EAGLES BEGIN PRESEASON WITH HOME OPENER AGAINST TITANS
Starting for Wentz, Sudfeld injures wrist after being hit
PHILADELPHIA – As expected, most of the Philadelphia Eagles’ valued regulars were given spectator duties by coach Doug Pederson for their preseason opener on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans.
Among those healthy enough to play but not in action were quarterback Carson Wentz, tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson, center Jason Kelce, tight end Zach Ertz, running back Darren Sproles, wide receivers Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Nelson Agholor, defensive end Brandon Graham and safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod.
All of this served to open the door for the likes of Nate Sudfeld, Jordan Mailata, Matt Pryor, Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside on offense and Vinny Curry, Josh Sweat, Hassan Ridgeway, L.J. Fort, Zach Brown, Andrew Sendejo and Tre Sullivan on defense.
What followed in the first half was a fairly typical, low-scoring preseason affair in which both teams failed to gain any significant momentum due to various unforced errors.
Here’s what immediately jumped out.
Sudfeld’s decisions
Sudfeld started in place of Wentz and was provided generally good protection by a line that featured no players who are expected to start during the season. But when cornerback LeShaun Sims came on a delayed blitz near the end of the first quarter, he was able to get the sack on third
down because Sudfeld didn’t get rid of the ball.
That forced the Eagles to settle for a field-goal attempt for 53 yards by Jake Elliott, who made it to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Making matters worse, the plan to have Sudfeld finish the first half had to be altered when he was flattened on a late hit by Isaiah Mack and hurt his left wrist in the fall.
He immediately was replaced by Cody Kessler, who then almost immediately hurt his right hand or wrist. But he shook it off to stay in the game and drive them to a last-second field-goal attempt, which Elliott missed from 40 yards.