Eagles preseason game ball: Oren Burks, Ben Ben VanSumeren make sacks in otherwise forgettable finale

Oren Burks and Ben Ben VanSumeren each made nice plays resulting in sacks in an ugly preseason loss.

Ben VanSumeren (57)
Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles wrapped up their preseason with a 26-3 barn-burner of a loss to the Vikings – yeah, that's a bit of sarcasm. 

It's the third preseason game. The starters were kept in street clothes and 90 percent of the guys on the field were out there to build up tape at this point, such is the nature of late-August exhibition football. 

But it's over now and the anticipation shifts to final cuts and then the real thing in two weeks on September 6 in Brazil. 

Before the page gets fully turned though, here are some quick game ball honors to a couple of names who did stand out...

Offense: Jake Elliott

Elliott hit a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter after the second-string offense chipped away to get close enough and that was it for the points the Eagles put on the board.

Kenny Pickett only completed 6-of-9 passes for just 58 yards and continued to underwhelm/draw concern as Jalen Hurts' backup. 

Running back Tyrion Davis-Price fumbled on the Eagles' first drive of the game, on an offensive series where they had him run the ball six straight times to open up, then rising third-string quarterback Tanner McKee got strip-sacked to start the second half on a day that not even he could salvage – he did place this one beautifully though on one of the Eagles' only notable offensive plays all day. 

Look, this is a thin one to pull from, so we're just going to give this one to the guy who got points and move on. 

Defense: Oren Burks, Ben VanSumeren

Linebacker Oren Burks made a sack on a nice play late in the first half where he burst straight through the Minnesota line, made a swim move past the running back as the last blocker, then dragged down Vikings QB Jaren Hall for a loss of five yards. 

Burks was with the 49ers last season, and the local NBC broadcast highlighted how he was the guy to go in for Dre Greenlaw in the Super Bowl after he tore his Achilles running back onto the field. But if you'll remember how the rest of that Super Bowl went, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs zeroed in on that weak spot in the field and picked him apart. 

If you want to delve back into the Niners salt mine, check out our own Jimmy Kempski's storybook on it HERE

Otherwise, credit where credit is due to Burks on that sack. It was a strong play. But he's looking pretty far down the linebacker depth chart, even on a team that was especially weak there last season. It's uncertain whether he'll have a spot. 

Ben VanSumeren made a great sack in the third quarter as well, when he was left completely unguarded on the blitz and hit Vikings cleanup QB Matt Corral like a Mack Truck. 

VanSumeren, who went undrafted and stuck to the Eagles' practice squad last year before eventually getting a call-up, is probably in better shape to stick around. 

The Eagles would likely love to keep him around on the practice squad at the very least.


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