What We Saw: Every Game From Preseason Week 2

Jaguars vs Eagles

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 Quarterback

• Gardner Minshew: 19/29, 202 yards, 3 sacks
• Alex McGough: 2/9, 10 yards, 2 carries, 21 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 sack

Gardner Minshew looked much better this week, showing a lot more poise when faced with pressure. His offensive line and running game didn’t do him many favors, but for the most part, he made the most of what he had to work with. He had a few plays early where he was able to avoid a sack and throw the ball away, and the Jaguars had him roll out and throw on the run more often as the game went on to help mitigate the pressure he was facing. He still needs to improve on his accuracy, but this was a step in the right direction. Alex McGough struggled as a passer but he did have two very impressive carries. The first one he caught a bad snap one-handed, spun and scrambled for a first down. The second came on fourth down in the red zone where he bought time with his legs before making a defender miss on his way to a touchdown.

 

Running Back

• Alfred Blue: 4 carries, 5 yards
• Thomas Rawls: 7 carries, 19 yards, 3 receptions, 19 yards

Rookie Ryquell Armstead missed this game with an injury, so Alfred Blue and Thomas Rawls got to make their case for the backup role behind starter Leonard Fournette. Neither player had much opportunity to get going as the Eagles spent a lot of this game living in the Jacksonville backfield. Rawls had the better runs, showing some good power running through contact, but he also forgot to go on the field for a Jaguars punt which led to them taking a delay of game penalty. Those types of miscues make it harder for depth players to make the team, especially a veteran player like Rawls who should know better. Overall it doesn’t seem like Armstead missed much by sitting this game out, and whoever gets the backup job behind Fournette should hold good value as a handcuff heading into the season; this is a position battle to monitor going forward.

 

Wide Receiver/ Tight End

• Tre McBride: 4 receptions, 47 yards
• C.J. Board: 5 receptions, 54 yards
• Keelan Cole: 1 reception, 5 yards
• James O’Shaughnessy: 1 reception, 18 yards

The presumed starting wide receivers all sat out for the Jaguars tonight so we got a long look at Tre McBride and C.J. Board. Both were reasonably impressive when their targets were catchable. McBride was the recipient of a nice 23-yard throw from Minshew as the hot read on a blitz, and he had a screen pass he took for a touchdown that was unfortunately wiped out by a penalty. Board made a few nice catches in traffic and seemed to be Minshew’s preferred safety valve option. O’Shaughnessy should be the starting tight end for the Jaguars and he had a nice catch on a very high throw in traffic to pick up a first down. Nick Foles relied heavily on the tight ends during his time in Philadelphia, so if O’Shaughnessy shows some chemistry with Foles in their next preseason game he might be worth a late flier. Keelan Cole looks to be the odd man out from last season’s receiver group and can be ignored in drafts if he wasn’t already.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

 

 Quarterback

• Cody Kessler: 1/4, 11 yards, 1 carry, 14 yards
• Clayton Thorson: 16/26, 175 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 1 sack

The story for the Eagles was once again their backup quarterback leaving the game with an injury. On his first drive, Cody Kessler took a big hit from his blindside after rookie left tackle Andre Dillard forgot to block the defensive end, and Kessler was sent into the concussion protocol. Clayton Thorson came in and struggled with his accuracy, throwing high on a couple of his early attempts. He did seem to settle in as the game went along, but I would expect the Eagles to be in the market for a backup quarterback if Kessler were to miss any extended time.

 

Running Back

• Miles Sanders: 5 carries, 31 yards
• Jordan Howard: 4 carries, 15 yards
• Boston Scott: 8 carries, 43 yards, 1 touchdown
• Josh Adams: 5 carries, 7 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 reception, 19 yards

Most eyes in this game were on the rookie Miles Sanders and while he didn’t get much work, he was impressive with most of his touches. He did have one carry where he hesitated for a bit too long behind his blockers and took a loss in the backfield, but his other carries showcased his impressive burst. Jordan Howard was solid if unspectacular, converting a short third-down run and running in his typical north-south style. The blocking in front of both of them was mostly impressive, and both of them should have productive fantasy seasons in this offense.

 

Wide Receiver/ Tight End

• Charles Johnson: 3 receptions, 23 yards
• J.J. Arcega-Whiteside: 2 receptions, 20 yards
• Greg Ward: 2 receptions, 42 yards, 1 touchdown
• Will Tye: 3 receptions, 34 yards

Most of the Eagles starting pass-catchers sat this game out, which opened an opportunity for one of their more intriguing rookies in J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to get some playing time. He was a little disappointing, only hauling in two of his seven targets, but we did get to see how the Eagles want to utilize him in their offense. He was targeted a few times down the field in single coverage, and –although he wasn’t able to catch any of them–those targets are really valuable and show the team trusts him to make plays on contested catches. He did a good job using his frame to box out the defender on a slant route to pick up a first down and turned another short completion into extra yards with a nice stiff arm. If Alshon Jeffery were to miss any time, Arcega-Whiteside should slot into that role, so it’s worth monitoring his progress throughout the rest of preseason. Greg Ward did a nice job to jump up and grab a pretty bad throw from Thorsen and turn it into a 38-yard touchdown, and he also got to throw a pass on a trick play that he was fortunate wasn’t intercepted.

 

 — Dan Adams