Eagles vs. Browns: 10 Observations From Tie - Injuries, QBs Up & Down

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered six key injuries, including one to rookie first-round pick Nolan Smith while Tanner McKee once again outplayed Marcus Mariota

PHILADELPHIA – The one hope coaches have during the preseason is to come away without any significant injuries. That wasn’t the case for the Philadelphia Eagles in an 18-18 tie with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

That’s where my 10 observations begin:

Injuries. There were six for the Eagles and that doesn’t count pass-rusher Haason Reddick who had thumb surgery earlier in the day. The Eagles fully expect him to be available for the start of the season, however.

The news is still pending on the extent of injuries suffered by receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (shoulder), edge/outside linebacker Nolan Smith (shoulder), cornerback Zech McPhearson (ankle), backup center Josh Andrews (ankle), receiver Tyrie Cleveland, and rookie defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (neck).

Smith and Zaccheaus were announced in the press box as questionable to return. Neither came back to the game, though it’s probably a good sign that they returned to the sideline.

Smith’s final season at Georgia ended at the end of October when he tore a pectoral muscle.

McPhearson and Andrews were ruled out. McPhearson had to be taken from the sidelines on a cart while Cleveland was placed on a stretcher and taken off on a cart.

The Eagles announced neck injuries for both Cleveland and Ojomo, though both had movement in all their extremities.

Marcus Mariota. The Eagles may have a backup quarterback problem. Needing a decent outing to prevent an outbreak of panic about Jalen Hurts’ backup, Marcus Mariota did not deliver. He continues to throw high to receivers and one of those errant throws was picked off as he tried to get it to tight end Grant Calcaterra down the seam.

Mariota had a passer rating of 42.5, completing nine of 17 passes for 85 yards with one interception. He was sacked three times and led the offense to just three points, and even those required Jake Elliott to make a 56-yard field goal.

Tanner McKee. He should be Hurts’ backup. For the second week in a row, the offense operated better with the sixth-round pick from Stanford at the controls. He led two touchdown marches.

The first began with a nifty touch pass to Joseph Ngata for 12 yards and ended with a 33-yard run from Trey Sermon.

The second came on a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brady Russell. McKee than hit Johnny King on a quick slant for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 18-18 with 6:09 to play.

He had another drive fizzle at the 2-yard line with two incompletions that could have been the result of low snaps that threw off the timing of the plays.

Kenny Gainwell. The running back left the Eagles out of the tunnel to start the game, but he may have forgotten to bring his game with him. After sitting out last week, Gainwell did not distinguish himself. He was tackled in the end zone for a 2-yard loss and, while some of the blame has to go to Josh Sills, who did not get across to make a block, Gainwell didn’t fight very hard to gain an extra couple of inches to prevent the two points.

The running back also missed a block that led to a sack, failing to pick up defensive tackle Maurice Hurts coming up the middle. He finished his night with two carries for six yards.

Trey Sermon. The running back was up and down in his bid to win a job. He had a fumble and a touchdown, which came on a 33-yard run that gave the Eagles a 10-8 lead. He had three carries for 48 yards on the scoring drive.

Nakobe Dean. It was good to see the second-year linebacker get some snaps. It was even better to see him put an unnecessary roughness penalty behind him that put the Browns inside the Eagles’ 5 on their opening drive when he burst into the backfield and forced a fumble on a running play that began at the 2.

The fumble was recovered by K’Von Wallace. Dean finished with three tackles.

The other linebackers. Zach Cunningham got the start next to Dean. He did some nice things and it would not be a surprise if he started opposite Dean once the season begins. He had seven tackles.

The Eagles did plenty of mixing and matching, however, and that may continue in the regular season, with Christian Ellis and Nicholas Morrow getting second-team reps.

Elliss was up and down but had five tackles, the same number as Morrow.

Myles Jack did not take his first snaps until late in the third quarter.

Presnap penalties. Nick Sirianni, like every coach, hates pre-snap penalties, so the coach will have a lot to hate on in meetings this weekend.

There were three offsides penalties, two on defensive end Janarius Robinson and one on Ojomo.

There were also three false starts, two on Tyler Steen on back-to-back plays and one on Jack Driscoll.

Punters. Ty Zentner handled the punting duties and did not do well. He had a 35-yarder that gave the Browns good field position late in the third quarter on his way to a 39.8-yard punting average on five punts. Based on that, it would appear Arryn Siposs’s job as the punter is safe.

Captains. They were running back Boston Scott, cornerback Josh Jobe, and defensive end Derek Barnett. Would head coach Nick Sirianni make players captains who aren’t going to make the team? Unlikely.

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

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

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