With Jalen Hurts a last-second scratch from the starting lineup the Eagles lost on Thursday night to the New England Patriots, 35-0, in their second preseason game.
Here are some takeaways from a very forgettable and ugly preseason game:
Starters Rest: It wasn't just Hurts who sat on Thursday night, although he was the only one who was listed as sick. The entire right side of the team's starting offensive line didn't play, as well as the entire starting defensive line and cornerback Darius Slay. Miles Sanders did play, but he only carried the ball twice.
The game was ugly, but with so many starters out, the only real takeaway from the game is that the team's depth seems to be an issue.
Joe Flacco: Starting in Hurts' place was Joe Flacco.
It didn't go well for the Eagles backup.
Flacco's first play was a bad snap by Nate Herbig, sailing over Flacco's head and back towards the end zone. Flacco ran back to try to recover the ball, but missed it, and the Patriots recovered. Flacco had a chance to hit DeVonta Smith down the field at the start of the second quarter, but the pass was behind him.
Flacco finished the game 10 of 17 for 83 yards and one ugly interception, giving him a quarterback rating of 46.9.
Flacco's play made it clear that, even if he wasn't sick, playing Hurts would have been a mistake. Hurts is the best quarterback on the roster and needs to be healthy for Week 1 — that should be the priority.
DeVonta Smith: Eagles fans got their first look at DeVonta Smith on Thursday night as the rookie made his preseason debut.
It didn't get off to the best start.
Smith dropped his first target in an Eagles' uniform, and although the pass wasn't great, it was a pass he should have caught. Smith's second target, which also wasn't great pass, was also dropped.
The good news is that things improved from there. Smith made his first catch in an Eagles uniform in the second quarter, pulling in a nine-yard catch from Flacco. His route running looked extremely crisp and he seemed to have no issues getting off the line of scrimmage.
Overall, the fact Smith even played is a good sign as he has been dealing with a knee injury the last two weeks. The fact he got open and ran good route is a positive.
Watching Smith drop the ball, however, couldn't have been fun for fans who have watched receivers drop far too many passes the past few seasons.
Starting Receivers: The Eagles starting receivers seem to pretty clearly be Smith, Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins. The trio played nearly the whole first half together, a strong sign that the team will be using them the majority of the time once the regular season begins.
Defense: The Eagles starting defense dominated the Patriots starting offense during the past week of practices.
The backups? They didn't exactly dominate on Thursday night.
The Eagles backup defenders let the Patriots starting offense move the ball up-and-down the field to start the game, giving up a touchdown on the first two possessions, including an eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive.
K'Von Wallace and Zech McPhearson both seemed to struggle early on, and Cam Newton took advantage, completing eight of his first nine passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.
One thing that has been clear in both preseason games — the depth is an issue on defense.
Milton Williams: The Eagles rookie defensive linemen continues to look good so far this preseason. Coming off of a strong first showing last week against the Steelers, Williams once again was a handful, as he was held twice in the first half by opposing offensive linemen to prevent him from taking down the quarterback.
Williams won't be counted on right away to play meaningful snaps, but if he has to, he looks like he could be ready to play and contribute.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
