Eagles-Patriots analysis: Offense doesn’t escape preseason win unscathed despite the starters sitting

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The wait to see Jalen Hurts in the new offense under Kellen Moore outside of training-camp practices continues.

The Eagles’ franchise quarterback and his fellow first-string offensive starters did not dress for the Eagles’ preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday night, marking the second straight week they did not play. Last week against the Baltimore Ravens, the offensive starters suited up for warm-ups and ultimately did not take the field. Those players did not dress at all, even in pregame, at Gillette Stadium.

After the game, Nick Sirianni attributed the lack of offensive starters in the contest to the workload they shouldered in their joint practice with the Patriots on Tuesday.

“We had 89 plays against New England [in practice],” the Eagles coach said. “It was a long practice. It was a physical practice. We had some good one-on-one reps, also. And I felt like when you play two days [afterwards] … that’s not enough rest in my opinion to put those guys back out there. And they got enough work in that area.”

Still, the second game of the exhibition slate offered various unestablished players and newcomers opportunities to win or solidify roles on the Eagles roster. Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ 14-13 victory over the Patriots, sealed by a late Brandon Smith fumble recovery to prevent the home team from storming down the field on its final possession:

With Hurts on the bench, Kenny Pickett started the game behind the second-string offensive line, which included Tyler Steen at right guard. Mekhi Becton, who emerged as the front-runner for the starting right guard job while Steen was out with a left ankle injury earlier in camp, did not suit up.

But on the second play of the third series of the night for the Eagles offense, Steen got banged up in pass protection. He managed to walk off the field under his own power. After he visited the medical tent, a cart came out to take Steen back to the locker room. Shortly after he left the field, he was ruled out with an ankle injury. Sirianni said postgame that he didn’t know any details about the nature of Steen’s ailment, including whether he reaggravated his previous one.

The loss of playing time doesn’t bode well for Steen, who has yet to take a snap with the starting offensive line in practice since returning from his ankle injury on Aug. 5.

Pickett saw his night end earlier in Foxborough than it did against the Ravens, playing just the first half instead of the first half plus one series in the third quarter. After going three-and-out on the Eagles’ first possession, Pickett and the offense took advantage of the field position acquired by Avonte Maddox on a 47-yard interception return. An eight-play, 30-yard drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to put the Eagles up, 3-0.

But the Patriots, whose starters played for a couple series early in the game, held Pickett and the Eagles offense scoreless for the rest of the first half. Their pass rush was particularly disruptive, sacking Pickett on four occasions in a span of 10 plays. Max Scharping, in at left tackle, conceded pressure on two of those sacks.

It wasn’t all doom-and-gloom for Pickett. Following the second sack that brought up second-and-22, he connected with running back Will Shipley on a catch-and-run screen pass for a gain of 19 yards. Pickett finished the night going 11-of-13 for 67 yards and no touchdowns for a passer rating of 88.1.

“I think they were moving guys around and I think they had their top guys in there for a while too, and that’s a great opportunity for us,” Pickett said of the pressure he faced. “The twos and threes and a bunch of guys are trying to make this team and compete against the best they have. There was a lot good and definitely some bad that we can learn from, take what it is and move on.”

Tanner McKee took over for Pickett in the second half. The second-year quarterback whom the Eagles selected in the sixth round out of Stanford fared better in the passing game, completing seven passes for more than 10 yards each.

Joseph Ngata snared the longest two of the night, including a 23-yarder down the right sideline that was initially called for offensive pass interference. The referee eventually picked up the flag. Ngata also caught a 28-yard pass over the middle of the field to bring the Eagles to the red zone, setting up a Kendall Milton 1-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass from McKee to Ainias Smith.

McKee played six series total, going 15-for-19 for 140 yards and a touchdown pass for a 97.4 passer rating. Will Grier had one series after McKee’s first two.

While the offensive starters sat, various members of the defense vying for starting roles saw the field early in the night. Bryce Huff, the team’s top defensive offseason signing, started opposite Nolan Smith against the Patriots’ starting offense led by quarterback Jacoby Brissett. On the Patriots’ first drive of the night, Huff made back-to-back tackles for minimal gains, first on a 4-yard run from running back Rhamondre Stevenson and then on a 1-yard screen pass to wide receiver DeMario Douglas.

Zack Baun, in contention for one of the starting inside linebacker roles, got the start in the middle next to Devin White. He made his presence felt in the run game, posting a pair of tackles for no gain on the Patriots’ second series. Baun played for three series, while Huff played for two.

“I think they were all kind of around 10, 12, 14, somewhere in there, plays,” Sirianni said of Baun, White, and Huff. “That was our plan, to kind of get them that amount of reps. Just because they’re new to the team, new to the system. Zack Baun, new to that position a little bit as well.”

The Patriots evened the score, 3-3, early in the second quarter with a field goal of their own to round out an eight play, 28-yard drive. They earned a 15-yard boost on the series when Smith incurred a roughing-the-passer penalty for his high hit on quarterback Drake Maye.

However, Smith made up for his transgression late in the third quarter. On third-and-10, Smith brushed off a chip block from running back Kevin Harris and sacked Maye, the second-year pass-rusher’s second of the preseason.

Kelee Ringo and Isaiah Rodgers got the start at outside cornerback for a second straight week, while Quinyon Mitchell started in the slot. However, Rodgers only lasted one series and was replaced on the outside by Mitchell in base defense.

» READ MORE: Vic Fangio: Quinyon Mitchell slot experiment may help get ‘best combination’ of Eagles CBs on the field

Steen wasn’t the only Eagles player who sustained an injury. In the third quarter, the team announced that wide receiver John Ross was being evaluated for a concussion. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, he was ruled out.

Shortly after Ross was ruled out, tight end E.J. Jenkins appeared to sustain a leg injury after he was tackled on a 3-yard reception. He returned to action with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

Before the game, the Eagles announced that wide receiver Johnny Wilson was in concussion protocol following their joint practice on Tuesday against the Patriots.