The preseason is here and you know what that means: The players on the field are fighting for jobs and while the games don’t count in the standings, they mean everything to everyone involved in the action.

Actually, when the Bengals come to town for Thursday’s 7:30 PM preseason opener (NBC10, Philadelphia), it begins an intense period of time for a 90-man roster that will be reduced to 53 players following the preseason in a matter of – gulp – less than three weeks. The Eagles have three preseason games and two days of joint practices against Cleveland ahead, so this is a critical, critical time.

Anyway, what are we watching on Thursday night? Everything, of course. But to narrow it down …

Tanner McKee is likely to see a lot of action and he is well-equipped to run the offense. We saw some of that last season when McKee played and performed well against Dallas in relief of Kenny Pickett and then against the New York Giants in the regular-season finale. He is No. 2 on the depth chart and is a confident young quarterback having a great Training Camp.

Behind him, the Eagles would love to get Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord some reps. Both have been solid in Training Camp learning the new offense and any time they get on the field will benefit both players. They are different styles of quarterbacks, so it will be interesting to see what Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo has in mind should they play.

2. New guys and their preseason debuts

There are so many to watch, but some in particular: Running back A.J. Dillon, tight ends Harrison Bryant and Kylen Granson, edge players Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche, all of the draft picks. There are a lot of new faces here. There are a lot of players trying to make the roster. There are a lot of players with careers on the line. The Eagles had an extremely active offseason, challenging the roster via free agency and the NFL Draft. They didn’t “run it back” after winning Super Bowl LIX, so this is going to be worth watching in the next couple of weeks.

3. Which starting jobs are up for grabs?

Fair question. Not a whole lot on offense, where the Eagles return 10 starters and truly are only seeing how the right guard spot plays out – Tyler Steen has looked terrific playing with the first unit there all summer – but the defense has a lot of change. There are legitimate challenges at linebacker, at cornerback, at safety. This is going to be great to watch – how much can rookies Jihaad Campbell and Smael Mondon impact the linebacker group? Where does Jeremiah Trotter Jr. fit in? Is Sydney Brown ready to be a big-time contributor at safety? Who wins the starting cornerback job opposite of Quinyon Mitchell?