Eagles rookie Kyle McCord celebrated ‘a pretty cool way’ to throw his first NFL TD for his childhood team

Folded over on the field, Eagles rookie quarterback Kyle McCord could tell by the roar of the Lincoln Financial Field crowd that it had finally happened.

McCord, who hails from Mount Laurel and played his high school ball at St. Joe’s Prep, had long dreamed of throwing a touchdown pass for his childhood team in the stadium he grew up frequenting. He might not have envisioned that he would be facedown in the grass when his receiver snared the catch, though.

That’s exactly what happened late in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 22-13 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. Against a Cover 0 look, a free rusher — defensive end Cameron Thomas — bowled McCord over late while Ainias Smith made the 9-yard touchdown grab.

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McCord, the Eagles’ sixth-rounder out of Syracuse, eventually popped up and celebrated with his teammates. The pain didn’t overshadow the magnitude of the moment for the rookie quarterback.

“Pretty cool way to get your first one,” McCord said postgame.

That touchdown throw was one of the highlights for McCord in an otherwise shaky outing for the Eagles offense. Six of the Eagles’ 13 points came from a 75-yard Drew Mukuba pick-six. The Eagles offense only mustered 88 net yards on 44 offensive plays (2 yards per play).

McCord and fellow depth quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson rotated throughout the game, taking two series each at a time. Coach Nick Sirianni explained afterward that backup Tanner McKee, who played more than half the snaps in the preseason opener, got enough work in joint practices to warrant a respite on Saturday.

Why not give McCord and Thompson-Robinson each a half, allowing them to get into a rhythm with their teammates? Sirianni said he wanted both quarterbacks to take reps with the second- and third-team offenses, with each playing one half of the game. McCord said he found out about the plan to divide up the reps during the week.

“It’s not the normal rhythm of the game that you’re used to, but at the same time, when you’re in there, you just have to do your job and make the plays,” McCord said.

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The plays didn’t always happen. Thompson-Robinson and McCord were under duress throughout much of the afternoon behind offensive lines comprised of backups and rookies.

Thompson-Robinson’s issues against pressure were more glaring. On the opening drive, defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka beat right tackle Matt Pryor off the edge and attempted to bring down Thompson-Robinson by his legs. The quarterback made a desperation heave, but defensive tackle Shelby Harris batted the pass. The ball deflected off Pryor and left tackle Kendall Lamm before AJ Dillon snagged it for a loss of 14 yards.

In the third quarter, Thompson-Robinson struggled to corral a high snap from third-string center Brett Toth. He got the ball under control just in time for rookie left tackle Myles Hinton to lose his battle on the edge with former Eagles defensive end Julian Okwara. He knocked Thompson-Robinson’s arm mid-throw, causing the ball to flutter into the arms of former Eagles defensive end KJ Henry, who returned the interception 45 yards for a touchdown.

Thompson-Robinson finished the day going 5-for-8 for 17 yards and an interception. McCord went 8-for-16 for 47 yards and the touchdown to Smith.

“It was just not great complementary football today,” Sirianni said. “Defense had some long drives. Offense had some three-and-outs. And you want to be able to play complementary football in that area. So I have to watch the tape. Obviously, they had some good moments and had some plays that they made, but also, we missed some plays. But that’s not always just on the quarterback if there was a missed play.”

McCord described his own performance as “good and bad.“ In addition to the touchdown throw, the good also included his first successful Tush Push attempt to pick up a first down. The Eagles don’t run the play full speed with live tackling in practice, so the game provided McCord the opportunity to run it for real for the first time.

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He also sees the value in the bad, even if it stings in the moment.

“It’s a constant learning process, and sometimes, as crappy as it is, when you make the mistake, that’s sometimes the best way to learn,” McCord said.

McCord has had plenty to learn throughout training camp without much opportunity to put it in action. Jalen Hurts and McKee have taken the majority of the practice reps, leaving McCord and Thompson-Robinson with just a rep here and there at the end of each team drill, if that.

Because of those limited practice reps, preseason games are all the more important to the two depth quarterbacks as they vie for the third-string gig. Every snap is magnified. With his touchdown pass and the ensuing shot he took, McCord aimed to send a bigger message about his capabilities that he wouldn’t be able to convey in practice.

“I think that’s, as a quarterback, your way to show toughness,” McCord said. “There’s not too many times where you’re physically showing your toughness.

“So when the opportunity presents itself and it’s zero blitz and you can stand in there to throw a touchdown, I think that’s your way to exemplify that.”