While the Chicago Bears were quite happy with the performances of Jay Cutler, Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen at quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 34-28, were much less pleased with what they saw from their starter Nick Foles, with things from Matt Barkley and Mark Sanchez not being much better.
This is the season season for both teams under both head coaches – Marc Trestman for the Bears, Chip Kelly for the Eagles. Both mostly known for their offensive prowess, their debut seasons went well, especially for Kelly, who took the Eagles into the postseason for the first time since 2010 with Nick Foles emerging as the team’s number one quarterback, something many didn’t expect after his rookie season.
The Bears didn’t look bad as their offensive line problems disappeared, but their defense became one of the most penetrable in the NFL. This season will be about fixing that, or taking the offense to a whole new level and make up for the points they’ll be giving up. Their first game of the preseason at Soldier’s Field was a good example of how explosive they can be.
Cutler ran the offense for two possessions, doing a very good job with 9-of-13 passing for 85 yards and a touchdown pass to Zach Miller. Their defense didn’t show the same kind of efficiency, giving up two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter, as Matthew Tucker stole most of the show for the Eagles with both scores. LeSean McCoy carried the ball only once, Darren Sporles had three carries for 11 yards.
Nick Foles? He’d like to forget this preseason game. He did complete 6-of-9 passes, but two of his incompeltions were intercepted. Both teams combined for seven turnovers, something you usually expect to see in a Bears game, but the Eagles needed to worry about who was the one making the mistakes. Matt Barkley, who threw a touchdown pass, was also intercepted as he completed only 7-of-16 passes.
It was interesting to see Mark Sanchez in Eagles uniform. Green seems familiar, but this is a guy who his career trajectory has been pointing in the wrong direction since it began, only declining since his first season, and now at best might be considered the number two quarterback on this team, unless the interceptions Foles threw are any indication of problems he’ll have in his third NFL season.
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