Stinkfest Saturday

Posted: August 16th, 2025 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

Cleveland came to Philly on a mission. Their players said they saw the Eagles as a measuring stick and they wanted to show what they could do. The Browns were the better team in the practices and much better in the game. If you’re judging this on team terms, the Eagles were awful. Thankfully the preseason is more about individuals and there was some good news on that front.

The biggest takeaway from the day is that rookie safety Drew Mukuba is a playmaker. He had a pick-six and then recovered a fumble that set up another TD.

Sydney Brown has been solid, if not good, this summer. He’s done nothing wrong. But seeing Mukuba make plays just changes things. Nick Sirianni puts a huge focus on takeaways. Brown hasn’t played a ton, but he’s never shown a knack for finding the ball. Mukuba showed that at Texas last year against the Browns.

The fumble came when the RB couldn’t secure the hand-off. The ball was on the ground and Mukuba fell on it. That may seem lucky, but some guys have a way of being in the right place at the right time. Mukuba showed good hands and good awareness on the play. Think about all the times the ball has been on the ground and the defender doesn’t see it. Mukuba did and made the play.

Mukuba only made one tackle. He wasn’t perfect in coverage. Still, it was very encouraging to see the playmaking ability from a player in his NFL debut. I think this is a guy you want on the field.

I didn’t come away from the game with a good feel for the CB position. Jakorian Bennett had an impressive PBU where he showed off his speed. I thought he was pretty good. I need to go back and watch the tape to see how all the CBs fared.

DTR and rookie Kyle McCord split QB reps. Neither played well, but their protection was bad. Cleveland won the battle up front on both sides of the ball. The Eagles had 25 dropbacks and CLE had 6 QB hits, plus a sack and additional pressure. McCord did play better this week than the opener. He settled down and did have some good moments.

Tanner McKee didn’t play. Sirianni said he got enough work in the practices that the Eagles staff wanted to focus on DTR and McCord. The QBs played with both the second and third teams. It looked like they would play two series each and then sit for a couple. The idea was to see them with different blockers and receivers so the coaches could make a more balanced evaluation. I’m not sure that worked as hoped since pretty much everyone struggled.

The Eagles finished the game with 88 yards on 44 plays. That should tell you all you need to know.

I wish the poor blocking could be blamed on one guy. It sure looked like everyone struggled to some extent. Matt Pryor had a rough game. Rookie Myles Hinton played better than last week, but still gave up a huge hit on DTR. Drew Kendall started at center and also played some LG. Brett Toth started at LG before moving into center.

Ainias Smith did have a couple of good catches, including a TD. He’s really come on over the past 10 days or so. Smith is making a real push to secure a roster spot.

The defense was up and down. They gave up 331 yards, including 132 on the ground. Rookie QB Dillon Gabriel was efficient and poised. The Eagles got more pressure than last week, but still were not disruptive enough.

The Eagles did not tackle well on STs or defense. Jeremiah Trotter Jr led the team with 7 tackles, but I didn’t think he played well overall. He missed a TFL and later failed to stop a RB at the goal line. I thought his tackling was sloppy. I expect better from a second-year player. Rookie Smael Mondon struggled as a tackler last week, but was much better on Saturday. He had 4 solo tackles and a TFL. I thought he looked good.

Jihad Campbell had 4 tackles, including his first sack.

Sirianni and the Eagles coaches won’t be happy with this performance. The team was way too sloppy. This was backups and we all understand that, but some of these guys will have key roles this season. You don’t want to just dismiss this as a meaningless preseason game.

As much as you want to figure out the starting CB spot, OL depth is a fair concern right now. I need to study the tape and see how the guys looked, but watching live wasn’t good. Jeff Stoutland will have a lot to correct this week.

The good news is that there didn’t appear to be any serious issues. Go figure some things out and get ready for the preseason finale.

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