Eagles vs. Ravens Observations: Tanner McKee Solid, Jalen Carter Debuts in Loss
BALTIMORE – It’s probably best not to overreact to preseason games, especially after the Philadelphia Eagles went 1-2 during last summer’s exhibition slate, including a 48-10 loss pinned on them by the Miami Dolphins in the final game of August.
There’s no fun in not overreacting, so away we go, with 10 observations from the Eagles’ 20-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, who won their 24th straight exhibition game, at M&T Stadium and the Inner Harbor.
Tanner McKee. Locked in a battle with Ian Book to be the team’s third quarterback, the rookie sixth-round pick may have found the key to winning that job. He entered the game after two series handled by Marcus Mariota and played all of the third quarter.
McKee was 10-for-20 for 148 yards. He wasn’t perfect but he was better than Book by a mile.
Book took a 21-yard sack then, on a two-point conversion after an Eli Ricks pick-6 with 7:03 to play, he threw an interception.
Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. The defensive duo didn’t get many snaps, but Smith had a quarterback hit during his brief run while Carter’s first snap was lethal. He beat Ben Cleveland with speed and hit quarterback Josh Johnson, who was forced to throw the ball away and have to punt.
Like Carter, Cleveland went to Georgia, though he is in his third NFL season.
The Carter and Smith duo will be fun to watch this season.
Running backs. The first depth chart of the season came out in the days leading up to the game and, even though it’s compiled by the PR staff, had five players listed as first team.
Two of them didn’t dress – Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott. Could it be that they have the team already made?
The other three first-team depth chart guys had their moments in the first half.
D’Andre Swift had two runs for 24 yards, including one that covered 22 yards when he made a defender miss in the open field before running through a tackler, Rashaad Penny was a workhorse with nine carries for 34 yards in the first half, and Trey Sermon ran hard and scored from two yards out.
Of all the roster decisions the Eagles will have to make, it will be this position that will be the most difficult, with the cornerback group a close second.
Mekhi Garner. If he wants to make the team the undrafted free-agent cornerback has to show up on special teams, and he did. Already having a solid camp, he forced a fumble on a Ty Zentner punt that long-snapper Rick Lovato recovered at the Baltimore 14. The Eagles couldn’t cash it into points as a fourth-and-two throw from the 6 to Joseph Ngata from McKee was low.
There’s a numbers crunch at a very deep cornerback spot for Philly, but more plays like that and Garner could force a difficult decision from the Eagles’ brass.
Eli Ricks. Speaking of forcing a tough decision at cornerback, Ricks may have put his name in the conversation with a 31-yard pick-six with 7:03 to play that brought the Eagles to within 20-19. Showing up late in games is always a good thing.
He also had a pass breakup on the Ravens' ensuing possession.
Tyrie Cleveland. Joseph Ngata was the undrafted free agent receiver opening eyes in camp, but when the lights came on in a game, it was Cleveland who shined. Cleveland, a seventh-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2020 who has eight career catches for 91 yards, was targeted 10 times, making five catches for 68 yards with a long of 27.
Ngata had one catch for four yards on three catches.
It probably won’t matter. It’s doubtful either player will make the roster, especially since Britain Covey was given the night off.
Greg Ward. Another receiver who has a better shot at winning the Mega Millions than making the roster, Ward deserves a better fate. He caught all five of his targets for 53 yards before departing with cramps.
Second-team offensive line. There was a lot to like about this unit, which consisted of center Josh Andrews, left guard Josh Sills, right guard Sua Opeta, left tackle Tyler Steen, and right tackle Jack Driscoll. They helped lead a pair of long drives to start the game and helped the Eagles outgain the Ravens in the first half 271 yards to 114 while picking up 15 first downs to Baltimore’s seven and taking a 13-10 lead at the break.
K’Von Wallace. Really enjoyed his celebration after making a tackle for no gain when he dusted off the “crane,” a move made famous in the original ‘Karate Kid’ movie. The safety’s solid camp translated to the game. He made five tackles and had a forced fumble late in the half that went out of bounds, a break for the Ravens with an Eagles defender the only one near the ball as it bounded out.
Nick Morrow and Christian Ellis. Nakobe Dean was given the night off, but Nick Morrow and Christian Ellis weren’t. Any concerns about Morrow about a lackluster camp may have been put to rest with an active game that saw him four tackles. Elliss, however, over-pursued one tackle and was blocked out of the way during a 37-yard run by the Ravens.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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