Eagles practice: Offense edged out by Browns defense; Jalen Hurts has best throw; Landon Dickerson blocks the earth

BEREA, Ohio — The Eagles held their 13th open practice of the 2022 training camp on Thursday and it was a joint workout with the Cleveland Browns at their practice facility. Here were my 10 observations from Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Let’s get to the action from Day 13:

The first competitive period pitted receivers vs. defensive backs in one-on-one drills. I watched the Eagles offense on the field closest to me, while their defense worked out on the far field. These man-to-man drills often favor receivers as there is no rush and no help defense. But the Eagles consistently won most of their matchups. It should be noted two of the Browns’ starting cornerbacks — Pro Bowler Denzel Ward and slot Greg Newsome — did not participate in competitive drills as they return from injuries.

A.J. Brown kicked off the session by disposing of cornerback Greedy Williams on a go route and effortlessly snared quarterback Jalen Hurts’ lob pass. Quez Watkins and DeVonta Smith flashed speed and won their deep-ball repetitions. The latter receiver flew by rookie corner Martin Emerson. Smith did the same to corner A.J. Green and worked back for a sideline grab.

Zach Pascal’s hook route forced corner Herb Miller to slip and fall after changing directions. Jalen Reagor was able to muscle off corner Parnell Motley on a comeback route. Britain Covey struggled to shake Lavert Hill on a short route and the corner easily batted the ball away. Covey also got tied up with Motley and couldn’t get separation on a corner route.

The Eagles’ starting offensive line — or at least four-fifths of it — didn’t have much trouble in one-on-ones vs. the Browns defensive line. Right tackle Lane Johnson withstood defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s power rush. Right guard Isaac Seumalo had no problem with defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. Rookie center Cam Jurgens shielded defensive tackle Tommy Togiai off from penetration. And left guard Landon Dickerson handled defensive tackle Taven Bryan.

The Browns were without Myles Garrett, arguably the best defensive end in the NFL, but his backup, rookie Alex Wright, beat left tackle Jordan Mailata with an inside move.

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On the defensive line, three Eagles stood out in reps I was able to watch from afar. Defensive end Derek Barnett used his bend to turn the corner on a couple of Browns tackles. Marlon Tuipulotu scored victories in each of his battles and used slip moves to get by Browns guards. The second-year defensive tackle has shown notable improvement from last year’s camp. Rookie Jordan Davis’ devastating swim move from the three-technique propelled him past a Browns guard.

Special teams aren’t usually sexy, but the Eagles-Browns punt drills were spirited and involved a few altercations. Reagor, Covey, and running back Kenny Gainwell were, in order, the Eagles’ punt returners. Reagor fielded his fine. Covey had a bad read on an angled punt and was late. He was smoother on his next turn. Gainwell had a muff.

The Eagles’ Arryn Siposs showed off his leg with some booming punts. He had six kicks from his own 30 that averaged around 54 yards. He also had considerable hang time and only one that could be labeled a mis-hit.

There were a few dustups between those blocking and covering the punt. The most humorous came when receiver Devon Allen blocked a Browns player to the ground and then hurdled him in apparent celebration. Allen, of course, is one of the best 110-meter hurdlers in the world. But a few Browns players took exception and approached Allen. “Why get mad at an Olympian?” Brown joked afterward. “That’s what he does.”

Smith, watching from the sideline, seemed to be getting into it with Browns safety Richard LeCounte. Years back, LeCounte blocked Smith all the way into a bench at an all-star game. There was back-and-forth jawing. Tight end Dallas Goedert got involved. And finally coach Nick Sirianni interceded.

Hurts was, overall, good. I’d say a lot of the offensive issues weren’t primarily because of the quarterback. He had some nice throws, although few were downfield. But he did have one eye-popping toss to Brown. There was pressure that Hurts eluded as he slid to his left and then he threw a 15-yard pass on a rope in between a couple of defenders to his crossing receiver.

Earlier, Hurts hooked up with Brown on a 10-yard out. The chemistry between the two on that pass has made it a near certainty in camp. They also completed a slant in rhythm that picked up yards after the catch. Hurts also hit Goedert on a back shoulder, which has been a popular throw for the quarterback this summer. Goedert was also good on a 10-yard out.

Hurts went to Smith on three straight underneath passes to open the final team period. The receiver had space on the last throw and jetted up field. Hurts lofted a jump ball to Smith in the end zone that was a touch underthrown. But Williams was flagged for pass interference.

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Leaky protection and penalties marred the first unit’s first go-around. After a workmanlike start, which involved a Clowney offside penalty, a Boston Scott run was brought back by an Eagles hold. Later, Hurts had no one open and kept holding and holding the ball until he was “sacked” by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Hurts tried for tight end Jack Stoll on a shake route. The pass seemed fine, but Stoll could only get one hand on the ball and it deflected to the ground. Hurts floated one to Smith down the sideline to his left, but Emerson wrestled the ball out of his hands. An Eagles false start followed. And a toss to Smith, that he didn’t bother to secure, was out of bounds.

Hurts’ worst pass came when pressure forced him to his left. He threw across his body to Goedert in the middle of the field and Brown safety Ronnie Harrison was there to break it up. Hurts had to scramble again for little gain. Safety pre-snap disguise gave Hurts few options on another drop. He then left the pocket and threw to Watkins, but he was covered and the ball sailed wide. Bryan sacked Hurts on the final play of the set.

I didn’t get to watch all of the Eagles defense in team drills as they were practicing on the far field at the same time as the offense. But I did catch a few plays. Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who had just learned that he would be suspended 11 games, worked with the Browns second unit. He lifted a 25-yard pass to receiver Anthony Schwartz just over the leaping Avonte Maddox.

Third-string Browns quarterback Joshua Dobbs hooked up with David Njoku for a long gain after the tight end beat safety Jaquiski Tartt. Safety K’Von Wallace was also late to arrive.

Both teams reconvened for the final period on the near field. Cornerback Darius Slay came up to keep running back Kareem Hunt for a short gain. Defensive end Josh Sweat chased down now-starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett from behind. Browns receiver Amari Cooper caught a pass at the first down marker. Eagles cornerback Zech McPhearson tried to arm-tackle Nick Chubb. Brissett missed receiver David Bell over the middle.

The Eagles’ second-unit defense performed well in the last session. Wallace was over Cooper when he couldn’t hang on to a Watson heater. Outside linebacker Patrick Johnson might have been credited with a sack, and later forced Watson out of the pocket with a strong rush. Linebacker Davion Taylor slipped into the backfield and touched up running back John Kelly.

It isn’t very often that a block is the highlight of the day. But when Dickerson pancaked Browns linebacker Jacob Phillips, the Eagles reserve O-linemen exploded on the sideline. Dickerson got up and waved his hands almost as if he were dancing. Scott had all sorts of space after the handoff and took off.

A play earlier, the Eagles’ backfield was empty, and Hurts ran on a quarterback draw.

Gardner Minshew got off to a horrid start in team drills when he tried to loft a pass to Pascal. He either didn’t see Phillips underneath or was short on the throw, but the linebacker easily intercepted the pass. Minshew did hit Covey and Allen for a couple of short passes to end the set.

After a slant to Pascal, Minshew spiked a ball into the ground when a misdirection screen was diagnosed by the Browns, and he was “sacked” when defensive end Isaac Rochelle put Eagles tackle Jack Driscoll on skates.

In the second-unit offense’s last period, Gainwell was two-handed for a loss, a screen to Reagor was snuffed out, and Minshew was sacked on the first three plays. Stoll had a decent grab on a run-pass option play, though, and Reagor showed reliable hands when he pulled in a pass thrown slightly behind him.

The Eagles didn’t have any new additions and no apparent new injuries after Thursday’s workout. The following didn’t practice: cornerback James Bradberry (groin), tight end Grant Calcaterra (hamstring), linebacker Christian Elliss (hamstring), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (toe), center Jason Kelce (elbow), running back Miles Sanders (hamstring), and receiver Greg Ward (toe).

Reserve quarterback Reid Sinnett did take some snaps with the second unit. He hooked up with Stoll on a hitch route, but had a throw to receiver John Hightower tipped incomplete by linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk. Earlier in seven-on-sevens, Sinnett was intercepted when Motley stepped in front of Covey. … Rookie quarterback Carson Strong again did nothing beyond individual drills. … The second and last joint practice between the Eagles and Browns will be on Friday, again at 2 p.m.