Eagles vs. Colts 10 Observations: WRs Devon Allen, Deon Cain Rise Up

Philadelphia Eagles receivers Devon Allen and Deon Cain flashed, but did they do enough to win a job? That and some other observations on Marcus Mariota, Jake Elliott, and more from Thursday's preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t win a game all summer long. OK, they only played three, but they went 0-2-1 after dropping Thursday night’s finale, 27-13, to the Indianapolis Colts at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles have won only one preseason game with two ties in three years with Nick Sirianni as the head coach, but they went to the playoffs in his first year and to the Super Bowl in his second.

We’ll see where the road takes them this fall.

Until then, here are 10 observations from Thursday night.

Devon Allen’s case. For the second straight summer, the Olympic-hurdling star made an electric play after opening the game with a 73-yard kickoff return that began with dropping the ball near the goal line. Last summer, Allen made a 55-yard touchdown catch from then-quarterback Reid Sinnett against the Cleveland Browns.

Allen also was used as a gunner on Thursday night and with his speed, it makes sense. He made a nice open-field tackle on one punt return try and finished with one catch for seven yards.

Does it make sense to keep him on the roster? It very well might.

Unless…

Deon Cain’s case is better. The receiver showed up nicely, with six catches on nine targets for 62 yards, including a 21-yard catch on third-and-9, an 11-yard reception on third-and-7, and a 12-yard grab on second-and-11, among others.

As good as he and Allen looked, the Eagles may not keep either one.

Marcus Mariota. The plan was to play Jalen Hurts’ backup – and, yes, he will be the backup – for one series. It was good to see him lead the offense to a touchdown in that one series, albeit he only needed to go 27 yards thanks to Allen’s kickoff return.

Still, Mariota made a nice throw on third-and-9 to Cain that went for 21 yards to the 5-yard line.

Mariota’s backup job to Jalen Hurts is safe.

Unless … never mind, the Eagles aren’t trading for Trey Lance.

Trey Sermon left, Trey Sermon right. As far as vanilla game plans go, this one was, like, two scoops of vanilla. At least early on, that was the case.

Sermon was the first-half workhorse and every now and then McKee would drop back for a pass attempt. The Eagles weren’t showing anything.

Sermon didn’t show much, either. Though he scored a one-yard touchdown, his second score of the preseason, he had just 19 yards on 12 carries at halftime. He finished with 30 yards on 16 carries while adding a nice catch for 14 yards to end with four receptions for 26 yards.

Meanwhile…

Colts Super Bowl. Not quite, but they sure seemed like this one meant a lot to them and first-year head coach Shane Steichen. The coach played his starters for the entire first half. There was a point in the game where the Colts’ entire first-team offense was going against an Eagles defense that had maybe three players on it who might make the team.

That didn’t stop the Colts from celebrating their touchdowns, with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson doing the Eagles wing-flap after one score. He went 6-for-17 passing for 78 yards and a passer rating of 50.0 while adding five carries for 38 yards.

The best the Colts could do was hold a 17-13 lead at halftime that probably wouldn’t have stood if Joseph Ngata had not fumbled inside the 20 with less than 50 seconds to go in the first half to ruin a chance at any points for the Eagles.

Speaking of Ngata…The undrafted free agent has some work to do to show he belongs in the league. Not only did he cough up a costly fumble, but he didn't show the ability to create much separation.

Jake’s leg. Kicker Jake Elliott is in midseason form, making field goals from 59 and 52 yards in the first half. To say he is comfortable with his holder Arryn Siposs would be an understatement. Siposs’ holding ability is one thing that could save his punting job.

Cornerback battle. It was tough duty for Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, and Mekhi Garner, all three of whom matched up against the Colts’ top two weapons – Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce. Based on the final numbers, though, the young corners did OK.

Pittman made just two catches on five targets for 24 yards while Pierce was targeted three times but did not have a catch.

That said, all three corners had plenty of downs, too.

Safety stuff. K’Von Wallace and Sydney Brown started the second half, with Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds taking the rest of the night off after some first-half work. Could that mean they are the second and third safeties behind Reed Blankenship, who did not play in any of the three preseason games? I say yes.

Tyreek Maddox-Williams. He is very much a long shot to make the team, but the linebacker from Rutgers, who just joined the team five days ago, showed enough to warrant a spot on the practice squad. 

Even with a limited grasp of the defense, he played a physical game that was impressive. He ended with seven tackles and a fourth-quarter interception that he returned 42 yards to thwart an Indy drive.

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Philadelphia Eagles? Click Here.

Want even more Philadelphia Eagles news? Check out the SI.com team page here