Eagles vs. Colts Notebook: Reserves Make Final Push Amid Preseason Futility

The Eagles' backups hung with the Colts' starters but struggled to keep up with old friend Gardner Minshew.

PHILADELPHIA - A number of players made their final cases to coach Nick Sirianni and his staff during the Philadelphia Eagles’ 27-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason finale at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday.

If it isn’t clear what Philadelphia thinks of the preseason the Eagles fell to 1-6-2 in the Sirianni era when it comes to practice games despite making the playoffs in 2021, winning an NFC Championship last season, and coming into 2023 with one of the best rosters in the NFL.

Here's what we observed in the final preseason tilt on Thursday night:

-Marcus Mariota got one series as the starter at quarterback and was gifted a short field thanks to a 73-yard Devon Allen kickoff return. Mariota was able to cash in against the Colts’ first-team defense but it wasn’t all peaches and cream. Indy cornerback Kenny Moore had a real opportunity to jump a throw to Deon Cain and somehow let it get through him for a 21-yard gain. It was Mariota's only completion and probably should have been picked.

Mariota is locked in as the backup for the regular season but hasn’t had an impressive summer.

-Rookie quarterback Tanner McKee took over from there and played into the fourth quarter. McKee was a little less consistent and had a few inaccurate throws but had plenty of good ones as well. When the ball comes out quickly, McKee is at his best from a rhythm standpoint.

McKee completed 19-of-34 passes for 158 yards and a 68.0 passer rating.

-Allen, the Olympic hurdler, who started camp with a calf injury suffered running track, made a late case with the long kickoff return, which he actually flubbed perhaps breaking Indy’s discipline on the coverage, and also did a nice job as a punt gunner on two occasions. It might be too little too late here for the 53 but Allen will have a practice-squad spot waiting.

-Outside of Reed Blankenship, all the safeties dressed so the Eagles continued their subterfuge there. Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans started with Sydney Brown and K’Von Wallace rotating in from there. Looking forward to Sept. 10 in Foxborough, the decision will likely be between competency (Edmunds), coverage (Evans), and upside (Brown). Wallace will be a key member of special teams and was at the R5 spot as the contain man on kickoff returns with rookie Kelee Ringo on the other side.

-Jake Elliott is quietly becoming one of the best kickers in the NFL. The seven-year pro banged through a 59-yarder with ease and followed that with a 52-yarder that seemed like a walk in the park for him.

-Part of Elliott's success is his comfort factor with Arryn Siposs as the holder. Many think the Eagles punter isn't on the roster right now because Siposs isn't exactly Ray Guy but Elliott alone should keep him locked in.

-There was a lot of hype for undrafted rookie receiver Joseph Ngata early in the process but the book on the lengthy receiver at Clemson was he had trouble generating consistent separation and that continued against the Colts’ secondary. Ngata also fumbled the football after a 9-yard reception late in the second quarter.

-The best of the receivers tonight was Deon Cain, who was slowed by an ankle injury for a lengthy period. The Clemson product had six receptions on nine targets for 62 yards.

-At linebacker, the Eagles didn’t dress Zach Cunningham, indicating he will be the Week 1 starter opposite Nakobe Dean. As far as the LB3 role Christiam Elliss was given the green dot ahead of Nicholas Morrow. Undrafted rookie Ben VanSumeren was very active in extensive time with 17 tackles. He's a lock for the practice squad.

-Recent acquisition Tyreek Maddox-Williams looked good. He recorded a pass breakup when he dropped a potential interception from Anthony Richardson, broke up another pass with a big hit, and then snared an interception of a Sam Ehlinger pass that he returned for 42 yards. Had Maddox-Williams not bobbled the ball before hauling it in it likely would have been a pick-six.

-Undrafted rookie cornerback Eli Ricks made a nice final statement against the Colts' best receivers staying step for step with Michael Pittman on a go route and then staying on Alec Pierce's hip for a PBU.

-Richardson hardly lit it up against the Eagles' backup defenders, completing just 6-of-17 passes for 78 yards with a 50.6 passer rating. His best throw was dropped by fellow rookie Josh Downs, however.

Minshew, on the other hand, handled his old team by completing 9-of-11 for 102 yards and a touchdown with a 135.6 passer rating.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen