7 Winners, 5 Losers From Eagles Preseason Opening Loss to Ravens

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The preseason opener for the Philadelphia Eagles was one to forget about.
Not only did the Eagles have 159 total yards of offense and have 10 penalties, they were 0-for-9 on third down and had just two first downs into the fourth quarter. The offensive showing was embarrassing, even for the second and third team.
There will be corrections, there will be improvements. Even with the poor offensive showing, there were some standouts in the loss. Some players certainly helped their roster chances in the preseason opener, while others hurt them.
Who were the biggest winners and losers from the preseason opener? There were several names to highlight.
Winners
Jeremiah Trotter Jr.: Jihaad Campbell was the lone defensive starter to play in the opener (and he played well), but Trotter Jr. was the best player on the field. He finished with five tackles and a sack for the Eagles, consistently finding his way to the football and blowing up the A-gap and B-gap on several plays. Trotter. Jr. should be starting on an NFL team somewhere.
Ty Robinson: Give Robinson a lot of credit for stacking up some good practices this week, and backing it up with a sack in the first half -- that eventually led to a missed field goal by the Ravens. The sack was the lone highlight for Robinson, but that's the progress the Eagles want to see. Robinson is on the roster bubble, but he's showing why the Eagles should keep him around.
Kelee Ringo: This could have been a disastrous game for Ringo, as he was in position for a pass breakup but ended up having a pass interference play that was going to set the Ravens up for a touchdown. On the next play, Ringo gets an interception just prior to the half and keeps points off the board. Ringo is a bubble player that's an excellent special teams player, but needs to show something at cornerback to lock up that roster spot. Plays like that interception, and the way he responded to a negative play, certainly help.
Cole Payton: Didn't think this was a quarter Payton played well, but he was the only quarterback to move the offense. Payton used his legs to accomplish that, having three carries for 45 yards, including a 17-run run on fourth down. He also threw a touchdown pass to Erik Ezukanma for the Eagles' lone score. Payton finished with 82 total yards in two series and still needs to work on his passing, but this was a positive performance.
Markel Bell: Easy to see where Bell's frame shows up on tape, as the outside zone set up some positive runs for Will Shipley. While Shipley had a good night running the football, Bell's presence played a role in his big runs -- and Shipley should have had more positive runs if not for holding penalties. Bell's first game at right tackle went smoothly.
Joshua Weru: There's a lot of work to do for Weru, but this first football game (ever in his life) was a net positive. Weru had a quarterback hit and two pressures on his first drive, showcasing himself to otherNnFL teams he can get to the quarterback. The Eagles may have to protect Weru on the 53-man roster after all, which was unexpected once camp started.
Marcus Epps: Notice who didn't play in this game? That would be Epps, who is in a battle with Michael Carter for the starting safety job. While Carter seems to be on par with Epps for the job, it's pretty telling Epps didn't play with the rest of the starters. Perhaps Epps has the starting job locked up already.
Losers
Andy Dalton: The starter for this game -- and the leader of the QB2 battle -- didn't do much to ensure the job. This is why the QB2 battle was called a push heading into this game. The offense failed to pick up a first down in Dalton's three series (all in the first quarter), running nine plays for 12 yards. Dalton finished 3-of-6 for 20 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per attempt, and he was 1-of-3 for 8 yards on third down. This wasn't a good performance for Dalton, who couldn't get the vanilla offense going.
Tanner McKee: While Dalton was bad, McKee wasn't any better. The Eagles ran 20 plays for 40 yards when McKee was in the game -- a whomping average of 2.0 yards per play. McKee went 6-of-10 for 35 yards and 0-for-3 on third down, but at least the Eagles had two first downs when McKee was in the game. This was a golden opportunity for McKee to take the lead in the QB2 battle and he didn't seize the moment. The QB2 battle is poor at this moment.
Darius Cooper: This was a performance made for Cooper to shine, pick up from the momentum for training camp. In Cooper's defense, Jalen Hurts wasn't throwing him the football -- which may have been the difference. Cooper had a poor drop on third-and-5 that cost the Eagles a first down, a play he made frequently in camp. Those are catches that have to be made if players want to make roster. Cooper will get plenty more opportunities to make up for one poor game.
Myles Hinton: A holding penalty in the fourth quarter didn't help Hinton's chances of making this roster, as it almost stalled the Eagles touchdown drive. Hinton just hasn't bene good enough this summer, being stuck on the third team at guard. His roster chances are slim.
Eli Stowers: Another player that had a holding penalty, expect this was on the first play of the game -- and set the tone for the rest of the night. Stowers struggled to block in his first game and his two catches came late in the first half when the Ravens wanted the Eagles to run the clock out. There's a lot to work on with Stowers' game, which is why he's the TE3.

Jeff Kerr covers the Philadelphia Eagles for On SI, part of the Sports Illustrated network and has covered the NFL for 10 years for CBS Sports. He's covered two Super Bowls, three conference championship games, and multiple playoff games in his career. Jeff also covers the Phillies for 97.3 ESPN FM in South Jersey and has been on the Phillies beat for multiple years. He also hosts multiple podcasts including an Eagles one for On SI.
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