Roob’s Instant Observations: Rookies shine as Eagles beat Ravens in wild last-second finish

Roob’s Instant Observations: Rookies shine as Eagles beat Ravens in wild last-second finish originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Now, this was some pretty high drama for a preseason game.

Jake Elliott, who missed a 50-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, got another chance moments later after edge rusher Patrick Johnson forced a fumble, and this time Elliott nailed a 49-yarder to give the Eagles a 16-13 win over the Ravens in their preseason opener at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The Eagles’ various defensive units limited the Ravens to 164 total yards, 11 first downs, 2-for-12 on third down. In the second half, the Ravens managed just 55 yards.

Pretty good stuff!

Here’s our first edition of 10 Instant Observations of the year:

1. The Eagles are going to be relying heavily on their rookie draft class this year, and the preseason opener Friday night was an auspicious debut for a bunch of them. First-round pick Quinyon Mitchell nearly had an interception, 3^rd-round pick Jalyx Hunt looked quick and engaged in his first NFL game, 4^th-round pick Will Shipley scored the Eagles’ first touchdown and did some tough running and blocking, 5^th-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was very active and 6^th-round pick Johnny Wilson showed out both as a receiver and a blocker and 6^th-round pick Dylan McMahon showed nice athleticism pulling on a 13-yard run by Tyrion Davis-Price (that was negated by a penalty). It’s too early to draw any final conclusions on this draft class, but this group does look awfully promising. And that’s without 2^nd-round pick Cooper DeJean, who’s been out a couple weeks with a hamstring injury.

2. It only took a few plays before we saw what the Eagles love about Mitchell. On an early 3^rd-and-10 from the Eagles’ 29-yard-line, Ravens QB Josh Johnson fired across the middle to Malik Cunningham, the former Louisville quarterback converting to wide receiver. Mitchell had it played perfectly and lunged in front of Cunningham to knock the ball down. The rookie 1^st-round pick probably should have had an interception on the play, but a sweet pass deflection on his fifth NFL snap isn’t bad. Mitchell didn’t play a lot, but that play was impressive. On the topic of corners, Kelee Ringo looked terrific , notably breaking up what could have been a Johnson touchdown pass to Temple’s Keith Kirkwood in the second quarter and then making a big knockdown on a pretty good pass from Johnson to Rutgers rookie Isaiah Washington in the final seconds of the first half. Ringo is so talented. Isaiah Rodgers was a little loose in coverage giving up a 19-yarder to Kirkwood earlier on that drive, but considering it was his first game in 592 days, he’s allowed.

3A. Kenny Pickett got the first half and one series of the second half, and he didn’t do anything dazzling – his longest completion went just 10 yards to John Ross (on a 3^rd-and-17) – but considering he didn’t have A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley or Dallas Goedert and was working behind backup offensive linemen – and the Eagles were going as vanilla as possible – I thought he looked fine. He spread the ball around and got rid of the ball a little quicker than he has been at practice. This is still a new offense for Pickett, and he’s talked about how hard it is to unlearn an old system while learning a new one. But after a slow start to camp he’s gradually gotten sharper and more comfortable this summer, and on the backup quarterback scale he’s above Marcus Mariota and below Jeff Garcia. The former Steeler finished 14-for-22 for 89 yards with a seven-yard TD pass to Will Shipley late in the first quarter. As the deeper backup linemen and receivers came in, he sputtered a little. But overall he showed command of the offense, found the open man, moved around the pocket pretty well and avoided mistakes running a bunch of bleh plays. That’s all you’re looking for at this point.

3B. Tanner McKee did lead a 17-play touchdown drive as soon as he got in the game early in the third quarter but overall didn’t look particularly sharp. McKee has been very good in training camp, and considering that he was out there with some pretty deep backups and was victimized by a couple drops, it’s kind of hard to evaluate him. He made a few nice throws – a 3^rd-and-5 first down completion to Ainias Smith with 4 ½ minutes left was huge – and he wasn’t terrible. But you’d like to see a little more consistency and accuracy, especially on those outs.

4. Shipley’s a fun player and he’s going to have a role on this team. After Kenny Gainwell got the first series – and ran four times for 23 yards – the rookie 4^th-round pick got eight touches on the Eagles’ second drive and ran for 23 yards before catching that touchdown from Pickett. I don’t think Shipley’s going to get a ton of carries, but you saw on the TD his flair for getting open out of the backfield and the soft hands that make him such a consistent receiver. In Moore’s offense, every receiver, tight end and back is going to be eligible.

5. How about that No. 54? Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has had a promising training camp and he was able to transfer the playmaking he’s shown lately at the NovaCare Complex to his first pro game. First, in punt coverage, Trotter made a nice solo stop on Damarion Williams, limiting him to a seven-yard gain. And moments later, on a 3^rd-and-2, he stopped Ravens QB Josh Johnson for no gain – officially a sack – forcing a Ravens punt. It would be easy to say that Trott’s role will be solely on special teams – and he’s going to be very good there – but considering the state of the Eagles’ linebacker position, don’t be surprised if Vic Fangio finds a role for him. It won’t be a huge one, but the kid is smart, quick, athletic, active and instinctive, and he’s really been showing up lately. Speaking of linebackers, it was good to see Nakobe Dean run around and make a couple plays. He seems buried behind Zach Baun on the depth chart, but he didn’t hurt himself last night.

6. Britain Covey and Johnny Wilson both did some good things as they battle for wide receiver reps behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Covey caught four passes for 25 yards in limited playing time and I am standing by my belief that the kid can be a decent slot receiver in the NFL. He knows how to get open, he catches everything and he’s quick with the ball in his hands. Kellen Moore is going to find a role for him on offense. Wilson also had a catch in his first NFL game, but what’s really going to impress the coaches is the way he blocked. He’s not just a willing blocker, he’s a very effective blocker. He had a big block on Covey’s second catch and another one on the Shipley touchdown. Interesting player. He’s gone from a 6^th-round longshot a month ago to a guy who’s got a roster spot locked up. As for Covey, he also had one of his patented punt returns where he gets clobbered like three times but keeps his balance, doesn’t go down and somehow picks up 26 yards.

7. Overall, I liked what I saw from the non-starters on defense. In addition to Trotter, guys like defensive tackles Moro Ojomo and Marlon Tuipulotu, 2^nd-year undrafted linebacker Ben VanSumeren, rookie edge Jalyx Hunt and safety Tristin McCollum all made plays and looked fast and physical. The Ravens picked up 29 yards on their first two plays, then managed just 82 yards on their next 30 plays through the end of the third quarter. At one point, they went six straight drives without a first down, netting just 26 yards on those six drives. We know Fangio likes to find roles for everybody who dresses out, so some of these guys are going to play this year. I thought in general, the defense looked fast and physical, granted against mainly Ravens backups.

8. You know  who keeps jumping out to me? Darian Kinnard, a free agent combo guard-tackle who began his career as a 5^th-round pick of the Chiefs in 2022. The Eagles brought in a ton of backup linemen this offseason – Matt Hennessy, Max Scharping, Nick Gates – but the one who’s been most impressive is Kinnard, who I think has the team made. He’s a tough, physical, 6-foot-5, 325 pounds, and he’s already got two Super Bowl rings to his name. He’s been working with the second o-line at both tackles and right guard. Jeff Stoutland seems to think the world of the kid, and that’s good enough for me.

9. One other thing we saw Friday night was that the Eagles have some very good depth at running back. In addition to Gainwell’s 4-for-23 and Shipley’s 7-for-23, Davis-Price ran six times for 34 yards, Lew Nichols was 7-for-21 and undrafted Georgia rookie Kendall Milton was the one getting the ball on the final drive and ran tough, picking up 39 yards on nine carries against a stacked box. So with five different guys getting work, none of them named Saquon Barkley, the Eagles’ backs ran for 140 yards. One of those guys – Davis-Price, Nichols or Milton – will make the roster and another one will probably be on the practice squad. Good competition. It’s a very solid room.

10. We probably don’t talk about Patrick Johnson enough, but he’s now in his fourth year with the Eagles, and there’s probably a roster spot for him, and in the final seconds of the game we saw why. He’s mainly a special teamer – and a very good one – but that play at the end showed what he’s capable of as an edge and why he keeps finding ways to make the roster every September. On the Ravens’ first snap after Elliott missed the 50-yarder, Johnson strip-sacked Ravens QB Emory Jones and recovered the ball at the Ravens’ 32, setting up Elliott’s game winner. The Eagles have a lot of question marks at edge – Bryce Huff has only had one big year, Josh Sweat finished last year with eight straight sackless games, Brandon Graham is 36, nobody knows what to expect from Nolan Smith – so it’s nice to have a guy like Johnson around who gives great effort, knows how to play the game and can make a big play when he gets the opportunity.