BALTIMORE — If the Eagles hoped their rudimentary game plan wouldn’t reveal much about their new offensive scheme, then mission accomplished.
It was difficult to identify Sean Mannion’s version of the Kyle Shanahan-Sean McVay system, let alone any functioning NFL offense in the Eagles’ 24-7 loss to the Ravens on Saturday night. That obviously wasn’t by design.
But the combination of coach Nick Sirianni resting his starters once again in the preseason, a vanilla script for first-time play-caller Mannion, and some expected growing pains with a vastly different offense resulted in an inept offensive performance at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Eagles managed just two first downs on their first nine possessions. They gained just 45 yards and scored zero points over that span. Only a late touchdown from the fourth unit — made up mostly of players who won’t make the 53-man roster — prevented a shutout.
It was ugly.
But does it matter? Probably not.
The Eagles have been justified in their devaluing of the preseason over the last five years. Beyond their overall success, they’ve shown that rust hasn’t been a factor by going 5-0 in their regular-season openers, and that keeping key players out of harm’s way has helped make them among the healthiest teams in the league.
Was there a case for letting Jalen Hurts and Co. take a series or two in a live setting, or for Mannion to get a few test runs with his actual offensive pieces? Sure. Maybe.
It’s not like anything on offense can be taken for granted after last season’s regression.
But Sirianni is sticking to the template.
“We obviously think that when we got out to practice we have high, high intensity,” Sirianni said in explaining why most of his starters on both sides of the ball didn’t dress. “We got a big week this week coming up and the [starters] are going to get a lot of reps in New England for the joint practices.”
It won’t be as easy to declare a winner and loser in Foxborough’s practices. And there won’t be film for future opponents to study. But the Eagles should dip a little more into Mannion’s playbook in facing the Patriots for two scrimmages planned for Wednesday and Thursday.
We’ve already seen the hallmarks of the Shanahan-McVay scheme at training camp: more under center, more play action, more marrying the pass with the run, more motion, more middle-field throws, and a significantly different run- blocking scheme.
It hasn’t always been clean. Hurts has had his struggles. But he’s also had his moments. The same could be said of Saquon Barkley and the offensive line in the run game. But the scheme never looked more like a work in progress than it did on Saturday with quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee at the controls.
“With the new offense and with so many things that are new, I think obviously mistakes are going to happen,” McKee said. “That many is unacceptable. But we’re going to learn from them and be better for it.”
Dalton started and the offense went three-and-out on the first three drives. Two penalties set the Eagles back on their first series. Dalton nearly tossed an interception that was deflected on the second. On the third, wide receiver Darius Cooper, who has shone in camp, couldn’t haul in a third-down missile from his quarterback.
“It’s the preseason so there’s a lot of vanilla looks,” Dalton said. “I think that played a little bit of a factor. Now we got ourselves into some tough situations with some penalties and negative plays. I know there was one third down I should have gone somewhere else with the ball.”
Rhythm is important in every offense, but if there isn’t early-down success on the ground in this scheme, it can be difficult to move the ball. Will Shipley had a few positive runs with McKee under center, but another penalty put the offense behind the sticks and led to yet another punt.
Two of the penalties were for holding. There was also a false start. But there were other miscues: imprecise routes, poor blocking technique and errant throws. Dalton has played in a similar scheme before. But he’s still trying to build chemistry with new faces.
McKee has gone from being the bona fide No. 2 to a demotion. He may still end up beating out Dalton, but it’s unclear why the Eagles have seemingly soured on their 2023 sixth-round draft pick. A year ago, he completed 20 of 25 passes in the preseason opener and was being touted as a starting-caliber backup.
But the quarterback factory made room for Dalton, who came during the offseason via trade. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman surrendered just a seventh-rounder to poach the veteran. Maybe he can eventually flip Dalton to a backup-needy team, of which there are plenty.
Neither looked particularly fetching against the Ravens, though. Of course, it’s been tough with the uncertainty over snap distribution in practice.
“Nothing’s decided there as far as who’s the two, who’s the three,” Sirianni said. “Andy’s played a lot of football. I think he’s had 160-plus starts [169]. Tanner’s had two starts. Just wanted to make sure Tanner continues to be able to develop in live action.”
McKee ended up with just one more drive than Dalton. They may not practice as much against the Patriots, but they’re more than likely to play the bulk of Saturday’s second preseason game. There’s still time to sort out the competition, or if either is expendable.
Rookie Cole Payton showed gumption in driving the Eagles to their lone score. He didn’t exactly play within structure, partly because the execution around him wasn’t sound. But also because the plays didn’t scheme receivers open.
Maybe that, too, was part of the plan. There’s little to be gained in Mannion showing his full deck of cards. And yet, he’ll remain a mystery until the games really matter. He did reveal that he’ll call plays from the field rather than the booth.
Dalton and McKee said the overall communication was smooth.
“Sounded really good. Clear. Decisive. Was always early,” McKee said of Mannion’s play-calling. “There was never a time when he was trying to get a play call at the 15-second [mark] because he didn’t know what he was going to do.”
Play-calling is one thing. Instruction is another. The Eagles’ offensive backups mostly didn’t execute on Saturday. There’s little reason to panic. But there will be a learning curve. And it will likely extend well into the season.
“I think the whole season is a work in progress,” Sirianni said. “You’re continuing to try and get better each and every week to be playing your best football at the end of the year.”
If there’s anything to be gained from the Eagles’ offensive dud in Mannion’s debut it’s that patience is a virtue. How long will that last?
