Eagles offense struggles, but Drew Mukuba shines in preseason loss to Browns

No Jalen Hurts. No Tanner McKee. Lots of problems for the Eagles, who struggled in their second preseason game, a 22-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.

Almost every expected starter for the Eagles did not play. Even McKee got the day off after his strong performance last week in the preseason opener.

Here’s our instant analysis from the penultimate preseason game.

Nick Sirianni said after the game that his decision to rest McKee in the game was because McKee had a lot of work during the two joint practices earlier this week with Cleveland.

With McKee on the sideline, it was Dorian Thompson-Robinson who got the nod for the Eagles.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Offensive issues start up front as defense steps up in preseason game vs. Browns

Behind a backup offensive line — though it featured current first-team left guard Brett Toth — Thompson-Robinson and the offense struggled. The former Browns quarterback was given the first two series, and the Eagles netted just 7 yards on 10 plays, a stretch that included a play that screamed preseason football when the Eagles lost 14 yards after AJ Dillon caught a tipped ball instead of batting it to the ground.

Kyle McCord got the third series, and led the Eagles on a seven-play, 31-yard scoring drive that ended with McCord hitting Ainias Smith on a quick slant for a 9-yard touchdown that looked nearly identical to the TD Smith caught last week.

McCord played two series before ceding snaps back to Thompson-Robinson. The quarterbacks swapped in and out a few more times. Sirianni said they rotated because the coaching staff wanted both quarterbacks to work with the second- and third-team offenses. McCord saw the bulk of the late-game work, but neither quarterback found it easy to move the ball in the air or handing it off.

» READ MORE: ‘This world doesn’t stop’: With Landon Dickerson out, Brett Toth has taken the reins at left guard

Thompson-Robinson completed five of eight pass attempts for 17 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown. McCord went 8for16 for 47 yards and one touchdown.

Eagles rushers had only 33 yards on 19 carries.

The Eagles managed just 88 net yards on the day while Cleveland tallied 331.

“It was just not great complementary football today,” Sirianni said. “When you have the heat like that — defense had some long drives, offense had some three-and-outs — you want to be able to play complementary football. They had some good moments and some plays that they made, but also we missed some plays. That’s not always just on the quarterback if there was a missed play.

“It wasn’t good enough out there on the field today. Coaching, playing, anything.”

Drew Mukuba was picked on for a touchdown near the end of the joint practice with the Browns on Thursday, but he responded with an interception off a tipped ball on the ensuing two-point try.

That’s life as a rookie sometimes in camp. Make a mistake, then make up for it.

Saturday afternoon showed a little of the same. On Cleveland’s second drive, Mukuba was beaten badly by Cedric Tillman for an 18-yard gain that allowed the Browns to advance the ball into Eagles territory. But three plays later, on the first play of the second quarter, Mukuba again showed off his ball skills.

Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel rolled to his left, and the lefthander threw toward two receivers. Mukuba split between both of them, picked Dillon off, and ran 75 yards untouched for a touchdown.

“We want that for all of our guys, to be able to play the next play,” Sirianni said. “That’s part of mental toughness, being able to be in the moment and fix the mistakes later.”

It was an eventful debut for Mukuba, who missed the opener last week while he worked back into team drills after suffering a shoulder injury early in camp. He also recovered a fumble and was seen vomiting on the sideline not long after his long return.

Mukuba started opposite Sydney Brown at safety, and while Brown has seemingly had the edge of late in the race to be next to Reed Blankenship come Week 1, Mukuba rallied on Saturday.

“It felt amazing,” Mukuba said. “But I’m going to keep building, keep getting better.

“They only completed one pass on me, but I could have done a better job on that play. Overall, I felt like there’s a lot of things in my mind that I got to clean up as far as technique and my eyes being in the right place. I wouldn’t say I had a good game, but I had a solid game for sure.”

Mukuba wasn’t the only rookie defender to make a splash. First-round pick Jihaad Campbell exploded through the right side of the Cleveland line on a blitz for a first-quarter sack.

“It definitely felt good, but most importantly I’m more so worried about the outcome of the game, just getting the win,” Campbell said. “That did not happen. The sack is cool and all, but I’m worried about executing better as a team and what are the specific details and how we can get better to win that football game.”

Time is running out for the Eagles hoping to either make the roster or win a job.

Here’s a look at some of the notable things (besides Mukuba’s performance) that happened for players making pushes.

Safety Lewis Cine (shoulder), offensive lineman Kenyon Green (shoulder), and wide receiver Elijah Cooks (shoulder), did not dress.

During the game, the following Eagles were tended to in some capacity:

» READ MORE: The Eagles defense has ‘some dudes up front,’ says Joe Flacco: ‘They’ve got a lot of things going’

The Eagles are off on Sunday and return to the NovaCare Complex on Monday morning to begin the final week of training camp. They practice Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before playing their preseason finale Friday night at the New York Jets.

They have until 4 p.m. on Aug. 26 to cut down to the initial 53-man roster. As of Saturday, there were 10 days until cut-down day and 19 days until the season opener Sept. 4 vs. the visiting Dallas Cowboys.