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Eason Finishes Successful NFL Exhibition Season, Ready If Needed

The former Husky quarterback handled himself well, completing more than 60 percent of his passes in three outings.
Dan Raley|
Eason Finishes Successful NFL Exhibition Season, Ready If Needed
Eason Finishes Successful NFL Exhibition Season, Ready If Needed

Jacob Eason appears to have solidified his quarterback role with the Indianapolis Colts on Friday night after turning in his third consecutive efficient and final NFL preseason outing.

The former University of Washington player also got some unwanted help in his quest to earn the back-up job, if not start, after watching Texas rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger go down with a knee injury in the Colts' 27-17 victory over the Detroit Lions in the Motor City.

Eason, starting and playing four series, completed 10 of 14 passes for 74 yards while driving Indianapolis to a pair of field goals. 

He finished the preseason hitting on 41 for 62 attempts for 399 yards, throwing no touchdown passes or interceptions.

“There’s no doubt [he's made progress]," Colts coach Frank Reich said after Friday's game. "The other thing I like about Jacob is he doesn’t get rattled out there. Seems to be under control. You know, there’s always ways we can get better and things to get better at. He’s a young player and he’s made the progress that he should make and that he has made. So, that’s a credit to him."

Ehlinger played only the last series of the half, six plays in all, before he was seriously injured.

In the second half, the Colts used late training camp pick-up Brent Hundley the entire way, partly to insure that Eason stayed healthy in case the second-year player needs to step up and start the regular-season opener on September 12 against the Seattle Seahawks at home.

Former UW defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, once an Eason teammate, made his NFL debut for the Lions and finished with a pair of tackles.

Projected Colts starter Carson Wentz is coming off foot surgery. He recently was cleared to practice again, but it's not clear whether he'll be ready to play in two weeks.

For Eason, this NFL preseason was his coming-out party after he didn't play or take practice reps with the Colts as a rookie last year.

He seemed to hold up well, getting more comfortable with each outing, all victories. He was sacked only in his first outing against Carolina, going down three times and losing the ball once.

Regardless of Wentz' situation, Eason appears to have impressed the Colts with his progress and could be ready to go if needed. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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