The Eagles opened up the preseason with a 17-9 home win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game that had some good (defense, special teams) and some not so good (the offense after the first three plays).
Here’s a recap of some of the more important moments, in GIFs:
First quarter
Dave Fipp’s special teamers, especially Najee Goode and Chris Maragos, started off the preseason with a bang:
And there’s that three tight end look Jimmy wrote about the other day, playing power football in the red zone. Call it a night, fellas:
Don’t you dare block Fletcher Cox 1-on-1:
Hey look, it’s Chase Vick:
Leodis McKelvin and Ed Reynolds were like this:
And Jim Schwartz was like this. No Chick-fil-A lemonade for those two guys:
Second quarter
Not sure how this isn’t called a safety, especially because Eli Manning isn't getting away with it. The refs said it was former Giant Rueben Randle who was in the area (when he was 15 yards away with his back turned to the throw), so maybe he’s the cheat code:
Maragos lays the wood on this poor returner, and then decides he wants to flex on Tampa’s sideline:
This was not good, Josh Huff. And that was not smart, Rueben Randle:
After a nice pass rush by Steven Means (Business), Maragos gets an easy pick:
Carson Wentz gives the crowd a salute and the fans go crazy!
(Not really, he was just giving the coaches a thumbs up that he could in fact hear them in the headset.)
This is the good stuff:
Third quarter
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss:
Um, I think Big V and Dillon Gordon didn’t hear the snap count:
We’re still not sure what Wentz exactly is as a player, but kudos to him for the first successful slide from an Eagles quarterback in the history of the franchise (SOURCE: Elias Sports Bureau):
This is the bad stuff:
Fourth quarter
After the pigskin pinballs off four players’ hands, Quentin Gause tracks back and comes up with the interception:
Timber!
Boom!
And finally, UDFA C.J. Smith (who had a nice overall game) sealed the deal and showed Wentz wasn’t the only good player at North Dakota State:
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann