East Rutherford, N.J. – Kyle McCord led Philadelphia on five scoring drives, Montrell Johnson had a 15-yard touchdown run and the Eagles held on for a 19-17 victory over the New York Jets in a mostly sluggish preseason matchup of backups Friday night.

Well, at least until the final quarter. And then things finally got a bit entertaining.

With the Jets trailing 19-3, Adrian Martinez directed New York to touchdowns on consecutive drives, including Donovan Edwards’ 1-yard run with 3:07 left that made it 19-17.

Looking to tie, first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, a former assistant coach with the Detroit Lions, went for a 2-point conversion for the second straight score, but Edwards was stood up at the goal line – the play was reviewed and the call on the field was upheld.

Martinez, the 2024 UFL MVP, and the Jets got the ball back with 2:31 left and a chance for the win. On fourth-and-10 from the Eagles 42, Martinez completed a long pass to Quentin Skinner for what would’ve been a first down – but offsetting penalties negated the play.

Given one more chance, Martinez’s throw fell just incomplete to a diving Jamaal Pritchett.

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (2-1) sat big-name players such as Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, while Justin Fields, Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and Sauce Gardner were among those on the sideline for the Jets (1-2).

But McCord, the rookie sixth-rounder out of Syracuse who’s competing with Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the No. 3 job behind Hurts and Tanner McKee, played the entire game. He finished 15 of 35 for 136 yards and an interception.

The only projected starter to play for New York was rookie right tackle Armand Membou, the seventh overall pick out of Missouri who was also a college teammate of Brady Cook – who got the start at quarterback. Membou was called for holding and false start penalties in the three series he played.

Milton accounts for two TDS for Cowboys

Arlington, Texas – Former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton ran for a touchdown and threw for a score to help the Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-13 in the preseason finale for both teams Friday night.

Slow starts in the first two exhibition games left questions about whether Milton was the answer as the backup to star quarterback Dak Prescott after the Cowboys let Cooper Rush go in free agency and acquired Milton in a trade with New England.

Milton might have eased some concerns for first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer, who is also the play-caller, by leading touchdown drives on Dallas’ first two possessions. The first was capped by his 1-yard scoring run, the second by a 1-yard plunge from rookie running back Jaydon Blue in his first preseason action.

On the first drive of the second half, Milton converted a fourth-and-1 by going 18 yards on a designed run, then threw a 29-yard touchdown to Jalen Brooks two plays later for a 24-10 Dallas lead. Will Grier took over from there as Milton finished 10 of 18 for 132 yards.

“He got off to a good start,” Schottenheimer said. “He was having fun. He used his legs. Beautiful throw to (Brooks) on the go ball. He looked a lot more comfortable and settled tonight.”

Both teams sat nearly every starter, and the Falcons once again didn’t play Michael Penix Jr. or backup Kirk Cousins. Easton Stick threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Feleipe Franks, who was wide open underneath because of a blown coverage and went head-first over the goal line near the pylon.

Blue, who missed two weeks of training camp with an ankle and heel injury, exited the game with an ankle injury in the second half and didn’t return.

Stick threw his second interception in three preseason starts and finished 20 of 28 for 198 yards.

Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo converted field goals of 38 and 28 yards after missing from 51 early.

Ward’s first NFL touchdown will have to wait

Nashville, Tenn. – Cam Ward’s first NFL touchdown of any kind will have to wait for the regular season after the No. 1 overall pick helped the Tennessee Titans wrap up the preseason by beating the Minnesota Vikings 23-13 Friday night.

Ward finished his preseason 10 of 19 for 145 yards while playing into the second quarter of all three games. Against the Vikings, Ward didn’t complete his first pass. In his second series, he was 3 of 3 for 36 yards, driving the Titans 13 plays for 90 yards over 8:33.

Julius Chestnut capped the drive with a 1-yard run that put the Titans (2-1) up 7-3.

Minnesota (1-2) started rookie Max Brosmer at quarterback with J.J. McCarthy among the starters watching. Brosmer left after two series with the Vikings up 3-0 and returned in the final 30 seconds of the first half.

The quarterback who played his last college season at Minnesota in 2024 did nothing to hurt his chances at being the No. 3 behind McCarthy. Brosmer pulled the Vikings within 17-10 with a 21-yard TD pass to Bryson Nesbit in the third quarter and finished 15 of 23 for 161 yards.

Veteran Brandon Allen came in and put the Titans up 14-3 with Van Jefferson taking a catch 65 yards up the sideline for a touchdown. Jefferson, who dropped a deep pass from Ward against Atlanta last week, caught all three passes thrown his way for 102 yards in this game.

Late in the game, a neon green sex toy was tossed onto the field and quickly picked up by security.

Former NFL head coaches take advisory roles

Green Bay, Wis. – Former Denver Broncos head coach and New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is resetting his coaching career with an unfamiliar role in a familiar place.

Hackett, the Packers’ offensive coordinator from 2019-21, is back in Green Bay. But this time he’s working with Green Bay’s defense in an advisory capacity.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who has used this strategy before, said Hackett would be in and out of Green Bay throughout the year. Longtime defensive assistant Robert Saleh advised Green Bay’s offense last year after he got fired as the Jets’ head coach midway through the season.

LaFleur remembered how a similar plan worked when he was Atlanta’s quarterbacks coach in 2016. That year, Raheem Morris started coaching the Falcons’ receivers after having spent his entire NFL career up to that point as a defensive assistant. Morris now is the Falcons’ head coach.

“I just think it’s a fresh perspective,” LaFleur said. “When you take a defensive guy and put them on offense and vice versa, an offensive guy on defense, it gives you a little different lens to see it through and talk through.”

By having coaches work on the opposite side of the ball from their traditional background, LaFleur has added a twist to a common NFL staffing strategy. Teams across the league have hired former head coaches or coordinators to positions that don’t necessarily rise to the ranks of position coaches or coordinators.

The teams making these moves add more head coaching experience to their staffs, while the ex-head coaches get a chance to stay in the league as they ponder their next step. For instance, after working with the Packers’ offense last year, Saleh has returned to his usual side of the ball as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator.

Saleh said he provided a different perspective on the offense during his time in Green Bay by offering his thoughts on what might or might not work against a particular defense.

“I joke with Matt, I think it was more therapy for me than I was a help for him,” Saleh said.

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he benefited from spending the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns after the end of his six-year stint coaching the Tennessee Titans. Vrabel, who went 54-45 at Tennessee, was fired at the end of the 2023 season.

Vrabel said the experience helped him realize how much he missed the opportunity to lead his own team and put a staff together. It also enabled him to get his focus back on teaching and developing.

“Really enjoyed getting to know those players and teaching them and helping the staff, helping the young coaches,” Vrabel said during his introductory news conference with the Patriots. “It just reminded me of not forgetting all the small, little details that are critical in coaching and teaching.”

Staffs around the NFL feature ex-head coaches in a variety of different roles.

The 49ers’ current assistant head coach is former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley, who was fired as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator at the end of last season.

Having that extra experience on staff can prove particularly useful for a first-time head coach.

Tennessee’s Brian Callahan was preparing for the second season of his tenure when he added Mike McCoy to his staff as a senior offensive assistant this year. McCoy coached the San Diego Chargers from 2013-16 and spent six years as an NFL offensive coordinator, though he most recently was a quarterbacks coach for the Jaguars.

“For a guy that’s had the experiences that he’s had, been a head coach and all those things, and for him to come in and the role he’s in with the humility to take on the role and just want to help,” Callahan said. “He just loves football, wants to be around, and wants to lend a helping hand wherever he can help us, at the end of the day.”

Bengals feature right-guard battle

Cincinnati – Bengals coach Zac Taylor doesn’t have a timeline when it comes to naming a starting right guard for Week 1. The position battle between Lucas Patrick, Cody Ford and Jalen Rivers continues as training camp reaches its end.

Even if Taylor had mapped out a plan for the competition, injuries would have prevented that plan from taking shape.

“We’ve had guys battling through injuries almost the entire time,” Taylor said. “I don’t think any schedule we would have had on would have been able to stand up because guys have been fighting through different stuff.”

Taylor announced Wednesday that Cordell Volson will have season-ending shoulder surgery. Volson had been the second-team right guard before he got hurt. He was a starter from 2022 through 2024, but he was slated to fill a bench role before he was injured.

“All he has ever done is come to work and try to be the best Cincinnati Bengal he can be,” Taylor said. “Not always agreeing with what we are doing in terms of him not being a starter anymore, but just handled it in such a professional way and been a team player through and through. That’s what he has been his entire life.”

Patrick and Ford are day to day with undisclosed injuries. As a result, Rivers has been receiving the first-team reps at right guard ahead of Cincinnati’s final preseason game on Saturday against Indianapolis.

The Bengals selected Rivers in the fifth round of April’s NFL draft to be the team’s swing tackle. But when Rivers struggled at that spot early in training camp and multiple guards suffered injuries, Rivers learned he would be playing guard going forward.

“They drafted me to be a versatile lineman for them,” Rivers said. “I’m showing that I can do that. Showing that I can play right guard and that they can trust me means a lot. I’ll keep working at it.”

While Patrick has missed time with two different injuries during training camp, he has received the most first-team reps at right guard. The eight-year veteran has played in 112 NFL games. Patrick has been a backup for most of his career, but the Bengals are hopeful that he can raise the floor of the team’s offensive guard group.

Patrick assessed his performance in training camp as up-and-down, but he feels himself getting more comfortable in a new scheme.

“I’ve tried to put my best foot forward and play as good as I can, but I’m still adjusting to the nuances and really getting those down,” Patrick said. “I’ve got some work to do. There’s always work to do.”

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