Good, Bad, And Some Thoughts From Eagles' Preseason Win Over Bengals

PHILADELPHIA – If this game was played in December, maybe we’d be talking about a potential Super Bowl preview between the host Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals. Not on a Thursday night in early August. Not in the first preseason game.

Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow played two series for the Bengals and led two touchdown drives against an Eagles starting defense composed of mostly rookies and players looking to earn jobs.

Eagles starter QB Jalen Hurts didn’t play but Tanner McKee led a pair of scoring drives on his two series, one a touchdown, the other a 44-yard field goal from Jake Elliott to make the score 14-10 early in the second quarter.

McKee played the entire first half and you can see why the Eagles are confident in him being the backup to Hurts. He was accurate, on time, and moved well in the pocket.

He scored on a 1-yard, tush-push TD, much to the delight of the crowd on fourth down to end the first series, which included a 38-yard run from Will Shipley and two catches for 27 yards from Jahan Dotson.

McKee never cooled off. He played into the third quarter and finished 20-for-25 with 252 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 135.3.

Some notable plays, both good and bad for the Eagles, along with some thoughts from the Eagles 34-27 win.

Aug 7, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

GOOD

-Johnny Wilson. The receiver used his size to go up and make two nifty catches, covering 27 and 28 yards, respectively, then made a good adjustment on one throw near the end of the half for 18 yards.

Darius Cooper. This guy was second in the nation in receiving yards with Tarleton State last year. He had six catches for 82 yards and a 20-yard TD from McKee.

Ainias Smith. His 54-yard punt return after the two-minute warning set up the Eagles nine-second straight that gave them a 24-14 lead at halftime. He also snared a 6-yard touchdown on third-and-goal.

-Patrick Johnson. In the preseason opener last year, the outside linebacker/edge rusher made a strip-sack fumble late to help the Eagles beat the Ravens 16-13. In this year's season opener, he made an interception and returned it 16 yards to set the Eagles up at the 20. The offense cashed that into points for a 34-17 lead early in the final quarter.

The play came right after Johnson had a sack taken off the board when cornerback A.J. Woods was called for illegal contact.

-Ty Robinson. The rookie had a sack, with a bruising up-the-middle rush that decked backup Jake Browning. He also played a screen pass well late in the half, sniffing it out and instead of barreling toward the quarterback took away the running back who was supposed to be the target. Smart, guy, Robinson.

-Gabe Hall. The second-year undrafted free agent continued his solid summer with a very active game. The defensive lineman had pressure up the middle on one play then came flying in off the edge on another.

-A.J. Dillon. He had just five carries but looked like his old, battering ram self after a year away from the game with a neck injury. He collected 27 yards.

-Backup offensive linemen. The Eagles are deep on the offensive line. The backups were moving Bengals out of the way regularly with a configuration of, from right to left, Darian Kinnard, Matt Pryor, Drew Kendall, Brett Toth, and Myles Hinton.

BAD

-Cornerback play. Jakorian Bennett better be able to play, because Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo struggled. Ringo looked bad in giving up a 36-yard touchdown to Ja’Marr Chase – no shame there, but he didn’t compete well on the next series, giving up an 11-yard catch for a first down to Charlie Jones.

-Butter fingers. The Eagles dropped three should’ve-been interceptions by Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., and Eli Ricks. Ricks's would have been a pick-6 touchdown. The ball was thrown right to him, and he had nothing but about 20 yards of green grass in front of him.

-Special teams coverage. The Bengals had two long kickoff returns, though one was called back by holding penalty. Cinny also had a 32-yard punt return early in the third quarter after just a 40-yard punt by Braden Mann.

THOUGHTS

-Sydney Brown spent some time in the injury tent. Before going there, he played OK – not good, not great. Makes you wonder if Justin Simmons will be summoned before the weekend ends.

-McKee will be a starter in this league. He’s that good. It just won’t be in Philly where Hurts has that job locked down.

-Overreaction: This Eagles team is better than last year’s. See you in San Francisco.

More NFL: Eagles Offense Shines With Backup Receivers, Tanner McKee At Controls