Sean Mannion outlines what went wrong in Eagles' preseason opener

The Eagles' offense produced just seven points in the preseason loss to the Ravens.

By Reuben Frank • Published August 17, 2026

The Sean Mannion era did not begin the way anyone wanted, and Monday morning Mannion spoke about the Eagles’ lifeless offensive performance in the preseason opener in Baltimore.

"Obviously, we want to have a better performance offensively than we put on tape the other night, (and) we’ve got things that obviously we need to correct,” Mannion said before practice.

"I thought the biggest thing that stood out in the game is we just weren't staying on schedule. We had a lot of 1st-and-longs, 2nd-and-longs. Penalties led to a lot of that. A couple negative runs. So I think if we were able to be better on schedule and kind of eliminate some of those miscues on early downs, we'll keep ourselves in more manageable 3rd-down situations and hopefully lead to a better result.”

With the two veteran backup quarterbacks in the game, Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee, the Eagles managed just 77 net yards, no points and two first downs on eight drives.

Their third downs with Dalton in the game were 3rd-and-15, 3rd-and-17, 3rd-and-6 and 3rd-and-5. With McKee, they faced a 3rd-and-3 and a 3rd-and-12.

They didn’t convert any of them.

The Ravens won 24-7, with the Eagles averting a shutout when rookie 5th-round pick Cole Payton drove the offense to a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. None of the projected offensive starters — and many of the offensive backups — played.

"I think a lot of it comes down to just fundamentals and execution,” said Mannion, an offensive coordinator and play caller for the first time on any level. "I feel like we're in a good place mentally as an offense. There really weren't a ton of mental errors from the game, which is encouraging. A lot of young guys in there. It's not scripted, it's all calling it from the sideline. So I was pretty encouraged with the mental side of things.

"I think it's just carrying the fundamental work that we've done in practice to the game setting. I think that was the biggest takeaway. … We want to see these guys go out, play, execute their assignment and play with good fundamentals.”

Dalton got the start and was 3-for-6 for 20 yards with a long completion of eight yards. McKee was 6-for-10 for 35 yards with a long gainer of 13 yards.

One of them will wind up as Jalen Hurts’ backup, but neither one looked ready to take ownership of that role Saturday night in Baltimore.

"There was some good and some that could obviously improve,” Mannion said of the two QBs. "The third downs have got to be better there. Some of them were tough spots, to be fair. You know, you're in the 3rd-and-extra-long situations, it's going to be an uphill battle.

"But I think just play the play. Just stay with the process. Stay with your read, your footwork. There were some good examples. Tanner hit a slant route (to Darius Cooper). Cole hit one to E.J. (Jenkins) over the middle of the field (for 17 yards). We had to get back on track on the first series of the game. Andy had a nice ball to Coop (Darius Cooper) on an out route to get us into a third and manageable (3rd-and-10), then we take a penalty (on Fred Johnson) and go back to 3rd-and-15.

"There were some glimpses there of what we want to see. But I think the biggest thing that the whole group can improve on is just stay within the play, trust your footwork, trust your training. And go cut it loose.”

If you’re looking for a positive, Mannion did say the communication among the coaches and the operation with substitutions and the play clock all went smoothly. Mannion also said after calling the game from the field Saturday he'll call preseason Game 2 against the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday from the booth to get a different perspective.

"We didn't have any play calls get jacked up where we got caught with them substituting late or anything like that,” he said. "I thought the lines of communication were clear. I was happy with how the quarterbacks were able to get us in and out of the huddle. We weren't really up against the play clock at all, so I was happy with that.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/sean-mannion-outlines-what-went-wrong-eagles-preseason-opener/747096/