PHILADELPHIA – The necessary evil of the final preseason game for the Eagles was ugly as Philadelphia was routed by the Minnesota Vikings, 26-3.
Neither team played many of its key contributors and Philadelphia struggled mightily with Kenny Pickett playing the first half and Tanner McKee taking over in the third quarter. Fourth-stringer Will Grier than closed the game in his first preseason action.
The Eagles finished 2-1 in the preseason with road wins in Baltimore and New England preceding Saturday’s loss to the Vikings.
The stock market wasn’t a positive one for the Eagles:
THE BULLS
-DB Cooper DeJean – The talented second-round rookie missed the first two preseason games while dealing with a pre-camp hamstring issue so it was deemed he needed the reps.
DeJean wasn’t perfect but he showed his juice as a player on a couple of occasions in run support, looking like a heat-seeking missile headed to the football. He was also beaten in coverage early and caught for illegal contact that wiped out a Tristin McCollum interception on Minnesota’s first drive which ultimately ended in a touchdown.
-LB Oren Burks – It might be too little, too late for the veteran LB after missing most of camp with a knee injury. In a game filled with backups, Burks reminded observers that he’s played a lot of football over the year, flashing his ability to make plays with six tackles and a sack.
–WR Ainias Smith – Smith needed a clean game to finish his recent turnaround and was able to accomplish that with six receptions for 36 yards plus a punt return for 14 yards. That might not seem overwhelming on paper but after a spring marred by drops continuing into camp, Smith was in danger of getting cut before settling down and cutting out the self-inflicted wounds cold turkey.
The trade for Jahan Dotson also means the Eagles won’t need a roster spot for a veteran who can play right away like Parris Campbell and can afford to carry a developmental player like Smith.
That said head coach Nick Sirianni still seemed lukewarm when asked by Eagles on SI about Smith after the game.
Obviously, there are steps to when you get into the NFL,” Sirianni said. “It’s a different game. So sometimes people start fast and sometimes it takes a little bit of time.
“So, Ainias has done some really good things. He has some things he has to learn from. But he’s growing like the rest of the guys because he’s working his butt off. He made some nice plays today that were good, but like everybody, we all have work to do to continue to get better.”
THE BEARS
-Eagles Third-Down Defense: The Vikings started 7-for-8 on third downs in the game and finished the first half 7-for-9 while building a 20-3 advantage. Second-year Minnesota quarterback Jaren Hall was inaccurate any time there was any pressure and too often Vic Fangio let him off the hook until amping up things in the red zone. That, along with soft coverage outside, allowed Hall to play pitch and catch.
-Eagles Fourth-Down Offense: Aggressiveness is usually one of the Eagles’ strengths with Jalen Hurts and company on the field. Without them, it turned into an exercise in preseason futility. Sirianni kept going for it (why not?) and the Eagles kept failing, finishing the game 0-for-6 in do-or-die scenarios.
-CB Eli Ricks – Ricks is on the bubble with the perceived strength of being a natural cover corner. Vikings backup receiver Lucky Jackson too often had Ricks reeling on plays that could have been made with better ball awareness.
-Edge Nolan Smith – In a game where few expected contributors dressed on either side, Smith was the notable exception for the Eagles and he didn’t flag against backup offensive linemen for the Vikings, something that can’t be considered a positive sign.
-RB Ty Davis-Price – Davis-Price ran the well effectively early but getting stripped by linebacker Dallas Gant overshadowed that. Davis-Price has skills but has consistently mixed in drops in the passing game with the occasional ball-security issue.
-WR Jacob Harris – Harris is probably the best of the second-grouping of receivers on the Eagles and started with a splash on special teams with a physical tackle in coverage on the opening kickoff. It was so physical Harris suffered a concussion that ended any opportunity to make a final case for the speedy wideout.
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