Game Review – PS #2 CLE 22, PHI 13

Saturday’s preseason game against the Browns was a bad showing. That was true on offense, defense and STs. I do appreciate the consistency and team effort to pull that off. The Eagles offense gained 88 yards and the defense made rookie Dillon Gabriel look like a quality veteran. Other than that it was a wonderful afternoon.

Believe it or not, there is plenty of good news to take away from this game. If you focus on individuals, the coaches will have several key guys to be happy about. The overall team performance was a mess and Nick Sirianni will be addressing that for sure.

Highlights

Safety Drew Mukuba had a good showing. He had one tackle, a pick-six and a fumble-recovery. The INT showed good awareness. Mukuba read the play and got to the right spot to make the pick. He then flew down the field for the score. The FR was right time, right place. Still, you like guys that find the ball. He gave up a completion to Cedric Tillman, but the WR pushed off at the top of the route and should have been called for OPI. Mukuba played deep and also came down in the box. He was okay playing in traffic. Good showing for his NFL debut.

Jakorian Bennett may have taken the lead in the CB battle. He covered better than any of the other corners in the game. Bennett was able to stick with receivers and showed a good feel for coverage.

Jakorian Bennett vs. Diontae Johnson. pic.twitter.com/fvuUPGPLhc

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) August 16, 2025

Impressive PBU from Jakorian Bennett. Good showing so far today. pic.twitter.com/k1ywfiit6H

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) August 16, 2025

Love the speed he showed on the PBU. That’s the play Adoree Jackson just can’t make. Bennett was too grabby at times, but there is a lot to work with and I think the coaches will value the combination of cover skills and speed.

Drew Kendall played the entire game. He spent the first half at center and the second half at LG. I was impressed with him. I thought he looked good at LG. To be fair, he was going against third stringers at that point. Kendall has good feet. He’s strong. He’s quick. Kendall works hard to sustain blocks. I think he’s got a good shot to be active on gamedays.

Jihad Campbell had 4 tackles and a sack. He blitzed up the middle for the sack. He lined up as an overhang defender as well and also was an edge rusher for a play. His combination of versatility and athleticism makes him a valuable player for Vic Fangio. Campbell remains a tough, physical player as well.

Positions

QB – Tanner McKee sat out, which tells you how much the coaches think of him. They don’t want to risk injury and think he’s ready to play. DTR and Kyle McCord split the game. Each would go out for a couple of series and then sit for a couple. That allowed the coaches to see both guys with the second and third teams. That helps with the evaluation. You can compare apples to apples.

While neither QB had a good game, McCord played better. He took a big step forward from last week. He threw for a TD. His best throw was to the outside to Terrace Marshall. That was a good ball. There was a play where McCord used his feet to escape pressure and throw the ball away. There was real progress. He threw one pass to Granson that should have been picked off.

DTR didn’t play like a veteran QB. He wasn’t poised. McCord probably took the lead in the battle for QB3.

RB – Will Shipley didn’t play, which is a great sign for him. That tells you the coaches are happy with Shipley. I still have my doubts, but the coaches certainly know more than I do. Montrell Johnson made his debut. He was the leading rusher, going 6-20. You could see his potential when he went N-S. The Browns defense loaded up the LOS and took away running lanes. The RBs had no room to run.

WR – Ainias Smith went 2-19 with a TD. Both passes came on slants. He wasn’t beating Eric Allen out there, but it was good to see. UDFA Taylor Morin caught 3 passes late in the game. He could make the practice squad. The offense was so dysfunctional that you really couldn’t judge the receivers too well.

TE – Kylen Granson didn’t have a catch. His blocking was up and down, but I did like the effort. That’s important for an undersized TE. You don’t expect him to win every battle, but he’s got to give max effort. EJ Jenkins had a catch and run for 12 yards.

OL – The line looked good on the series after Mukuba’s fumble recovery. It was rough other than that. Kendall Lamm had his struggles. Matt Pryor too. Darrian Kinnard played RG and probably looked the best. Brett Toth was okay at LG, but not so good at center. Rookie Myles Hinton was better than last week, but still had a penalty and gave up a big hit on the QB. He is not ready to play in a real game. Trevor Keegan played RG in the second half. He didn’t impress me at all. Rookie Cameron Williams was the RT in the second half. He’s got the tools to develop into a good blocker, but struggles. At least with him you can absolutely see the potential. I just don’t see it with Keegan.

The line did not handle stunts and twists well. There was poor communication all over the place. The Browns loaded the LOS a lot and that caused more confusion than it should have.

ED – Azeez Ojulari had a sack and 3 tackles. He got into the backfield on multiple plays. It was good to see him finally come alive. He lost contain on an end around and gave up a 16-yard run. He seemed to learn from that and kept contain on other run plays. Patrick Johnson once again showed up. He had 2 tackles and a TFL. The Browns tried an end around on him and he blew it up for a big loss. Ogbo Okoronkwo had 1 QB hit.

DL – Gabe Hall was the best of the DTs. He blew up a goal line run with penetration. He drew a holding call. Ty Robinson showed his athleticism, but struggled to get off blocks. It looked like he got burned on the Browns TD run. Byron Young made his debut. He got some push, but also struggled to shed blocks. Jacob Sykes was active and disruptive. He did bat down a pass. Justin Rogers is a big, strong DT. He was solid at holding the point of attack. Joe Evans had 2 tackles and a sack. He’s big, but I also love his motor. He plays with urgency.

LB – I was critical of Jeremiah Trotter Jr on Saturday, but felt he played better after reviewing the game. He led the team with 7 tackles and generally played the run well. He did miss a TFL. That bugged me. Plays like that can kill a scoring drive. He got into the backfield and couldn’t make the play. Trotter couldn’t tackle the RB at the goal line. That wasn’t an easy play, but you would love to see him make it. There was a pass in the flat that was caught. Trot made the tackle, but the guy got an extra few yards. There was more good than bad, but he still has things to work on.

Smael Mondon played well. He had 4 tackles, including a TFL. He was more confident and aggressive. There was a run play where he got sealed and the RB turned that into a big play. Lance Dixon had 3 tackles and played well late in the game.

SAF – Mukuba got the headlines, but Sydney Brown had a good game as well. He just didn’t make the big plays. Brown was credited with 2 tackles, but sure seemed to be around the ball more than that. He came downhill aggressively. There was a coverage play where he and Trotter both took the same player and left another receiver wide open. I’m not sure who was at fault on that. Tristin McCollum was up and down. He flew downhill and then whiffed on a WR screen. He did make 5 tackles. He chased down the RB who got loose for a big play. There was a pass over the middle and McCollum was didn’t close to the ball quickly enough and gave up good RAC yards. Andre Sam was in on a couple of tackles. He didn’t catch my eye.

CB – Bennett was the headliner. I thought Kelee Ringo played better this week. He covered well and didn’t have many passes come his way. He did get lost in traffic on a crossing route. Adoree Jackson gives too much cushion and then doesn’t have the speed to close to the ball. I wonder if he makes the team. Mac McWilliams was up and down. He played on the outside. I didn’t see enough for him to truly compete for the starting job. UDFA Brandon Johnson was the slot to start the game. He covered pretty well, but gave up several completions because he couldn’t quite get to the ball. Johnson is only 5-9 and his length is something the team will have to factor in when making final judgment. Being close to the receiver is good, but you need to be able to get to the ball. Eli Ricks did not play well.

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