2 games, 2 QBs lost
Eagles’ Kessler leaves during 1st series with possible concussion
Note: The Eagles at Jaguars game ended too late for the final score to be reported in this edition.
At the rate Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks are getting hurt, Carson Wentz could be the only healthy signal-caller on opening day.
After backup Nate Sudfeld started their first preseason game and went down with a broken wrist before the Eagles could execute his exit plan at the end of the first half, third-team quarterback and Thursday night’s starter against the Jacksonvile Jaguars, Cody Kessler, didn’t even survive the first series. He was knocked out of the game with a possible concussion, clearing the way for rookie Clayton Thorson to play the rest of the way.
Thorson is the only other healthy quarterback on the Eagles’ roster besides Wentz, who has been placed in bubble wrap until the start of the regular season.
But the Eagles are quickly running out of bodies behind him, and they could be facing a crisis if Kessler is looking at a lengthy absence.
So it is against this backdrop that we present to you our takeaways from the first 30 minutes of this contest, which the Eagles led, 7-3, at intermission.
■ More concern about offensive line depth. This was supposed to be a strength for the Eagles coming into this season. What we saw in the first two offensive series was nothing but misplays and miscommunication, however.
In just that short period, we saw left tackle Andre Dillard abandon his post to help out with a double-team inside, allowing the right defensive end to blow through uncontested for a sack; the entire right side of the line break down on a thirdand-12 play, a false start by Matt Pryor that turned a secondand-12 into a second-and-17 and a bad shotgun snap by Stefen Wisniewski that nearly led to a safety.
Kessler also was knocked out of the game during this period of mass confusion.
■ Thorson actually did surprisingly well after taking over, leading them on a 12-play, 95yard TD drive that concluded with a fourth-down heave to Greg Ward, who made a sensational catch and ran the rest of the way for a 38-yard touchdown.
Thorson was 4-for-9 for 62 yards on that series and looked like a completely different quarterback than the one who malfunctioned from the start against Tennessee a week earlier.
■ Defensive end Daeshon Hall, a bright spot for the defense a week earlier, provided another bright spot in the second quarter with a strip-sack of Gardner Minshew. Nate Gerry recovered for the Eagles. Hall added another sack late in the first half.
■ Miles Sanders, the rookie running back from Penn State, looked strong. He had only five first-half carries, but turned them into 31 yards.
■ Cornerback Sidney Jones is an underrated tackler. He showed perfect form on all three of his team-leading three solo tackles in the first half.
■ Good as Sanders was, it was another rookie from Penn State who shined brighter in the first half. Defensive end Shareef Miller led the team with four tackles, including two for losses, and added a sack.
■ Ward, a former quarterback at Houston, may be the starting quarterback by the final week of the preseason at this rate.
■ Mack Hollins made his presence felt on special teams. By being the first one down on punt coverage late in the first half, he had an effect on a Jaguar backing into his own returner, Tre McBride, causing a muff. McBride was able to recover. But Hollins clearly disrupted that play.