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Eagles Force Four Turnovers, Blank Steelers

Adrian Fedkiw|

The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense appears to be in midseason form; the offense, not so much.

Nolan Carroll had one of the Eagles’ four interceptions, which was returned 38 yards for a touchdown, and Philadelphia blanked the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-0 Thursday night in preseason action.

The Eagles, of course, were without Carson Wentz, who suffered a hairline fracture in his ribs last week. Dorial Green-Beckham played briefly and was targeted twice after arriving in Philadelphia Wednesday following Tuesday’s trade with the Tennessee Titans, which saw the Eagles obtain him for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly.

Green-Beckham made his first appearance midway through the third quarter on Philadelphia’s opening possession of the second half. He came in to run a fade into the back right corner of the end zone, but Chase Daniel didn’t put enough air under the ball for the 6-foot-5 receiver to bring it down.

His other target came in the fourth when he slipped at the top of his route and subsequently dropped the ball. 

Sam Bradford was 14-of-19 for 115 yards, Kenjon Barner carried the ball six times for 41 yards and a score and the undrafted Paul Turner continued his impressive summer. He caught three passes for 44 yards, including a ridiculous one-handed snag that went for 23 yards. He’s been the only one not dropping passes so far.

Carroll might quickly be solidifying himself as the starting cornerback opposite Leodis McKelvin. He had three extraordinary plays in the opening quarter. The Steelers attempted to test his injured foot on the first play of the game by going deep to Darrius Heyward-Bey along the left sideline, but Carroll did a nice job of turning and running with the receiver, riding the hip and making a play on the ball.

Here’s the pick-six. Carroll read Landry Jones’ eyes, cut in front of the receiver and hauled in the interception and easy touchdown.

This was very similar to the first pass breakup. Carroll was matched up against the speedy Sammie Coates this time, again turning and running with the receiver, riding the hip and steering him toward the sideline before the pass fell incomplete.

As for the other interceptions, here’s Malcolm Jenkins’ pick where he hauled in the ricochet of McKelvin’s pass breakup in the back right corner of the end zone.

Grymes’ interception was the prettiest. He’s turned heads during Training Camp, had a solid game last week and backed it up with this pick in the back right corner of the end zone.

Marcus Smith should be peering over his shoulder because Steven Means is lurking. This is the second consecutive week where his pressure forced an interception, which was by Jaylen Watkins.

The wide receivers were again inconsistent. Nelson Agholor posted a pair of receptions for 30 yards. He climbed the ladder for this insane 22-yard catch, but then dropped the ball on the very next snap. At least he sprinkled in some glimpses, whereas nobody else but Turner did. 

Josh Huff continues to disappoint and will be on the bubble of making the team if he can’t catch the ball like he did here. This was a very strong and accurate throw on the out-pattern by Bradford.

Lane Johnson’s looming suspension had him in the game with the second and third stringers. Rookie third-round pick Isaac Seumalo got the start at left guard and Allen Barbre, the usual starter at left guard, kicked out to take Johnson’s place at right tackle. Seumalo, like last week, took some lumps in pass protection, but did have some nice blocks in the run game, including this play where he pulled and sealed magnificently.

The backup linemen took a lot of heat last week for their play, but rebounded Thursday. Head coach Doug Pederson kept the game plan conservative and called a lot of three step drops. Barrett Jones, Stefen Wisniewski and Josh Andrews made a lot of key blocks during Philadelphia’s 15-play, 87-yard drive to start the third. Here’s Jones’ key block, which sprung Barner free for the lone offensive touchdown of the game.

The Eagles’ next preseason game is slated for next Saturday night when they head to Indianapolis and take on the Colts.

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