Philadelphia Eagles Preseason Week 3 Matchup Preview

The third game of the preseason is the closest thing fans get to the feel of a regular-season clash, making the Philadelphia Eagles' hosting of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night must-see television.

Fans all across Gang Green Nation will get a chance to see the team in action, with a prime-time kickoff of 7 p.m. ET on NFL Network. It will be the culmination of a few days of getting to know each other, as the Eagles and Dolphins have been holding joint practices in Philly leading up to the game.

While no preseason game holds a candle to the real action, the Eagles should trot out their starters for more playing time than they saw throughout the opening two games against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills. That makes it an important game to watch, giving us the best glimpse at what to expect for Week 1's meeting with the Washington Redskins.

Let's dive into a preview of Thursday's game and highlight the biggest aspects of the game to watch for.

Best Look Yet at the Starters

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It's customary for NFL teams to feature their first-team units for most, if not all of the first half in preseason game No. 3. It gives the players the chance to improve their conditioning while still giving a two-week buffer before Week 1.

Don't expect head coach Doug Pederson to show off any of his new trick plays, but get ready for the heaviest dose of quarterback Carson Wentz's new-look offense yet.

In the preseason opener, Wentz and many other first-teamers played just one series. Week 2 against Buffalo, Wentz saw the field for four drives but only one surpassed 10 yards, and it ended with a LeGarrette Blount fumble.

Will we see a full go of the No. 1 unit for the first half on Thursday? Pederson won't tip his hand, per Jeff Kerr of 247Sports: "I haven't made that decision yet based on what I feel how much the starters are going to play. We got a lot of good work the last couple of days. I want to see where they're at health-wise."

Fans looking for a hard number of minutes from the starters may just have to tune in to find out with the rest of us. But the longtime trend across NFL preseasons would indicate Thursday will be the closest we'll see to a full-strength unit until the season begins.

Running Back Battle Heating Up

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

The Eagles backfield for 2017 is going to be a by-committee approach. But exactly how the committee will look has been a hot topic throughout the preseason.

The center of that conversation has been Blount, the team's new signing who amassed just 17 yards on nine carries in the opening two preseason games. He also lost a fumble on a reception against the Bills, and his struggles shockingly caused him to be listed as a potential cut by Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media. 

With his future in Philly being questioned by the media, Pederson came to bat for his rusher Tuesday, per Lombardo: "The guy's a beast of a runner. I don't know what else to tell you. Eighteen touchdowns, 15 in the red zone last year. That's the production that you saw yesterday. The style of running, that he can do."

Seeing Blount get cut would be a huge shock, but it's realistic to assume the young core of backs is cutting into his potential carries for next season. Wendell Smallwood appears to be coming along, and undrafted rookie Corey Clement has dazzled in the preseason with a similar hard-nosed running style to that of Blount.

The 30-year-old former New England Patriot likely isn't going to play his way off the 53-man roster with another rough outing against Miami. But if it's coupled with more impressive runs by Clement and Smallwood, don't be surprised to see his role reduced to a short-yardage specialist in 2017.

Will Jalen Mills Lock Up the 2nd CB Spot?

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

The newest Eagles cornerback is unquestionably the best, with former Bill Ronald Darby dazzling in his first unofficial action in green by grabbing an interception against his old team in Week 2. 

Exactly who will fill in opposite him is still up for debate. But Jalen Mills has gotten the most burn with the first team, and he'll likely get more snaps with them against the Dolphins than he has thus far. 

The second-year corner has proved to be the most reliable option for the No. 2 cornerback spot, with veteran Patrick Robinson enduring a shaky training camp and failing to impress much in the preseason. Rookie Rasul Douglas and fellow corner C.J. Smith have largely been reserves, while rookie Sidney Jones is still recovering from an Achilles injury.

There's no doubt the trade for Darby alleviated a lot of pressure on the other Eagles corners, but it also heightened competition between Mills and Robinson. Even though Mills appears to have his nose in front, all it would take is a couple of bad plays against the Dolphins' talented receiving corps to plant a seed of doubt in the coaches' minds.

Just as well it may only take a few impressive pass break-ups and one consistent overall performance to lock up the job for good entering the season.

Will Alshon Jeffery (Finally) Show Us Something?

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

To be fair to receiver Alshon Jeffery, he began his Eagles career on the wrong foot by picking up a shoulder strain that kept him out of practice through the preseason opener. Still, fans haven't seen much outside of a few nice catches in practice to inspire confidence for their new No. 1 wideout.

Jeffery got his first game action in the preseason against the Bills but failed to do much with it. He was targeted five times but only caught two balls for 23 yards. 

While preseason numbers aren't a good source for overreaction, the words of position coaches are. And receivers coach Mike Groh raised some eyebrows when he told the media that Jeffery ran the wrong route on a play against Buffalo, also noting the receiver isn't quite as far along as they'd hoped: "I think he's behind. Anytime you miss the amount of time that he did, he's a little bit behind. Fortunately, we have time for him to catch up."

If Jeffery happens to run another wrong route Thursday night or doesn't put up impressive numbers, it wouldn't be a reason to sound the alarm. There will still be over two weeks separating the Eagles from their regular-season opener on Sept. 10, and that's plenty of time to tie up any loose ends.

Still, you'd like to see the former Chicago Bear take some steps forward in a game that will feature a lot of the first-team offense, especially with how pivotal his production will be to the offense's success this year.

Tall Task for an 'Elite' Eagles O-Line

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Philadelphia's offensive line has received plenty of acclaim heading into the season, most notably being rated as the league's best unit by Pro Football Focus. But when a guy who's arguably the best in the NFL at tormenting offensive lines speaks up, it tends to carry more weight.

That guy is Ndamukong Suh, who has been going up against the Eagles line in practice. While the illustrious word "elite" is more often used to describe top-tier quarterbacks, he recently bestowed that exact praise on Philly's O-line, according to Turron Davenport of USA Today: "I think we did a good job. A lot of competition out there. Obviously being able to go against an elite offensive line is great for our defensive line, especially our young guys and myself."

Suh is a well-known wrecker in the trenches, but he's also joined up front by Jordan Phillips, Cameron Wake and Andre Branch. While the Packers have no slouches up front and the Bills aren't horrible, the Dolphins' active and disruptive front four will be the tallest task that the Eagles line has seen this preseason.

Keeping Wentz upright and healthy will be a win in itself, but maintaining a clean pocket and blowing open running lanes in the first half would go a long way toward validating the preseason praise laid upon the unit led by bookend tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson.

Select Rookies Get Another Chance

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While one Eagles rookie has been tearing it up this preseason and forcing his way into a bigger share of snaps, another is seeing his name fall to the fringes of the 53-man roster.

First-round pick Derek Barnett has been a monster in the preseason, securing three quarterback sacks in his first two games and relentlessly chasing the quarterback around on countless other snaps. Barnett is in the midst of a deep core of pass-rushers, but the Eagles will be forced to get him on the field early and often in Week 1 and beyond if he keeps up his high motor and big impact.

On the other hand, rookie running back Donnel Pumphrey has failed to impress. He had four carries for five yards in the preseason opener, and his three carries against the Bills went for negative yardage. Pumphrey also muffed a punt to add to the rushing troubles. 

As fellow rookie rusher Clement impresses at every turn, Pumphrey is quickly seeing his roster spot slip away. The shifty, undersized rusher appeared to give the Eagles an extra dimension, but that's not showing in the preseason, and thus it's hard to see the regular season going any differently.

If Pumphrey wants to play NFL football in 2017, he might need a big outing Thursday against the Dolphins. Otherwise, coaches will be even more enticed to giving that spot to Clement.