Eagles running back Will Shipley took the handoff and headed to his right. It was in the second quarter of Thursday's preseason opener against the Bengals, who were starting most of their first-team defense against an Eagles offense comprised mostly of backups.
Shipley found an opening and scampered through it to pick up 38 yards, one of the offense's signature plays in the 34-27 win at Lincoln Financial Field. To the public, it looked like Shipley put the jets on, outrunning the Bengals' defense.
But Shipley could see that the hard work had been done long before he ripped through the hole, starting with right guard Tyler Steen's lead block on Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, whose downhill flow was disrupted by Steen's left pivot.
“And just opened it up for a Mack truck," Shipley recalled of Steen's block. "So, I was able to get through there. And then Jahan [Dotson] threw a great block on the corner. I gotta finish it, but it was a good one.”
Shipley's 38-yard run through a canyon-sized hole was also made possible by right tackle Matt Pryor sealing off left edge defender Myles Murphy, a first-round pick, and rookie center Drew Kendall kicking into the second level to wall off linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., another Bengals starter.
Here's a still pic view:
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The right-most circle is Pryor displacing Murphy at the edge. The middle circle is left guard Brett Toth reach-blocking fifth-year, 340-pound tackle T.J. Slayton Jr. Hidden behind the Toth block on Slayton in the picture is Steen taking out Wilson. The left circle shows Kendall executing a 180-degree pivot to obstruct Knight's path.
"We didn’t really know what exactly they were gonna do on defense," Steen said, "So we made a call just to get everyone in their gaps and be able to handle their movements. It worked out really well."
That's an understatement. Shipley's big gain exemplified the impact made by an Eagles offensive line that featured just one starter (Steen), and several rookies and fringe roster linemen.The Eagles averaged close to 6 yards per carry in the first half against a Bengals defensive front that featured plenty of guys who'll be playing every weekend.
Third-year quarterback Tanner McKee, who started the game and played into the second half, completed 20-of-25 passes and was only sacked once in the first half. McKee benefited not only from good pass protection but also from an imposing run game that forced the Bengals to put up extra box defenders, which set up more 1-on-1s for him downfield.
"That's all on the O-line," McKee said of Shipley's long run. "Will did a great job of hitting the hole and using his speed. It's great as a quarterback just to be able to run the ball and it keeps the defense honest, too. They can't play sky coverage and have two deep safeties the whole time. They're going to have to roll down and put guys in the box and that opens up things in the pass obviously."
Rookie tackle Myles Hinton, a sixth-round pick, and Kendall, a fifth-rounder, made their pro debuts. Hinton replaced Kendall Lamm after the first few series and, after an initial hiccup on a stunt that led to McKee getting sacked, settled in nicely. Kendall also snapped the ball well at center, which has been an issue for other Eagles backups at the position in camp.
All four Eagles running backs peeled off at least one run of double-digit yards, and three of the four averaged more than 5 yards per carry.They even executed a tush push, helping McKee power across the goal line on a game-tying touchdown in the first quarter.
Playing against Bengals starters, the Eagles' O-line backups (minus Steen) blew Cincinnati off the line of scrimmage – and made some fans in the process.
"I thought they did a great job, a phenomenal job doing their assignment, executing," said left tackle Jordan Mailata, a sideline spectator like almost all of his starting teammates. " Hell of a game by the offense. Little stuff to clean up but for the first game out – especially for the young guys – it's a good taste for them to kinda see the pace of the game, and even just the experience of playing in there goes a long way. I really was proud of the linemen tonight."
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