BALTIMORE − As expected, the Eagles held out their starters for the preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night.
So no Jalen Hurts, Jason Kelce, Haason Reddick or any of the top four receivers in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Quez Watkins.
But there was still plenty of intrigue.
The Eagles saw first-round pick Jalen Carter, a defensive tackle, get on the field for two plays. On his first, a 3rd-and-10 on the Ravens’ first possession, he burst through and wrapped up quarterback Josh Johnson (the Ravens rested their starters, too, including Lamar Jackson) and nearly sacked him.
Rookie quarterback Tanner McKee played well in his first NFL game, taking over for Marcus Mariota in the second quarter. McKee played the second and third quarter and led the Eagles on their only touchdown drive. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 148 yards.
And the Eagles had a great chance to end the Ravens’ NFL-record 23-game preseason winning streak, which began in 2016.
With the Eagles trailing by 7 points midway through the fourth quarter, rookie cornerback Eli Ricks intercepted Anthony Brown’s pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles went for a two-point conversion to take the lead, but missed.
And the Ravens held on, sending the Eagles to a 20-19 loss Saturday night.
There were some lapses, too, as Ravens running back Justice Hill broke free for 37 yards in the first quarter, setting up the Ravens’ first touchdown.
And the Eagles suffered a key injury when special teams ace Shaun Bradley was taken off the field on a cart after suffering a lower leg injury.
Here are some other observations from the game:
Jalen Carter makes impact on first snap
Carter didn’t start the game with the Eagles’ second-team defense. But he came in on the third play, with the Ravens facing 3rd-and-10 from their 29.
Carter showed his speed and power up the middle. He burst through the Ravens’ line, overpowering Ben Cleveland, before wrapping up Johnson. Johnson managed to throw the ball as he was falling. The ball went out of bounds past the line of scrimmage, thus avoiding an intentional grounding penalty.
It also deprived Carter of a sack.
The Eagles, of course, had seen this in practice for the last two weeks.
Carter had a brief cameo, however. He played one more snap in the Ravens’ next drive and didn’t return after that.
Pick-6 for Eli Ricks
The Eagles, trailing by 7 points midway in the fourth quarter, got an interception from rookie undrafted free agent Eli Ricks on a pass by Anthony Brown.
Ricks returned the ball 31 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles went for the 2-point conversion on the play, but Ian Book’s pass was intercepted in the end zone, so the Ravens held a 20-19 lead with 7:03 left.
Ricks, who played at Alabama, made a strong pitch to make the 53-man roster. But there’s still a long way to go.
QB Tanner McKee takes advantage of his chance
During the past week, McKee was moved up to the third-string QB ahead of Ian Book. So McKee got his chance early in the second quarter and played well.
His first pass was a 27-yard completion to Tyrie Cleveland. He hit Cleveland again for 8 yards on that drive that resulted in a field goal.
On the next drive, McKee hit Johnny King for 33 yards and then Cleveland again for 18 yards down to the Ravens’ 2 yard line. Trey Sermon scored the Eagles’ first touchdown of the preseason on the next play for a 13-7 Eagles lead with 3:51 left in the second quarter.
McKee also showed good poise on the Eagles’ last series of the second quarter. The Eagles faced a 4th-and-1 from their 33, when McKee faked an inside handoff, then pivoted and threw the ball into the flat for Greg Ward for a 17-yard gain. The drive stalled.
Book played the fourth quarter and didn’t fare nearly as well. His biggest mistake came on 3rd-and-8 from the Ravens’ 49. He tried to escape pressure, but instead of throwing the ball away, he held onto the ball and was sacked for a 21-yard loss.
Eagles recover a fumbled punt as key special teamer is hurt
Ty Zentner, who is competing for the punting job with incumbent Arryn Siposs, got his first chance with the Eagles at midfield. He angled a high kick that James Proche caught, but fumbled away. Mekhi Garner forced the punter, and Rick Lovato, who snapped the ball, recovered it at the Ravens’ 14 yard line.
On the play, Bradley, one of the Eagles’ key special teams players, hurt his leg. He couldn’t put any weight on his leg and was carted off to the locker room. The entire team left the sideline to wish Bradley well. The Eagles said Bradley suffered a lower leg injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
The Eagles couldn’t take advantage of the good field position, however. On 4th-and-2 from the 6, McKee threw into the end zone for Joseph Ngata. It was ruled that the ball hit the ground so the Ravens took possession.
Mariota starts at QB, but not in sync
As expected, Marcus Mariota started in Hurts’ place. He was only 3-for-7 passing for 24 yards. But he showed his running ability. On 3rd-and-13, he escaped pressure and picked up 14 yards for a first down. He later gained 2 yards on 4th-and-1 from the Ravens’ 29. But he threw incomplete twice after that and the Eagles settled for Jake Elliott’s 45-yard field goal.
Mariota played two series, and went 7-for-11 for 58 yards. He had 29 yards rushing on 4 carries.
9 EAGLES TO WATCH:‘I want to destroy people.’ Eagles rookie is among 9 to watch in preseason opener vs Ravens
Mixed bag for running backs
The Eagles held out Kenny Gainwell, an indication that for now, he’s the starter. D’Andre Swift played the first series. He had a 22-yard gain and finished with 24 yards on 2 carries. Rashaad Penny played the rest of the first quarter and the second, gaining 34 yards on 9 carries.
Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks split the second half. Brooks had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter, enabling the Ravens to kick a field goal.
Jalen Hurts sitting out, and Sirianni explains why
Hurts and the Eagles starters were on the field for warmups, but when the game started, it was Mariota leading the second-team offense.
Before the game, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said on the radio pregame show that he was holding out the starters because the Eagles are hosting the Cleveland Browns for joint practices beginning Monday.
Sirianni values those practices more than the preseason game because it’s starters vs. starters in a controlled setting − there’s hitting, but quarterbacks are not allowed to get touched.
The only potential starters who played Saturday were defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Milton Williams, along with safety Terrell Edmunds. At linebacker, Nakobe Dean was held out as was right guard Cam Jurgens, running back Kenny Gainwell and safety Reed Blankenship.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
