hits in the third quarter. Their plays led the Ravens to settle for a 42-yard field goal, which put them up, 10-0.

Get in the (outside) zone

Despite the overall ineffectiveness of a very vanilla Eagles offense in the first game of the preseason, there were some encouraging moments, especially in the run game.

On McKee’s second possession, third-year running back Will Shipley had a strong series, picking up 22 yards on four carries (5.5 yards per carry). The outside zone carries were effective. Shipley picked up eight yards on his first rush of the drive, bouncing to his right and running behind tight end E.J. Jenkins before he got tripped up by Ravens safety K’Von Wallace.

The Eagles lost some momentum late in that series when center Jake Majors was called for holding, wiping out a Shipley 8-yard run.

“I think that drive was a good one, in terms of being able to put the ball on the ground and just run the football,” Shipley said. “Those boys up front were doing a great job. I think you saw the momentum. We were carrying it on and, again, we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot with a penalty and weren’t able to get back on track.”

Shipley relieved Tank Bigsby, the likely backup to Saquon Barkley. Bigsby had just two carries for five yards.

Injury report

Jakorian Bennett, who started at outside cornerback opposite Ringo, was injured early in the first quarter and did not return to the game.

Inspired by Pro Football Reference’s “Cups of Coffee” database, The Inquirer identified more than two dozen living players who appeared in just one NFL game — and played that game as an Eagle. We’re seeking to tell some of those stories in our semiregular Cups of Coffee series.

Former Eagles defensive tackle Jeff Owens played his first NFL game on Dec. 28, 2010. A gruesome knee injury made it his last.

“It looked that bad when you watched it,” Owens said.

His NFL debut came in Week 16 vs. the Minnesota Vikings, which was played on a Tuesday night at the Linc in bizarre circumstances. A snow emergency that had been forecast for the area meant the game was moved from Sunday Night Football, and it became the NFL’s first scheduled Tuesday contest since 1946.

The Vikings were 5-9 and playing out the string behind a quarterback, Joe Webb, who was a converted wide receiver.

The heavily favored Eagles were 10-4 and had already clinched the NFC East, but needed the win to stay in the hunt for a first-round playoff bye. They wouldn’t get it.

Owens, a seventh-round draft pick out of Georgia who had spent the season on the practice squad, was helping to fill in on the front seven for rookie Brandon Graham, who had torn his ACL and meniscus two weeks prior.

While the snow subsided, the temperatures remained frigid. Cold winters were somewhat foreign to Owens, who spent his childhood in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area and played college football in the SEC. Now 39, Owens thinks the weather played a massive role in his injury.

“I’m trying to warm up, get in the hot tub before the game and all that; we got the benches warm … and it’s a big difference when you’re trying to go full speed, 100 miles per hour in that kind of weather and stopping on a dime. My body just wasn’t used to it,” Owens said.

Late in the third quarter, Owens fell backward while trying to chase Webb out of the pocket. He remained down and immobile for minutes before being carted off the field. He was placed on injured reserve the next morning, with a ruptured left patellar tendon. The injury itself was devastating for Owens, but the injury’s timing made the situation worse.

“You don’t have surgery till January/February, and the expectation is you’re not going to be ready to play when training camp comes back,” Owens said. “Then when I came back … that first day, I didn’t pass my physical because I wasn’t ready.”

To add insult to literal injury, the Eagles lost the game, 24-14. They didn’t win again that season, falling to the Green Bay Packers 12 days later in what became the final playoff game of the Andy Reid era.

There was more working against Owens after the injury. An NFL lockout spanning from late March to late July 2011 prevented him from entering the team facility to rehab. Once it finally opened back up following the signing of the collective bargaining agreement, the Eagles didn’t have the patience to wait for Owens’ return and released him on the first day of training camp.

“Maybe if I was a third-rounder, second-rounder, I would’ve had more leeway, but I was a seventh-rounder,” Owens said.

Before entering the NFL, the Plantation (Fla.) High School alumnus had surgeries on both knees. Despite a successful career at Georgia, his medical record likely played a role in a draft slide. Owens believed he would be picked earlier, and was told on draft weekend that the Kansas City Chiefs considered drafting him in the third round, as did the Chicago Bears in the fifth round. Neither materialized.

The injury also was his biggest reason for hanging up the cleats after getting released by the Eagles.

“I could have tried to fight to come back, but I already had my degree from Georgia, so it’s like, ‘Might as well start working,’” Owens said.

But work didn’t take the former Eagle far from football. Owens quickly landed a job as an assistant coach at West Forsyth (Ga.) High School. Fifteen years later, he still works in coaching and is now the defensive line coach at NAIA Campbellsville University in Kentucky. What’s kept Owens in the profession so long is the impact he’s had on his players.

“Taking a kid who really didn’t have a direction, then see the kid graduate, see the kid become a husband, see the kid become a dad, and then years later, I have guys I’ve coached … [who] reach back out,” Owens said. “So that’s what’s impactful, is knowing that it doesn’t go in vain.”

Preseason games are generally meaningless from the standpoint that they don’t count toward a team’s regular-season record.

But for nearly half the players on any training camp roster, these games are some of the most important of their careers.

When the Eagles face the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday in their preseason opener, some players will be fighting to make the initial 53-man roster or the practice squad — either with the Eagles or another team. Others are Eagles roster locks, but they might be in competition for a prominent role.

Here are 12 Eagles players that have something to prove in the first preseason game:

Darius Cooper, WR

Cooper is practically a roster lock at this point. The 2025 undrafted free agent out of Tarleton State has made the most of his opportunities — arguably more so than any other receiver — in the absence of DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon, who are dealing with hamstring injuries.

Last year, Cooper was primarily a “dirty work” receiver, as Nick Sirianni described him, responsible for blocking and running clear-out routes. Has he shown in camp that he’s ready for more playing time in Year 2?

“He’s having a good camp,” Sirianni said Thursday. “There’s still a lot of time left. It’s about being consistent on a daily basis. He’s done a good job being consistent on a daily basis and he makes really good catches, really elite hands and we know he’s tough and things that he can do. But I’ve been pleased with where he is.”

If he plays on Saturday, Cooper has an opportunity to show why he’s capable of taking on a bigger role in the offense.

Elijah Moore, WR

Cooper isn’t the only receiver with something to prove. Moore, entering Year 6 in the NFL and his first with the Eagles, is also battling for a roster spot in a crowded room.

He’s been showing why he deserves one lately, as his chemistry with Jalen Hurts continues to build. His latest standout moment came Tuesday when he caught a deep touchdown pass from Hurts in an 11-on-11 session.

While Moore’s stock has risen, eighth-year veteran Hollywood Brown hasn’t made much noise. Hurts has been picked off in consecutive practices while targeting Brown, the latest instance occurring on Thursday in seven-on-sevens when Mac McWilliams undercut the receiver’s route in the end zone.

Saturday’s game could provide Moore with a chance to further his case for a spot on the initial 53, especially while Brown’s stock is slipping.

Mac McWilliams, CB

Speaking of McWilliams, the 2025 fifth-rounder out of Central Florida has been the first outside cornerback off the bench for the last three practices as Jonathan Jones deals with a shoulder injury.

McWilliams got more work with the starting defense opposite Riq Woolen with Quinyon Mitchell sidelined Thursday due to a glute injury. He also took reps at nickel cornerback. Vic Fangio said on Tuesday that McWilliams has “matured” since last season, leading to improvement in his game during the offseason program and training camp.

Fangio also acknowledged that Jones could “miss some time” due to injury. McWilliams could assert himself as a frontrunner for the backup job in a crowded room that also includes Jakorian Bennett and Kelee Ringo.

Andrew Mukuba, S

Mukuba, the 2025 second-rounder out of Texas, is in line to start at safety. But it’s been nearly nine months since he played his last game.

Saturday could mark his first game since his season-ending fibula fracture in a Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. But Mukuba, who would not reveal on Thursday whether he’ll playing against the Ravens, said that he isn’t looking at the opportunity through that lens.

“I’ve already put everything behind me, to be honest with you,” Mukuba said. “I feel comfortable out here. Despite what I had going on, I feel comfortable and I’ve already put everything behind me. Just focused on what’s next and what’s in front of me.”

Marcus Epps, S

Primarily playing alongside Mukuba at safety with the starting defense in camp has been Epps, the 30-year-old veteran. Epps has two seasons of experience as a full-time starter (17 games in 2022 with the Eagles and 17 games in 2023 with the Las Vegas Raiders), plus he also started five games last season (including the playoffs) in Mukuba’s absence.

Michael Carter II is in competition for the gig, too, but Epps has commanded most of the starting reps with Mukuba in camp. Epps could potentially have an opportunity to tighten his grip on the starting role with a solid preseason performance.

Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee, QBs

McKee, 26, was Hurts’ full-time backup in 2025. Could this year be different for the 2023 sixth-rounder out of Stanford?

The Eagles acquired Dalton via trade with the Carolina Panthers in the offseason, appearing to identify their QB3. But Dalton and McKee have split reps with the second-team offense in the offseason program and in training camp, a reflection of the open competition for the top backup job.

Early in camp, Dalton seemed like the better of the two quarterbacks, but he has appeared to falter this week. On Monday, he had a handful of errant throws during team drills. He was picked off on Tuesday in 11-on-11 by Cooper DeJean and the starting defense. Dalton missed a wide-open Danny Gray in the end zone with an overthrown pass on Thursday.

The competition between Dalton and McKee could continue to play out in the preseason. It’s also worth acknowledging that their preseason performances could serve as auditions for other teams if the Eagles decide to move either player in a trade.

Eli Stowers, TE

Stowers, the second-round tight end out of Vanderbilt, could make his NFL (preseason) debut on Saturday. He has had a relatively quiet camp so far, but he has been reliable lately when the ball has come his way. The preseason could offer him more opportunities to showcase his game, especially his athleticism, which was his calling card coming out of college.

Markel Bell, T

Bell, the 6-foot-9, 346-pound tackle, will be another rookie to watch. The Eagles have been evaluating him at right tackle, where he could serve as the primary backup to Lane Johnson if he beats out incumbent Fred Johnson. Saturday could be Bell’s first game at right tackle ever, as he mostly played on the left side throughout college.

Uar Bernard, DL

Bernard has experienced plenty of firsts since he was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round out of the International Player Pathway program. Is he ready for his first football game ever? Sirianni didn’t directly say whether Bernard would play on Saturday, but he acknowledged how important it is that he goes through a pregame routine for the first time before the season starts.

Ty Robinson, DL

Robinson may have begun camp with the developmental defense in team drills, but he has been moving his way up the depth chart recently. The 2025 fourth-rounder out of Nebraska had a strong showing on Monday as a pass rusher, forcing his way into the backfield on multiple occasions against the second-string offense. Robinson could use some standout preseason performances if he wants to make a case for the initial 53.

Willie Lampkin, OL

Lampkin hasn’t played a football game since Aug. 16, 2025. At that time, the 2025 undrafted free agent out of North Carolina was a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He had a strong start to camp, especially in the preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys. But Lampkin was injured in the second game of the preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers, and he was ultimately waived at the end of camp with an injury designation.

The Eagles signed him to the active roster and placed him on injured reserve for the rest of the year. Now, Lampkin is set to return to action this preseason as he vies for a depth role, at both center and guard.