Poor QB play in Philly’s NFL preseason loss
Eagles Jihaad Campbell’s lessons from Browns star Myles Garrett
Eagles rookie Jihaad Campbell describes his conversation with Browns star DE Myles Garrett
PHILADELPHIA − In reality, the No. 3 quarterback on an NFL team is needed only in a desperate situation if the first two quarterbacks are injured in a game.
In case of emergency, break glass.
And yet, you would be hard-pressed to find a season when a team hasn’t had to use its third quarterback. Last season, for example, the Eagles won the Super Bowl while using third QB in Tanner McKee for the final six quarters of the regular season.
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McKee played so well during that time that the Eagles traded Pickett last March and anointed McKee the backup. As such, McKee didn’t have to play in the Eagles’ second preseason game on Aug. 16 against the Cleveland Browns.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was hoping this would be a good opportunity for the current QBs vying for the No. 3 spot − Dorian Thompson-Robinson, whom the Eagles acquired in the Pickett deal, and rookie sixth-round pick Kyle McCord − to show they could play in case of an emergency.
Until, gulp, both struggled mightily in the Eagles’ 22-13 loss to the Browns.
McCord struggled a little less mightily, which isn’t saying much.
He completed 8 of 16 passes for 47 yards with a touchdown. McCord’s longest completion went for 9 yards. Thompson-Robinson was 5-for-8 for 17 yards and an interception. His longest pass play was for 12.
The two rotated after two series each. That was by design, too.
“Good and bad,” McCord said about his performance. “There were some good plays, like the touchdown, and a few solid completions there. But at the same time, there were missed opportunities, and you want a few throws back here and there. That’s what the preseason is for, learning from those plays.”
There is a lot to learn.
Thompson-Robinson made two dreadful errors on broken plays − the first was throwing the ball after his original pass was deflected back to him. Actually, running back A.J. Dillon made the mistake by catching the ball instead of knocking it to the ground.
Dillon was immediately tackled for a 14-yard loss.
The second bad play began with a high snap from Brett Toth that Thompson-Robinson deflected to himself. By then, a Browns rusher was about to hit Thompson-Robinson. Instead of taking the sack, DTR tried a desperation pass as he was getting hit that was intercepted by ex-Eagle K.J. Henry and returned 54 yards for a touchdown.
McCord threw an interception in the fourth quarter that was negated by a Browns penalty.
In all, the Eagles had just 88 yards of total offense.
“It just was not great complementary football today,” Sirianni said. “The defense (gave up) some long drives, the offense had some three-and-outs. You want to be able to play complementary football in that area.
“Obviously, (the quarterbacks) had some good moments, and had some plays that they made. But also, we missed some plays. That’s not always just on the quarterback if there was a missed play … It wasn’t good enough out there on the field, in coaching, playing, anything.”
But there was some good from the Eagles:
Rookie safety Drew Mukuba, making his NFL debut, returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown and recovered a fumble later in the first half. He picked off Dillon Gabriel’s pass intended for Diontae Johnson on the first play of the second quarter.
Mukuba, the Eagles’ second-round pick, did not play in the preseason opener on Aug. 7 as he was just returning from a shoulder injury. He is competing with Sydney Brown for the starting safety spot opposite Reed Blankenship.
“I was just in the right position, read my assignment, read my keys,” he said. “The quarterback was looking (at Johnson), and I was surprised he was throwing it because I was literally right there. As soon as I caught it, I already had in my mind that I gotta get in the end zone.”
The Eagles decided to alternate quarterbacks to start the second half. McCord got the first series and didn’t do anything. Then Thompson-Robinson, who started the game, got the second series.
And it was a disaster. The snap from Brett Toth was high, and DTR deflected it in the air and caught it. By then, he was about to get hit. Instead of taking the sack, he threw the ball up for grabs. Former Eagle K.J. Henry caught it and ran 45 yards for a touchdown.
Kyle McCord made his first significant move in the battle for the No. 3 QB job. He benefitted from Mukuba’s fumble recovery, taking over at Cleveland’s 28. From there, McCord led the Eagles to a touchdown, hooking up with Ainias Smith on a 3rd-and-goal from the Browns’ 9.
That gave the Eagles a 13-9 lead with 1:57 left in the half. McCord was 2-for-2 for 15 yards on the drive. Thompson-Robinson started and played the first two series. He wasn’t nearly as successful, going 3-for-4 for 8 yards.
It’s quite a turnaround from last summer for Eagles wide receiver Ainias Smith. The Eagles’ fifth-round pick in 2024 struggled as a rookie. But on a poor day for the offense, Smith scored a touchdown for the second straight week. This time, it was on McCord’s 9-yard TD pass over the middle.
Smith led the Eagles with 19 yards receiving on 2 catches.
“It was cool, but it’s a team game,” Smith said. “The job is not done at all. We didn’t come out with the win. I’m really not concerned with the TD at all. We should have kept scoring.”
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Eagles first-round pick Jihaad Campbell, starting at linebacker, sacked Browns QB Dillon Gabriel on the Browns’ second play on offense.
But it wasn’t a good opening drive for the Eagles’ defense. The Browns drove down the field on a 13-play drive that used up 8 minutes, 5 seconds. The extra-point snap was botched. The Eagles trailed 6-0 with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
It was telling when during pregame warmups, wide receiver A.J. Brown was throwing long passes to receivers during “routes on air” period. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the other starters were nowhere to be seen during warmups.
None of this is a surprise. The Eagles have not played established starters in any preseason game since 2022. In addition, the Eagles had two joint practice sessions with the Browns in which the starters got the vast majority of reps in team drills.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
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