Eagles Preseason Week 1 Takeaways
Hunter Martin / Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles football is finally back as they kicked off the 2025 preseason with a 34-27 win over the Bengals.
Just like last year, Nick Sirianni elected not to play any of his starters throughout the game. The only projected starter to get significant playing time was the RG Tyler Steen. On the opposite side of things, the Bengals had their starters on offense and defense play the entire first quarter.
It’s not the regular season, but it is great to have football back in Philadelphia. While it’s hard to draw too many definitive conclusions based on a preseason game, I boiled the game down to 3 key takeaways about the Eagles roster based on what we saw.
1. Tanner McKee is legit
The Mormon missile, the stormin’ Mormon call, him whatever you’d like, but Tanner Mckee is a true NFL QB.
After flashing in his limited snaps in his rookie season, McKee was seemingly handed the reins to be the Eagles’ QB2 after the team traded away Kenny Pickett to the Cleveland Browns.
In his start today, Tanner McKee demolished the Bengals’ defense, racking up 252 yards and 3 total touchdowns. McKee had the confidence and poise of a multi-year starter despite never having started a non-preseason game in his NFL career. He was incredibly efficient, going 20-25 on his passes with a QB rating of 135.2.
While you want to try not to overreact to preseason football, it is hard not to be excited given Tanner did all of this while going against the Bengals’ starting defense in the 1st quarter. Against a starting NFL defense, McKee went 5-5 for 73 yards and a rushing touchdown. Those are extremely solid numbers for a backup QB against another team’s starting defense.
The 2nd quarter saw McKee play even better, going 9-12 with 120 yards and 2 passing touchdowns. McKee looked like a QB capable of starting on multiple NFL teams, which should give the Eagles lots of confidence if Jalen Hurts isn’t able to play.
2. Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson struggled
With Darius Slay and Isiah Rodgers both leaving in free agency last year, the Eagles are in search of depth at corner. After acquiring former Raiders CB Jakorian Bennett in a trade earlier this week, it seems to be a 3-way race between Bennett, Ringo, and Jackson for snaps.
Ringo and Jackson started in the preseason opener, and it was a rough look. In fairness to them both, many of the defensive backs struggled, especially early in the 1st quarter when tasked to stop the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Burrow.
Many of Ringo’s struggles were specifically highlighted when he allowed a touchdown to Chase in the 1st quarter. Chase was never touched by Ringo en route to the endzone.
With rumors of Cooper DeJean potentially moving to safety, the Eagles are potentially looking at massive holes in CB2 and 3. It’s tough to judge how Ringo and Jackson played without leaning into preseason overreactions. While yes, they did both struggle, Ringo has had limited snaps in his first 2 seasons, and Jackson is in his first year with the team. Both of them were thrown into the fire, having to go against Cincy’s starters.
3. The RB room is deep
The Eagles got great play from 3 different running backs tonight. Will Shipley had 7 carries for 48 yards, ShunDerrick Powell had 6 carries for 32 yards, and AJ Dillon had 5 carries for 27 yards.
The Eagles lost backup running back Kenneth Gainwell to the Steelers in free agency, making the RB2 job open entering the preseason.
Second-year running back Shipley led the group with his 48 yards, along with breaking free for an explosive 38 yards midway through the 1st quarter. Free agent pick-up Dillon stepped in in the 2nd quarter and also looked fantastic. The “Quadzilla” picked up 27 yards on the ground and had 3 catches for 27 yards for 54 total. Undrafted free agent from Arkansas State, Powell flashed in the 2nd half. He showed off his speed, picking up 32 yards on 6 carries, and scored a touchdown in the early 4th quarter.
It’ll be interesting to watch who Sirianni and Kevin Patullo want to back up superstar Saquon Barkley as the regular season gets closer.
Ethan Whitney
Ethan is a writer for Philly Sports Reports and a Color Commentator for Rally Sports Network. He has been a massive fan of all Philly Sports for as long as he can remember and wants to share that passion with the world. He is looking for a long career in the sports media sphere.
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