What We Learned: Eagles v. Jaguars

What We Learned: Eagles v. Jaguars

The Eagles wrapped up the first half of preseason football with a double-digit win over the Jaguars. Here’s what we learned from Thursday’s action:

Daeshon Hall

Hall is making the team and there’s no question about it. According to PFF and anyone with a set of working eyes, Hall has easily been the NFL’s best pass rusher through two weeks of preseason football. His stats through two games: eight tackles, three sacks, five quarterback hits, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. It remains unknown if Philadelphia will hold on to more than four DEs or be forced to cut ties with Josh Sweat and Shareef Miller. 

Eagles QB Depth

Two weeks, two backup quarterbacks injured. In the first quarter, Kessler took a massive hit from a Jaguars free rusher and left the game with a concussion. Down to only Clayton Thorson with the regular season nearing, the Eagles lured Josh McCown out of retirement with a fully guaranteed contract (which means he is much more than just a camp body). Thorson did play fairly well, so that is some good news for Philadelphia. The Eagles' decision to sit Carson Wentz through at least this first half of preseason play looks much more appealing to fans now. 

Jordan Mailata

Mailata played an encouraging game on Thursday. There were several plays where he simply just cleared anyone in his path. He was responsible for the gaping hole on a Miles Sanders big run and another play where he removed two defensive linemen from the equation. Besides getting disrespected by Josh Allen (a very, very good football player) on one snap, Mailata delivered a performance to be excited about. 

Reserve Linemen

Mailata wasn’t the only lineman to flash against the Jags. Nate Herbig, who came in for the benched Stefen Wisniewski, played extremely well, as did his running mate Sua Opeta. Matt Pryor wasn’t bad, but his penalty issues haven’t faded away. The Eagles seem to like him, but he hasn’t shown nearly enough to claim a roster spot over the competition. 

Miles Sanders

Sanders broke a few runs with the assistance of some dominant offensive line play. He’s already the best RB #26 from Penn State in the NFC East and I really can't think of a close second. 

Jake Elliott

Elliott seems to be automatic from long distance, but don’t bank on him drilling a 35-yarder at any given moment. We didn’t see him attempt any shorter kicks this week, but he easily knocked down a field goal from 52. 

-By: Micah Jimoh