BALTIMORE − As expected, the Eagles held out their starters for the preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night.
The Ravens came into the game with a 23-game preseason winning streak. Their last loss come on Sept. 3, 2015.
But Baltimore held out most of its starters as well, including Lamar Jackson.
Still, several Eagles’ young players, including first-round pick Jalen Carter, got a chance to play. That also included quarterback Tanner McKee, the Eagles’ sixth-round pick, who played the entire second quarter.
Here are observations from the game:
Jalen Carter makes impact on first snap
Eagles rookie Jalen Carter didn’t start 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 Josh 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.
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 Eagles drive stalled, but McKee finished the first half 8-for-15 for 120 yards.
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, Shaun 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.
Another highlight on that drive was D’Andre Swift’s 22-yard run.
Mariota played two series, and went 7-for-11 for 58 yards.
9 EAGLES TO WATCH:‘I want to destroy people.’ Eagles rookie is among 9 to watch in preseason opener vs Ravens
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 Eagles saw this last summer in the preseason opener against the Jets.
Hurts started and played the first few series. But he took a late hit out of bounds and Sirianni was incensed.
When asked Thursday if that would affect his decision, Sirianni said no, adding: “It’s football. They’re going to get hit. Obviously, it’s more controlled here at practice … But all you’re trying to do is make sure guys are ready to go in that first game. So sometimes you feel like they need to play in that first preseason game or second preseason game or third preseason game, and sometimes you don’t.”
Clearly, Sirianni wasn’t taking any chances.
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.
