Eagles offense shows growth in preseason game No. 2, backup QB race heats up in 24-21 loss at Patriots
Andy Dalton engineered a touchdown drive and Tanner McKee led two in a game played by backups on both teams.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It would’ve been a heartbreaker for the Eagles, but alas, it’s the preseason.
The Eagles gave up a four-point lead in the final minute of their second game of the exhibition slate against the New England Patriots. Patriots quarterback Behren Morton completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nick DeGennaro over the head of Eagles cornerback Isaiah Bolden to win, 24-21.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ second game of the preseason:
Tanner Time?
Two games into the preseason, the momentum in the backup quarterback competition could be shifting.
Andy Dalton started for a second straight week, seemingly an acknowledgment that he’s ahead of Tanner McKee in the competition for QB2. But again, Dalton failed to impress through three possessions.
On 21 plays, Dalton went 3-for-10 for 44 yards. He was nearly intercepted twice by Patriots cornerback Kindle Vildor. The ball hit the ground on one of Vildor’s would-be picks, and on the same play, outside linebacker Gabe Jacas was flagged for roughing the passer.
» READ MORE: Eagles grades vs. Patriots: Running backs have strong performance, QB2 role still undecided in 24-21 loss
On the ensuing play, Dalton had another close call when his pass for Quez Watkins over the middle of the field almost ended up in Vildor’s hands.
Meanwhile, McKee improved upon his performance in the preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens. On 36 plays, he went 16-for-22 for 173 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 125.8 quarterback rating.
He was nearly perfect on the Eagles’ scoring drive just before the end of the first half, completing three of four passing attempts for 44 yards and a touchdown. Each of his three completions — 16- and 14-yarders to Carson Steele and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Britain Covey — were short passes in which the receivers picked up ample yards after the catch.
McKee almost made it a second touchdown pass in the third quarter. He attempted to find E.J. Jenkins in the left corner of the end zone on fourth-and-3 at the 9-yard line, but the 27-year-old tight end dropped the pass.
He completed his second touchdown throw late in the fourth quarter to Steele, a 20-yard catch-and-run that put the Eagles up, 21-17. He helped bail the Eagles out from a pair of penalties on the drive — an Erik Ezukanma illegal crackback block and a false start — by completing two passes to Ezukanma for a total of 24 yards and the touchdown pass to Steele.
» READ MORE: Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson, whose game was ‘on life support,’ quiets doubters with another strong showing
After the game, Nick Sirianni said that “everything is accounted for” in the competition for the QB2 gig, not limited to preseason performance. Dalton is taking fewer snaps in the preseason, Sirianni said, because he has more experience in similar systems to Sean Mannion’s.
“I think both the guys are battling,” Sirianni said. “I’m really confident in both the guys. And we’ll see where that goes. Again, like I said, that’s still a competition.”
Cole Payton, the rookie fifth-round quarterback out of North Dakota State, took over with less than a minute remaining in the game. He was strip-sacked on the third play of the drive, with the Patriots recovering the fumble to secure the win.
Back-to-back sacks
Another week, another standout performance from a pair of young defensive players.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. may not be poised for a starting role behind Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, neither of whom played on Saturday. But the 2024 fifth-round inside linebacker out of Clemson continues to make an impact in the preseason on minimal snaps.
On the Patriots’ second possession of the night, Trotter gave Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito fits. On third-and-3, DeVito fled the pocket with Smael Mondon and A.J. Epenesa in the backfield. Trotter ran from the defensive left hashes to the right side of the field outside of the numbers to tackle a scrambling DeVito, limiting a would-be double-digit-yard gain to just seven yards.
Two plays later, Trotter blitzed the “A” gap unblocked and sacked DeVito seemingly in an instant for a loss of four yards.
“As far as my career, that was probably the fastest [sack],” Trotter said. “I was surprised how it split open like that. But I was able to get good timing on that blitz. So it worked out nice.”
Defensive tackle Ty Robinson also reprised his strong preseason performance against the Ravens. Last week, he had one sack. On Saturday, he notched two on DeVito.
Halfway through the second quarter, Robinson beat Patriots left guard Mekhi Butler on the first sack for a loss of nine yards. Later in the second, the 2025 fourth-round defensive tackle out of Nebraska had another sack, this time on a stunt with Jose Ramirez on the right side of the line.
“That was Coach Vic [Fangio]’s play call,” Robinson said. “Jose’s an awesome person to run those types of games with. And he really did a great job coming in there and picking the guard for me to wrap around and that tackle stayed on him. So I told him I owed him one, especially since we ran two in a row. So I told him I’ve got him next time.”
Sail the Ship, Steele the show
After Eagles running backs combined for just 31 yards on 11 carries (2.8 yards per carry) against the Ravens, the entire rushing unit fared better on Saturday.
Will Shipley and the game’s starting offensive line — which included left tackle Fred Johnson, left guard Drew Kendall, center Willie Lampkin, right guard Jake Majors, and right tackle Markel Bell — dominated the Patriots defensive front.
On the second Eagles possession of the game, the offense rode Shipley into the end zone. He had seven carries for 30 yards on the drive, including a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle behind the stellar blocking of Kendall and Lampkin that put the Eagles up, 7-0.
Shipley finished the night with 11 carries for 56 yards (5.1 yards per carry).
Steele, the 2024 undrafted free agent out of UCLA who spent the last two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, picked up where Shipley left off. He had some solid runs, but he was particularly eye-catching as a pass catcher.
After the two-minute warning in the first half, Steele caught a check down three yards behind the line of scrimmage on first-and-10 from the Patriots’ 28. Steele scurried downfield, hurdling Patriots cornerback Brandon Crossley in the process.
Late in the fourth quarter, Steele scored the go-ahead touchdown on another short pass from McKee. Steele turned two yards into 20 with his legs, bolting into the end zone and pulling the Eagles ahead, 21-17.
Steele had 12 carries for 33 yards (2.8 yards per carry). He was also the Eagles’ leading receiver with six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
“I had a blast,” Steele said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but we executed a lot more things. Definitely took our game up a level from last weekend. Just got to keep progressing from there.”
Injury report
Eagles depth running back Ja’Quinden Jackson was stretchered into an ambulance on the field after going down during the opening kickoff. The team announced later in the first quarter that he had strength and movement in all extremities and he was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Mac McWilliams, the 2025 fifth-round cornerback out of Central Florida, visited the medical tent in the first half. He eventually headed indoors and did not return to action.
Bell, the 2026 third-rounder out of Miami, also visited the medical tent in the first half. He remained on the bench but did not return to action.
Lane Johnson rejoined training camp this past week after a multi-day absence, but his return brought with it the announcement that 2026 is “probably” going to be his last NFL season. What does the prospect of the All-Pro’s retirement mean in both the short- and long-term? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Ryan Novozinsky take a look at what the Eagles can expect from Johnson in his 14th year as a pro, and who might be waiting in the wings to replace him. Listen here.
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