The Philadelphia Eagles opened their preseason in a similar fashion to last year, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 17-9, Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
A strong defensive performance led the way for the Eagles (1-0), forcing five turnovers, three of which were interceptions. Chris Maragos, Quentin Gause and C.J Smith all recorded INTs, the last of which sealed the victory with 52 seconds left in the game.
Maragos also recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the game, setting up an easy opening drive that lasted three plays and culminated with a five-yard touchdown run from Ryan Mathews just 55 seconds in.
Two Tampa Bay (0-1) drives later, the Eagles forced their second fumble of the night after defensive tackle Fletcher Cox stripped Bucs quarterback James Winston and recovered the ball inside the Tampa 10 yard line. It didn't take long for Philly to strike again, extending its lead to 14-0 after quarterback Chase Daniel scrambled his way into the end zone from three yards out for the touchdown.
Daniel's touchdown would be the only highlight of his night after replacing Sam Bradford, who only played the opening series before being taken out. Daniel completed just four of 10 attempted passes, getting sacked four times and given minimal time to try and find an open receiver.
At the 7:01 mark of the second quarter, the Bucs finally got on the board thanks to a 26-yard touchdown from Winston to Russell Shepard to make it 14-6. The margin remained at eight after rookie kicker Roberto Aguayo missed his first extra point attempt in the NFL.
Winston ended his night 7-of-9 with 97 yards and a touchdown.
The main attraction of the night, however, was the introduction of rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who came on with one minute, 19 seconds left in the first half and played the majority of the second. Despite a few high throws and a bad pass that resulted in a Tampa Bay interception, Wentz finished 12-of-24 with 89 yards and 15 more yards on the ground. One of the most encouraging signs to take away from Wentz's debut was his ability to scramble out of the pocket and find a receiver on multiple occasions, an attribute that will certainly be appreciated by fans.
Next up for Doug Pederson's squad is a date with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 18 at Heinz Field.
Notes:
- Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks left the game after the first drive with a right biceps injury. He later tweeted: "I appreciate the concern Eagles fans but nothing serious I'll be fine just a precaution. Good team win tonight though #FlyEaglesFly".
- Paul Turner led all Eagles receivers with six receptions and 34 yards, followed by Zach Ertz, who caught three passes for 26 yards.
- Safety Ed Reynolds recorded a team-high seven tackles, and the team ended the night with three sacks.
- Caleb Sturgis was 1-for-1 on FG attempts, draining one from 42 yards out to make it 17-6 in the fourth quarter.
- Both teams combined for 21 penalties worth 162 yards, with the Eagles committing nine in the first half.
