Eagles vs. Jets: Previewing Philadelphia's Preseason Week 4 Matchup
Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles will try to cap off a perfect preseason Thursday night when they travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets.
Following an offseason that saw a rotating door of big-name players leaving and coming in, this preseason has gone pretty much as well as the Eagles could have hoped. The team is coming into the last week of the preseason following a particularly impressive performance from the starters in Green Bay last Saturday as the Eagles beat the Packers, 39-26.
For the upcoming game against the Jets, Chip Kelly named Matt Barkley the starter and said that Tim Tebow will also receive significant reps at quarterback, according to Philly.com's Les Bowen. When talking about the position battle to earn the third and final quarterback spot, Kelly praised Barkley but claimed that naming him the starter does not necessarily mean that he has the edge over Tebow.
“I think Matt can make all the throws. It’s just getting acclimated, decision-making, and he’s done a really nice job with that. ... He’s shown improvement every year," Kelly said, via Bowen.
Kelly's decision also means that Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez, as well as most of the starters, will not see any action against New York. The final preseason game will be the last chance for borderline players like Tebow and Kenjon Barner earn spots on the final 53-man roster.
As the preseason comes to an end, here's all the info you need for Thursday night's game.
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Preseason Week 3 Results and Recap
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Start the Sam Bradford hype machine. In his second preseason appearance for the Philadelphia Eagles, the former No. 1-overall pick threw for three touchdowns in a seemingly perfect performance against the Packers.
On the way to a 39-26 victory, Bradford orchestrated three consecutive scoring drives in the first quarter and finished the day completing all 10 of his passes for 121 yards. Bradford spread the ball around, throwing his touchdown passes to Darren Sproles, Trey Burton and Brent Celek.
"We just found a rhythm early, and it was nice to come off the field, go back on, keep that rhythm, just keep firing," Bradford said, according to the Associated Press.
Following two spectacular outings, it is no surprise that Chip Kelly is not risking his starting quarterback against the Jets with the regular season just days away. However, Kelly said that Bradford's health was never a question, despite his coming back from tearing his ACL twice in 10 months.
"I didn't have any doubts on Sam, so I'm not concerned what people outside think," he said, via the AP.
Philadelphia's first-team defense also left Lambeau Field after a positive performance against the Packers. Starting safety Walter Thurmond intercepted a pass from Brett Hundley to match his pick against Joe Flacco last week.
Inside linebackers DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks also made their preseason debuts against Green Bay. Although Aaron Rodgers did not play, the defense still performed well against the likes of Eddie Lacy and Company.
Last week was the final dress rehearsal for most of the starters, so look primarily for backups and players returning from injury to play against the Jets this Thursday night.
News and Notes
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Chip Kelly and his staff will use their final preseason game against the New York Jets to help decide who will make the final roster this Saturday. However, some players will not pull on an Eagles uniform again this preseason, as Philadelphia has trimmed its roster from 90 to 75.
As part of the final three moves to get the roster down to 75 on Tuesday, Philadelphia placed rookie cornerback JaCorey Shepherd on injured reserved, which spells the end of his season. The Eagles drafted Shepherd in the sixth round out of Kansas as one of many changes to the secondary this offseason. The rookie was competing for a spot as the starting nickel corner before tearing his ACL in early August.
The Eagles also officially reached an injury settlement with inside linebacker Emmanuel Acho following his thumb surgery. Philadelphia can still bring back Acho after six weeks due to the settlement, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane.
The third roster cut saw undrafted-free-agent running back Kevin Monangai lose a chance find a spot in the Eagles backfield. The rookie from Morristown, New Jersey, played college ball at Villanova.
Through three preseason games the running back carried the ball 21 times for 126 yards, including an impressive 87-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens in which he scored a rushing touchdown. However, the local favorite was always unlikely to make the final roster due to the depth of the running back position with the likes of DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles.
Here are the 12 players who were cut on Sunday:
| Position | Name | Position | Name |
| QB/WR | G.J. Kinne | DE | Alfy Hill |
| OL | Kevin Graf | DE | Jeremy Towns |
| CB | Marc Anthony | LB | Dasman McCullum |
| S | Brandan Bishop | WR | Mike Johnson |
| OL | Mike Coccia | WR | Josh Reese |
| OL | Jared Wheeler | TE | Justin Tukes |
Thursday night's game against the Jets will be the final chance for players to showcase their abilities and make the Eagles' final roster. Philadelphia must make cuts by Saturday at 4 p.m. to get down to its final 53-man roster.
Latest Injury News
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The Philadelphia Eagles received a major boost with the return of DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks last week, as the inside linebacker duo saw its first action of the preseason against the Packers. However, other key players remained absent in Green Bay.
Recently acquired linebacker Kiko Alonso did not play last Saturday night due to tendinitis in his left knee, according to NJ.com's Mark Eckel.
Philadelphia traded LeSean McCoy to the Bills this offseason in order to land Alonso. The 25-year-old is coming off an ACL tear in the same knee in which he has tendinitis. Alonso has not played in any of the first three preseason games and has been in and out of practice for the past three weeks. However, the inside linebacker is optimistic about his prospects of playing Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons.
"It's feeling better every day,'' Alonso said of the knee, according to Eckel. "Atlanta? Yeah, I'll be fine.''
Starting kicker Cody Parkey also remained on the bench due to a groin injury that he suffered during practice last week, according to NJ.com's Eliot Shorr-Parks. Kelly played down the seriousness of the injury following the game.
"If it was a regular-season game, he would have played," Kelly said, according to the Associated Press.
Lane Johnson left the field in the first quarter with an MCL sprain in his left knee that he suffered during a failed two-point conversion against Green Bay.
"According to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity, Johnson is expected to be ready for the Eagles' Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons," reported Shorr-Parks. "Even if he does play, however, Johnson's health is worth monitoring."
However, the Eagles have avoided suffering too many devastating injuries through training camp and the first three weeks of the preseason. Expect only backups and starters who need to see some action, like Alonso, to play against the Jets, as Philadelphia will look to avoid the injury bug.
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Key Matchup
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Tim Tebow vs. Matt Barkley
Tim Tebow mania is in full force in Philadelphia this offseason, as the former Heisman winner tries to beat out Matt Barkley for the third and final quarterback spot on the Eagles roster.
As mentioned before, Kelly named Barkley the starter for Thursday night's game against the New York Jets, but both quarterbacks will see plenty of action. Kelly also claimed that naming Barkley the starter does not mean that a decision has already been made, according to ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan.
“Our opinions aren't formed,” Kelly said Tuesday, via Sheridan. “It's one more time for a game opportunity. Obviously, I think especially with the quarterback position, practice is different just because they are wearing red jerseys. When they are not hit, when you get them out there in a game, it's another opportunity to get a legitimate evaluation of them. So there is a lot of weight in it.”
Both signal-callers have already seen action this preseason, but Thursday will give the quarterbacks the opportunity to provide larger sample sizes of their abilities to the Eagles' coaching staff.
Here is what both quarterbacks have done so far this preseason:
| Name | Completions | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions |
| Matt Barkley | 23 | 43 | 306 | 0 | 1 |
| Tim Tebow | 10 | 19 | 97 | 0 | 0 |
Based on the first three preseason games, Barkley is a more polished thrower of the ball than Tebow. Additionally, a quarterback's first job is to throw the ball, and this is still a concern for Tebow, according to the Daily News' Marcus Hayes.
"Well, because Tim Tebow does not throw the football very hard, or very accurately, or very quickly," Hayes wrote when explaining why Tebow will not make the final roster. "These, for a quarterback, are called liabilities. Shortcomings."
However, Kelly is far from conventional and may have something else in mind for how he utilizes Tebow. With two pocket passers set to make the roster in Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez, Tebow may provide a unique skill set from behind center. So far this preseason, Tebow carried the ball 10 times for 50 yards and a touchdown.
As the head coach at Oregon, Kelly went for his fair share of two-point conversions, and it seems like the former college coach may be kicking less extra points this year. On top of that, two-point conversions may be the way for Tebow to make the roster with a body like a fullback and the training (however good it may be) of a quarterback.
"On one hand, head coach Chip Kelly putting Tebow in the game for the two-point conversions shows it is clearly something that intrigues him," wrote NJ.com's Eliot Shorr-Parks. "It could also show that Kelly has decided Tebow is going to be attempting plenty of two-point conversions this season, and he needs to get some reps doing so."
The problem is that Tebow failed on both two-point-conversion attempts against the Packers. On the first attempt, the 6'3", 243-pound brick wall ran the ball right up the middle and got stuffed short of the goal line. For the second try, Tebow threw an incomplete pass that was nearly intercepted.
In the final game of the preseason, Tebow will not be able to show that he is a better passer than Barkley. Instead, Tebow will have to hope that his passing abilities are acceptable enough to make the diversity of options that he can provide worth the third and final quarterback roster spot.
X-Factor
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Trey Burton
The Eagles are not short of weapons on the offensive side of the ball, but most of them will be resting in the final week of the preseason. One unexpected weapon Philadelphia can still roll out is second-year hybrid tight end Trey Burton.
The 6'3", 235-pound tight end found his way onto the roster as the fourth tight end last season due to his fantastic special teams play. The University of Florida product returned a blocked punt against the Giants and blocked a punt against San Francisco last season.
"He's another guy in Year 2. He obviously stood out here as a special teams player, and that's why we kept four tight ends, even though we had Zach (Ertz) and Brent (Celek) and James. But Trey was an integral special teams player for us," Kelly said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Ford. "We also felt like we could develop him after we released James, and I think you're seeing that."
The Eagles released last year's third-string tight end, James Casey, providing Burton with more opportunities to develop and prove himself on offense. Through three preseason games, the 23-year-old caught seven passed for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Even more impressively, Burton caught the two touchdown passes with a broken thumb, according to CSN Philly's Reuben Frank.
"It's all about not feeling complacent. I definitely want to make an impact on this team, both offensively and special teams-wise. It all goes back to taking the opportunities given to me," Burton said, via Ford.
Expect Burton to prove himself as a viable offensive option as the first-team contributors remain on the sidelines.
Prediction
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Similar to every other preseason game, the Eagles' contest against the Jets means very little in the grand scheme of either team's overall success. However, the game means a lot for players trying to make the final roster cut.
Players like Eagles running back Kenjon Barner are looking for one last game to convince the coaches that they belong on the final roster. Players like Barner will look to continue provide a positive contribution in the running game, on special teams or however they can.
So far this preseason, the Eagles are 3-0 with victories over the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers. On the other side, the Jets have victories over the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants but lost to the Detroit Lions.
Once again, the outcome of preseason games mean very little, but Kelly will likely still want a perfect start to the year to show that there was method behind his madness. In this final battle for roster spots, look for Tim Tebow to lead Philadelphia to the preseason promised land and earn himself a spot on the 53-man roster.
Eagles 21, Jets 10
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