Eagles-Jets Stock Market: 'Bubble' Movement?
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Intense thunderstorms threatened the Eagles preseason finale against the New York Jets on Friday night, doing a number on MetLife Stadium's playing surface.
The damage, which created a bubbling effect on the field, pushed kickoff back a half an hour but happened early enough before the 7:30 scheduled kickoff that things were able to calm down.
The irony of a bubbling field on the night so-called bubble players had one last opportunity to stake their claim when t comes to a potential 53-man roster spot should not go unnoticed.
Whether or not it was a positive sign from above or a negative one depended on the player in what turned out to be a 31-31 tie thanks to a Jets Hail Mary in the waning seconds and an ensuing two-point conversation.
With next Tuesday's cutdown deadline looming, here are the players who made strides and some who made the decisions harder on the Eagles' brass, along with those who should be updating the resume.
BUBBLE GAME BULLS
Boston Scott - Scott isn't on the bubble but he is one of the more underrated Eagles and showed off why on the first drive of the game when catching a short pass from Joe Flacco and using a little dip of the shoulder inside before racing past a flailing Jamien Sherwood for a 49-yard touchdown.
Kenny Gainwell - Gainwell continued his late run toward being a contributor with 32 yards rushing on five carries and another 27 yards receiving on four receptions. On the second drive of the night, Gainwell was responsible for 47 yards of the 78-yard march and capped it with a five-yard TD run up the middle.
Joe Flacco - The Eagles' veteran backup started for Jalen Hurts and was lights out, playing a half and completing 13-of-16 passes for 188 yards and two TDs with a 155.2 passer rating against his former team. Take out a bad drop by Greg Ward and a poor snap by Nate Herbig that resulted in a sack, and Flacco's numbers would have been even better.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside - The embattled JJAW capped the first-half scoring with a spectacular contested catch and run in which he battled his way past two defenders for a 42-yard touchdown with just five seconds left until the half. The former second-round pick did everything he could to make the last-second run to a roster spot by also doing the little things like blocking and contributing on special teams.
T.Y. McGill - McGill has made plays all summer and if this was a strict meritocracy he's made the team. The finishing statement was two sacks for the interior rusher. He might be the most interesting case study on the team because as a veteran journeyman Howie Roseman can probably manipulate things and still get McGill back.
Shaun Bradley/Greg Ward - With most of the starters sitting, it was Bradley and Ward who were the team captains and that says a lot when it comes to their status with the organization. Bradley started and finished with six tackles while Ward caught only one pass but stayed in front of Travis Fulgham when it came to playing time.
BUBBLE GAME BEARS
Mike Jacquet - Jacquet was certainly the most polarizing player after getting the start opposite rookie Zech McPhearson at cornerback. He was victimized by Josh Johnson and Lawrence Cager on a 2-yard TD pass.
The second-year player remains very raw in his technique and it's hard to trust him at this point but he did rebound late with a strip of Daniel Brown, which he scooped up and scored on a 32-yard touchdown that looked like he had sealed the game for the Eagles.
In truth, if Jacquet just took a knee after the strip, the contest would have been done but it's hard to fault a young player for making a splash play. That said, he got turned around on the Hail Mary and Andrew Adams couldn't bail him out as James Morgan got credit for a 49-yard TD pass to Kenny Yeboah.
Travis Fulgham - Once penciled in as a starter, Fulgham was playing in the second half and not producing until Nick Mullens hit him on a slant and the big receiver rumbled toward the end zone before Jets CB Jason Pinnock stripped the ball resulting in a touchback.
Richard Rodgers - Rodgers was playing into the second half which could be an indication that the veteran will be released with the idea of bringing him back in Week 2 if the plan is to carry the injured Tyree Jackson on the 53-man roster.
JaQuan Bailey - The undrafted rookie just has a difficult time setting the edge and probably needs a year to get in the weight room and add strength.
The Eagles Run Defense - For the third time in the preseason, the Eagles reserves couldn't get it done when it came to stopping the run, allowing 175 yards on the ground.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
