Eagles Open Preseason With Loss To Ravens
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - AUGUST 12: Cornerback Eli Ricks #39 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates in front of quarterback Anthony Brown #12 of the Baltimore Ravens after intercepting a pass for a touchdown in the second half of preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium on August 12, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
The Eagles road through the preseason began with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in a 20-19 loss.
The game did not see many starters for either team. On the Eagles’ side, Jalen Hurts, Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, and other starters didn’t even dress for the game. Lamar Jackson did not dress for the Ravens either.
Instead, on the Eagles’ side the quarterback position cycled through Marcus Mariota, Tanner McKee, and Ian Book. For the Ravens, Tyler Huntley, Josh Johnson, and Anthony Brown cycled through the game.
Of the three Eagles quarterbacks, Mariota had the most time on the field while McKee did the best in passing attempts. Mariota went 7 for 11 for 58 yards, but kept drives alive well due to his legs. Mariota ran four times for 29 yards, including a 14-yard scramble on the opening drive. He had some bad overthrows, including missing a wide open Grant Calcaterra, and was sacked once.
McKee, meanwhile, went 10 for 20 for 148 yards in passing attempts, and took one sack. Ian Book, meanwhile, was 1 for 4 for 11 yards, but mostly held the ball and either scrambled for no gain or took a sack, the latter of which happened twice.
At running back, the Eagles saw three of the five running backs in the mix. D’Andre Swift had two rushing attempts for 24 yards, including a 22 yard run on that same opening drive. Rashaad Penny and Trey Sermon had the most rushing attempts of any of the backs, notching 9 attempts each, though Penny was able to get more yards on his attempts. Penny got 34 yards on his nine attempts to Sermon’s 21 yards, though Sermon had the offense’s only touchdown of the game.
On display early in the game was Mariota’s connection with Greg Ward. The two connected four times for 36 yards in the game. Ward actually caught everything thrown his way in the game, going 5 for 5 for 53 yards. Tyrie Cleveland was the most targeted receiver throughout the game, getting ten targets. He caught five of them for a total of 68 yards, including a 27-yard reception that helped set up a Jake Elliott field goal in the second quarter.
Defensively, the Eagles had several hot players. Jalen Carter’s first snap, coming on third down on Baltimore’s first drive, resulted in him getting to quarterback Josh Johnson. Eli Ricks late in the game seemed to be in on several pass block attempts, notching several pass breakups. Sydney Brown spent a bunch of time in at safety, logging nine tackles. K’Von Wallace’s number was called a bit too, notching five tackles in the game. Additionally, Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham were being cycled through at linebacker.
The Eagles were able to force a few turnovers. The first came on a punt by Ty Zentner late in the third quarter, when Baltimore fumbled the punt through a strip by Mekhi Garner and Rick Lovato, the long snapper, recovered it. The second came midway through the fourth quarter when Eli Ricks picked off Anthony Brown for a touchdown. The Eagles went for two on that play, but Book threw an interception of his own on the play.
Shaun Bradley was injured on the Zentner punt that was fumbled. Reports were that he sustained a lower leg injury.
The Eagles head back to Philadelphia for two joint practices with the Cleveland Browns on Monday and Tuesday before the next preseason game against the Browns on Thursday at 7 PM.
