What We Saw: Preseason Week 1

The WWS Team recaps the first week of the NFL Preseason

Jets @ Eagles

Final Score: Jets 24, Eagles 21

Writer: Ryan McDonough (@RyanTalksFF on Twitter)

 

While the obvious headline that will come from this game being that Jets quarterback Zach Wilson sustained a meniscus tear and a bone bruise, there were a few details to note from Friday night’s game from Philadelphia.

 

New York Jets

 

Quarterback

 

Zach Wilson: 3/5, 23 yards, INT | 1 carry, 7 yards

Mike White: 10/20, 98 yards | 1 carry, -3 yards

Chris Streveler: 6/9, 62 yards, 2 TD | 2 carries, 31 yards

 

Nobody in this quarterback room really showed much of anything on Friday night. Zach Wilson airmailed a couple of passes and threw an interception before suffering a knee injury at the end of the first quarter. Luckily for the Jets, reports Saturday morning indicate that Wilson may be back in time for the season opener.

Mike White didn’t do much to impress despite having the most reps. Chris Streveler’s numbers are rather deceiving, as a lot of the yards gained came after the catch on short passes.

 

Running Back

 

La’Michal Perine: 10 carries, 51 yards

Breece Hall: 5 carries, 15 yards

Zonovan Knight: 6 carries, 13 yards, 1 TD

Michael Carter: 3 carries, 5 yards| 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards

 

The Jets were definitely feeling the loss of Mekhi Becton, as they really struggled to get anything going on the ground. La’Michal Perine had a couple of nice runs, but a lot of the team’s rushing attempts seemed like an uphill climb to gain so much as a yard. Zonovan Knight, seems like a bruiser that might be able to vulture a couple of touchdowns during the grueling regular season, but that is about it.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Denzel Mims: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 25 yards

Garrett Wilson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 25 yards

Elijah Moore: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards

Lawrence Cager: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 40 yards

Tyler Conklin: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards

Jeremy Ruckert: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 3 yards, TD

 

Poor quarterback play was the name of the game for the Jets. Garrett Wilson definitely looked the best out of the receiving corps with crisp routes and good poise. Denzel Mims was targeted the most amongst his peers, but his struggles with drops have continued to persist into this season. Shoutout to Calvin Jackson for hauling in the game winning touchdown with sixteen seconds to go.

 

 

Lawrence Cager was easily the biggest bright spot for his squad, making a couple of big plays with his 6’5 frame. His numbers would have been even better if it weren’t for an illegal formation call cancelling out a high-difficulty catch for big yardage. It will be very interesting to see how the Jets’ staff elects to use Cager as the preseason ghee’s on, as a playmaking tight end has been something they have been without for years.

 

 

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Quarterback

 

Jalen Hurts: 6/6, 80 yards, TD

Gardner Minshew: 8/12, 81 yards | 3 carries, 11 yards

Reid Sinnett: 9/17, 81 yards, TD| 2 carries, 3 yards

 

Jalen Hurts returned to action without skipping a beat, as he marched his team right down the field for a score in their first preseason action. The three year Oklahoma product completed all six of his passes and capped it off with a 22 yard strike to Dallas Goedert before checking out of the game for the night. Gardner Minshew continues to prove why he is one of the best backup quarterbacks in football, looking very sharp spreading the ball around during his playing time. The same could not be said for Reid Sinnett who appeared to be utterly lost for a majority of the game to the point where any success he enjoyed felt like a fluke.

 

 

Running Back

 

Miles Sanders: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards

Jason Huntley:  16 carries, 48 yards, TD | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards

Kennedy Brooks: 7 carries, 26 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards, TD

 

Jason Huntley may have proven to be someone to keep an eye on as the preseason continues, as he played in every quarter of this matchup. While the 3 yards per carry may not seem impressive, it is clear that the Eagles value Huntley as a pass catching option, as shown by his 5 targets on the day, leading the team in that category. Kennedy Brooks put together a couple of nice runs later in the game, but didn’t do enough to steal the spotlight from Huntley.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Zac Pascal: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 41 yards

Quez Watkins: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 32 yards

Jalen Reagor: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards

Noah Togiai: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 29 yards

Dallas Goedert: 1 target, 1 receptions, 22 yards, TD

 

While the passing game was not pretty for the Eagles, these three receiver managed to do enough to get some looks from fantasy managers. Zac Pascal  was by far the most impressive, making a couple of big plays to make up for dropped passes from earlier in the game. Quez Watkins continued to show a strong relationship with Jalen Hurts that dates all the way back to the 2020 NFL season. Jalen Reagor commanded a healthy number of targets despite many questioning his fit on the team with even more WR help joining the roster this offseason. These three can definitely be looked at for some waiver wire transactions if one of the Eagles starters goes down, but it is really anyone’s guess as to who it would be.

Not really much to talk about here. Dallas Goedert made a really nice play for a score in his only series, showing why he is certainly capable of being a top 10 TE this season. Togiai didn’t necessarily “wow” with any of his play, but was an instrumental part of the Eagles moving the ball down the field for a score in the fourth before giving up the lead.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.