August 24, 2024
The Philadelphia Eagles will play their third and final preseason game Saturday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings. It is highly unlikely that any starters will play. Here are our five things to watch.
In the first preseason game against the Ravens, neither Pickett nor McKee did much to separate from the other. In the second preseason game, Pickett held the ball for an eternity and threw short, often off-target passes, while McKee was a stud. In case you missed McKee's night, you can watch a good review of it here:
McKee is the better quarterback, and should be the No. 2 behind Jalen Hurts. However, Pickett has continued to get the lion's share of second-team reps in practice, even after McKee's big night.
The Eagles don't really have to make a decision on who will be Hurts' backup until the first regular season game in Brazil when the No. 2 guy will be active and the No. 3 guy will be designated as the emergency quarterback.
This final preseason game will be one last opportunity for Pickett to show that he was worth what the Eagles traded for him, and for McKee to try to prove that he is better than Pickett.
The final preseason game will be a time for guys scratching and clawing for the final four or five roster spots to show why they belong. The 10 players to keep an eye on:
I'm particularly interested in watching Ainias Smith, Brandon Smith, Thomas Booker, and E.J. Jenkins.
Five of the Eagles' rookie draft picks — Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Jalyx Hunt, Will Shipley, and Jeremiah Trotter — will have roles on the 2024 Eagles, some bigger than others. The Eagles' other four picks — Ainias Smith, Trevor Keegan, Johnny Wilson, and Dylan McMahon — likely won't, barring injury. That's not to say that they all played badly in training camp or something like that. They'll just be buried on the depth chart initially.
And so, this might be your last chance to see those guys for a while.
This last preseason game could be an opportunity for the Eagles to showcase players they might be willing to trade. My top four trade candidates (no inside info here, just using logic):
It's unlikely the Eagles will strike deals for any of those guys, but hey, it's tough coming up with five storylines for the final preseason game, so back off.
The 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns are the only teams in NFL history to finish 0-16 during the regular season. Both of those teams went undefeated during the preseason.
If the Eagles win on Saturday afternoon, they too will go undefeated during the preseason. Does that mean they will go winless during the regular season? They should probably just throw the game rather than test fate. #Analysis.
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