Eagles' Sam Bradford passes his first test

THE MOST significant moment of the Eagles' season so far occurred late Saturday night, when Sam Bradford strode through the short corridor from the locker room and bounded into the Lincoln Financial Field interview room, following a 40-17 preseason victory over Baltimore.

Bradford had taken two big hits in his 12-play, 14-snap debut as the team's starting quarterback, including one that drew a 15-yard, low-blow roughing penalty on the Ravens' Terrell Suggs. Yet Bradford emerged unscathed, and maybe more important, unflustered.

"You would have to ask him, but I think that was what he was trying to do," Bradford said, when asked if he thought Suggs went after his twice-repaired knee. "That's part of the game. You just have to move on. I was a little upset. I'm not sure I can probably repeat what I said to him. Like I said, it's part of the game. I'm sure that's not the last time that's going to happen this year.''

We don't know Suggs' intent when he came flying in unblocked from the offense's left side, five plays and six snaps into the Eagles' first series of the evening. We know that he went low, and when Bradford turned to the side, avoiding a blow from Suggs' helmet and pads, Suggs reached out with his right arm to grab at Bradford's left knee. Maybe it was with intent to injure. Or maybe Suggs - who later told reporters he held back a bit - intended something more like a brushback pitch in baseball, hoping to get Bradford thinking, get him rattled.

It really doesn't matter. In the coming days, Suggs will be fined or not. The league will either follow what officiating head Dean Blandino has said in the past - that on a read option play, a QB without the ball is fair game, unless he's just standing there in the pocket, as Bradford was - or the league will come up with some rationale to rule Suggs' play legit. Either way, it'll be a short blurb in the paper.

The Eagles won't play the Ravens again this season, unless they meet in Super Bowl 50. The real issue: Bradford wasn't injured and he didn't seem rattled. He was a little high with some of his throws, but he moved the Eagles downfield crisply, en route to a 7-0 lead, on Ryan Mathews' 14-yard touchdown run, on which Mathews was not touched. Bradford made a fine read, finding Jordan Matthews for a 15-yard gain the play before the touchdown run, Bradford seeing the safety in the middle of the field had followed Darren Sproles, leaving Matthews open.

"He's a tough guy," Eagles left tackle Jason Peters said of Bradford, after Peters used the word "dirty" in describing what he thought of Suggs' actions. "He took us all the way down the field and we scored. That says a lot for Sam."

It says a little for Peters as well, and a running game that is looking very powerful (38 carries for 238 yards against the Ravens, 6.3 yards per carry.) Peters made his initial block at the line on Mathews' touchdown run, then got to the second level and took out linebacker C.J. Mosley.

"I thought we responded well after and put together a nice drive," Bradford said. "When things like that happen in a game, you can't dwell on it, you just have to keep going."

Bradford, who finished 3-for-5 for 35 yards, said last week he wanted to take a hit early, to get that hurdle behind him. This was "probably not the one I had in mind when I said that, but it was good," he said. "I feel good. I think it's part of the game and it's one of those hurdles, one of those last boxes that needed to be checked off."

Sure, Chip Kelly could have kept Bradford out there a little longer, but ever since acquiring Bradford from the Rams in March, Kelly's approach to the QB coming off back-to-back ACL tears has been very deliberate. Nothing more than 7-on-7 work in the spring. No snaps in the preseason opener, live action postponed so he could get the three days of joint practice work with the Ravens behind him. Kelly said his plan was for Bradford to get 10 to 15 snaps Saturday night, and that was what Bradford got. It was all on one series? Too bad.

"I thought he looked good for the first time back out there," Kelly said. "I think we'll get back to the film room with him and find out what his thought process was and where he was. But I think he's happy, just got his chance to get back on the field and play football again."

Presumably, Bradford, who yesterday celebrated the one-year anniversary of his most recent ACL tear, and other starters will play more in the third preseason game, this Saturday at Green Bay. Then they'll sit out the preseason finale against the Jets, as is NFL custom. Will that be enough to get Bradford ready for the Sept. 14 opener at Atlanta? Maybe. Maybe not. Kelly might be thinking more about getting him through the season, building Bradford's confidence step by step, then about whether he will be razor-sharp in the first of 16 games.

"Hopefully things will slow down a little bit" at Green Bay, Bradford said. "I think I was a little amped up the first couple of plays out there," overthrowing an open Riley Cooper deep.

Bradford said there isn't "an exact number" of reps he needs to get ready for the season, "but I think the more reps, the more work I get, the better."

He is finally on his way, though, and as Bradford noted last week, he hasn't had to miss a practice or even a rep because of his knee.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian