Roob’s Firsthand Observations: Rookies Shine as Eagles Beat Ravens in Wild Last-Minute Finale

Roob’s First-Hand Observations: Rookies Shine as Eagles Beat Ravens in Wild Last-Minute Finish originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

That was quite a drama for a practice match.

Jake Elliott, who missed a 50-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, got another chance moments later after edge rusher Patrick Johnson forced a fumble. This time, Elliott connected on a 49-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 16-13 victory over the Ravens in their season opener at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The Eagles’ various defensive units limited the Ravens to 164 total yards, 11 first downs, 2-for-12 on third down. In the second half, the Ravens managed just 55 yards.

Very good stuff!

Here is our first edition of 10 Instant Observations of the year:

1. The Eagles will lean heavily on their rookie draft class this year, and Friday night’s preseason opener was a promising debut for several of them. First-round pick Quinyon Mitchell nearly had an interception, 3^rd-round pick Jalyx Hunt looked fast and engaged in his first NFL game, 4^and-round pick Will Shipley scored the Eagles’ first touchdown and made some tough runs and blocks, 5^and-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was very active and 6^and-round pick Johnny Wilson showed himself as both a receiver and a blocker and 6^and-round pick Dylan McMahon showed some nice athleticism by pulling a 13-yard run from Tyrion Davis-Price (which was neutralized by a penalty). It’s too early to draw any definitive conclusions about this draft class, but this group looks promising. And that’s without 2^nd-round pick Cooper DeJean, who is out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

2. It only took a few plays to see what the Eagles love about Mitchell. On an early 3^rd-and-10 from the Eagles’ 29-yard line, Ravens QB Josh Johnson fired up the middle to Malik Cunningham, the former Louisville quarterback turned wide receiver. Mitchell made a perfect play, jumping in front of Cunningham to knock the ball down. The rookie 1^st-round pick probably should have had an interception on the play, but a nice pass deflection on his fifth NFL snap isn’t bad. Mitchell didn’t play much, but that play was impressive. Speaking of corners, Kelee Ringo looked great, especially breaking up what could have been a touchdown pass from Johnson to Temple’s Keith Kirkwood in the second quarter and then making a big knockdown of a pretty good pass from Johnson to Rutgers rookie Isaiah Washington in the closing seconds of the first half. Ringo is that talented. Isaiah Rodgers was a little loose in coverage and gave up a 19-yarder to Kirkwood earlier in that drive, but considering it was his first game in 592 days, he’s in.

3A. Kenny Pickett got the first half and a series of the second half, and he didn’t do anything amazing – his longest completion went just 10 yards to John Ross (on a 3^rd-and-17) – but with no AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley or Dallas Goedert and working behind the backup offensive linemen – and the Eagles playing as boring as possible – I thought he looked fine. He spread the ball around and got rid of the ball a little quicker than he did in practice. This is still a new offense for Pickett, and he’s talked about how hard it is to unlearn an old system while learning a new one. But after a slow start to camp, he’s gradually gotten sharper and more comfortable this summer, and on the backup quarterback scale, he’s above Marcus Mariota and below Jeff Garcia. The former Steeler finished 14 of 22 for 89 yards with a seven-yard TD pass to Will Shipley late in the first quarter. When the deeper backup linemen and receivers came in, he sputtered a bit. But overall he showed control of the offense, found the open man, moved around the pocket pretty well, and avoided mistakes by making some meh plays, which is all you’re looking for right now.

3B. Tanner McKee led a 17-play touchdown drive once he entered the game early in the third quarter, but he didn’t look particularly sharp overall. McKee was very good in training camp, and considering he was in there with some pretty deep backups and was the victim of a few drops, it’s hard to judge him. He made a few nice throws – a 3^rd-and-5 first down completion to Ainias Smith with 4 ½ minutes left was huge – and he wasn’t terrible. But you’d like to see a little more consistency and accuracy, especially on those outs.

4. Shipley is a fun player and he’s going to play a role on this team. After Kenny Gainwell won the first series – and ran four times for 23 yards – the rookie 4^and-round pick got eight touches on the Eagles’ second drive, running for 23 yards before catching that touchdown from Pickett. I don’t think Shipley is going to get many carries, but you saw on the TD his flair for getting open out of the backfield and the soft hands that make him such a consistent receiver. In Moore’s offense, every receiver, tight end and back will be considered.

5. How about that No. 54? Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had a promising training camp, and he was able to carry over the playmaking he’s been showing lately at the NovaCare Complex into his first pro game. First, Trotter made a nice solo stop on Damarion Williams in punt coverage, limiting him to a gain of seven yards. And moments later, on a 3^rd-and-2, he stopped Ravens QB Josh Johnson for no gain — officially a sack — and forced a Ravens punt. It would be easy to say that Trott’s role will be solely on special teams — and he’ll be very good there — but given the state of the Eagles’ linebacker position, don’t be surprised if Vic Fangio finds a role for him. It won’t be a big one, but the kid is smart, fast, athletic, active and instinctive, and he’s really flashed his skills lately. Speaking of linebackers, it was good to see Nakobe Dean running around and making some plays. He seems buried behind Zach Baun on the depth chart, but he didn’t hurt himself last night.

6. Britain Covey and Johnny Wilson both did well in their battles for wide receiver reps behind AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. Covey caught four passes for 25 yards in limited playing time and I still believe the kid can be a decent slot receiver in the NFL. He knows how to get open, he catches everything and he’s quick with the ball in his hands. Kellen Moore is going to find a role for him in the offense. Wilson also had a catch in his first NFL game, but what’s really going to impress coaches is his blocking. He’s not just a willing blocker, he’s a very effective blocker. He had a big block on Covey’s second catch and another on Shipley’s touchdown. Interesting player. He’s gone from a 6^and-round longshot a month ago to a guy who locked up a spot on the list. As for Covey, he also had one of his patented punt returns where he gets hammered three times but keeps his balance, doesn’t go down, and somehow gets 26 yards.

7. Overall, I liked what I saw from the non-starters on defense. In addition to Trotter, guys like defensive tackles Moro Ojomo and Marlon Tuipulotu, 2^nd-year undrafted linebacker Ben VanSumeren, rookie edge Jalyx Hunt and safety Tristin McCollum all made plays and looked fast and physical. The Ravens picked up 29 yards on their first two plays, then managed just 82 yards on their next 30 plays through the end of the third quarter. At one point, they went six straight drives without a first down, and managed just 26 yards on those six drives. We know Fangio likes to find roles for anyone who strips down, so some of those guys will play this year. I thought the defense looked fast and physical overall, admittedly against mostly Ravens reserves.

8. You know who always stands out? Darian Kinnard, a free agent combo guard-tackle who began his career as a 5^and-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022. The Eagles acquired a bunch of backup linemen this offseason — Matt Hennessy, Max Scharping, Nick Gates — but the one who’s been most impressive is Kinnard, who I think made the team. He’s a tough, physical 6-foot-5, 325-pound guy with two Super Bowl rings to his name. He’s worked with the second o-line at both tackle and right guard. Jeff Stoutland seems to have found the kid’s world, and that’s good enough for me.

9. Another thing we saw on Friday night was that the Eagles have some very good depth at running back. In addition to Gainwell’s 4-for-23 and Shipley’s 7-for-23, Davis-Price ran six times for 34 yards, Lew Nichols was 7-for-21, and undrafted Georgia rookie Kendall Milton was the one who got the ball on the final drive and ran hard, rushing for 39 yards on nine carries against a stacked box. So with five different guys working, none of them named Saquon Barkley, the Eagles’ backs ran for 140 yards. One of those guys — Davis-Price, Nichols or Milton — will make the roster and another will likely be on the practice squad. Good competition. It’s a very solid room.

10. We probably don’t talk about Patrick Johnson enough, but he’s now in his fourth year with the Eagles and there’s probably a spot for him on the roster, and in the final seconds of that game, we saw why. He’s primarily a special teamer — and a very good one at that — but that play at the end showed what he’s capable of as an edge and why he finds ways to get into the team every September. On the Ravens’ first snap after Elliott missed the 50-yarder, Johnson stripped Ravens QB Emory Jones and recovered the ball at the Ravens’ 32, setting up Elliott’s game-winning goal. The Eagles have a lot of question marks at the edge — Bryce Huff has had just one good year, Josh Sweat finished with eight straight sackless games last year, Brandon Graham is 36, no one knows what to expect from Nolan Smith — so it’s nice to have someone like Johnson around who puts in a lot of effort, knows how to play the game and can make a big play when given the chance.