In a 40-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t get to see a lot from Sam Bradford, but they liked what they saw, excluding the worrying hits he took from Terrell Suggs and Brandon Williams.
Suggs’ hit wasn’t illegal, but it was dirty. Later, the linebacker said the Eagles shouldn’t put someone so fragile out there if they’re worried about him getting hurt in a read option. (When you run the read-option, you have to know the rules. If you want to run the read-option with your starting quarterback that’s had two knee surgeries, that’s on you. That’s not my responsibility to update you on the rule. I could’ve hit him harder on that. I didn’t. I eased up.) But going for his knees in a preseason games feels cheap.
Bradford played just one series, completing 3-of-5 passes for 35 yards, leading the Eagles on a 84-yard drive that ended in a Ryan Mathews touchdown run. It was the first time Bradford played since tearing his left ACL for the second time in 11 months on Aug. 23, 2014.
Tim Tebow played and once again brought the biggest reaction from the fans. He completed 2-of-5 passes for 13 yards and ran for 31 more, and it’s getting closer and closer to the moment he actually wins a spot on an NFL team, while Matt Barkley is more and more likely to be traded. Mark Sanchez completed 14-of-20 passes for 118 yards.
Kevin Monangai ran for a touchdown and so did DeMarco Murray with 17 yards on five carries. Kenjon Barner returned a punt for a touchdown, making it his second return touchdown of the preseason following a kickoff return for 92 yards last week.
The Eagles were happy about their defense’s picks as well, interceptions Joe Flacco twice (Byron Maxwell, Walter Thurmond), in one of the more impressive preseason displays from anyone in 2015.