It was only the first preseason game and most starters didn’t play, so take it for what it’s worth. But the Eagles’ offense punted eight times and nearly got shut out while the defense gave up 440 yards in Saturday night’s 24-7 loss to the Ravens in Baltimore.
Neither 38-year-old Andy Dalton (3 of 6, 20 yards) nor 26-year-old Tanner McKee (6 of 10, 35 yards) looked like he wanted to land the backup quarterback job behind Jalen Hurts.
Rookie fourth-stringer Cole Payton, who ran around for 45 yards, hit Erik Ezukanma from six yards out with 2:14 left to finally get the Eagles on the board.
“Obviously, we wanted to put a better performance out there on all parts,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We only had 40 plays of offense and we kept the defense on the field too many times. That’s everybody, not just the quarterbacks.
“Nothing’s decided there as far as who’s the two, who’s the three,” he added about the QB battle. “Been rotating them in practice. I think both of them have continued to grow within the offense.”
The Eagles committed 10 penalties for 96 yards. They possessed the ball just 18 minutes, 43 seconds compared to Baltimore’s 41:17. Oh, and they were 0-for-9 on third down.
“Execution wasn’t there on a lot of different phases,” said McKee, who came in after Dalton got the start. “Playing behind the sticks was tough, just with penalties and stuff. … A lot of routine plays we’ve made a hundred times in practice, we just didn’t make. I’m included in that. We just gotta do better.
“I think whenever a game goes like that, it’s disappointing. It’s good to get reps like that to learn from. … If you can never make that mistake again, it’s worth the mistake. We had a lot of mistakes that we put on film. As long as we don’t make those same mistakes (in the future), I think it’s going to be a positive.
“With the new offense and everything that’s new, mistakes are obviously going to happen. That many is unacceptable.”
Wide receiver Darius Cooper, who had been outstanding in camp practices, had just two receptions for 21 yards on five targets. Among the misses was a glaring drop. Rookie tight end Eli Stowers had three catches for a sparse 12 yards on three targets. Hollywood Brown had a short catch.
Dontayvion Wicks, who seems to have secured a starting job, was held out of the game.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson (95) celebrates after sacking Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley during the first half of an NFL preseason football game in Baltimore, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
Among the few positives were linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jihaad Campbell. Trotter had five tackles (two solo) and a sack while making his presence felt all over the field. Campbell, the expected starter alongside Zack Baun, had three tackles and was also engaged all over.
“Jihaad keeps getting better with reps, and Jihaad didn’t have as many reps last year, so we thought that was good for him to play,” Sirianni said of the Birds’ 2025 first-round pick.
Linebacker and the defensive front overall are areas of depth. Tight end and the secondary remain question marks when it comes to rotational and backup guys.
Operationally, things seemed to run OK under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, which has been a point of emphasis early in camp.
“I thought the communication, the plays were (fine),” Sirianni said. “I didn’t feel like we were rushed. I wasn’t staring at the play clock at any point debating whether to call a timeout or not. So the operation was good — the subbing in and out of the huddle, the communication from Sean to the quarterback. We had one pre-snap penalty on a third down, but I didn’t think that had anything to do with the operation.
“We had too many penalties that put us behind. And we had some defensive penalties as well. I think it was more holds on defense and more holds on offense; it was more so ‘in the heat of the battle’ penalties where we just have to clean those things up. And you clean those things up by being completely crisp with your assignments and being good fundamentally, so we’ll see what that looks like on tape.”
Notes
• Second-year defensive tackle Ty Robinson, who was a non-factor earlier in camp, sacked Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley on a second-and-10 from the Eagles’ 28 on Baltimore’s opening drive.
• Cornerback Shaun Wade, who was with the Dallas Renegades of the United Football League in the spring, made one of the Eagles’ biggest defensive plays when he punched the ball out of Ravens receiver Elijah Sarratt’s grasp after a catch. Wade had been beaten on the play and fell to the turf, but he got back up and chased down Sarratt from behind. Ambry Thomas made the recovery for the Eagles.
• The Eagles cut WR Brandon Hayes to make room for linebacker Brandon George, a Berks Catholic grad who went on to play at Pittsburgh and spent a year with the Kansas City Chiefs.
• The Eagles will head to New England later this week for a pair of joint practices before playing the Patriots in their second preseason game Saturday at Gillette Stadium.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Cole Payton (10) scrambles against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL preseason football game Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.