The Eagles and Browns technically played a football game on Saturday.
But the score didn't matter, and none of the players most casual football fans have heard of played a single snap.
Still, for a select few rookies, backups and journeymen athletes, Philadelphia's second preseason game of the summer was their own personal playoff game.
Here's a look at a player who stole the show in the 22-13 loss, and a unit that might be a cause for some concern after an ugly afternoon:
Stock up: Andrew Mukuba 📈
Just when it looked like Sydney Brown had the second starting safety spot (opposite Reed Blankenship) sewn up, rookie Andrew Mukuba made it a competition again.
The second-round pick had a delayed start to training camp as he missed a week or so of practices with a shoulder injury that also held him out of the preseason opener against the Bengals. In the meantime, Brown's hard-hitting and aggressive instincts had him looking like a solid choice for the starting job.
But then a bad decision by Cleveland rookie Dillon Gabriel gave Mukuba a gift that he took 75 yards to the end zone for a pick-six:
In contrast to a bevy of Eagles defenders who dropped interceptions last week against Cincinnati, Mukuba made the play. He had five interceptions as a senior at Texas last fall. He also had one earlier in the week against the Browns in joint practices.
Adding to his preseason turnover total was a recovered fumble later in the second quarter. A bad handoff that saw the football hit the turf gave Mukuba another chance for a takeaway and he scooped it up, helping to set up a Kyle McCord touchdown pass to Ainias Smith.
The Eagles are in need of a ball hawk in the secondary. The departure of C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason (via a trade to the Texans) takes away 12 interceptions across his two one-year stints in Philly.
If Mukuba can take advantage of opportunities like this for the rest of August, he could find himself on the field at the Linc when September arrives.
Stock down: The backup offensive line 📉
The Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in football, year in and year out. And typically they have a backup swing tackle who is good enough to start on most NFL teams, some developmental rookies with high potential and reliable spot starters to cover the inevitable wear and tear to Pro Bowlers Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens.
This year, the depth seems a little thin.
Kendall Lamm, Brett Toth, Drew Kendall, Darian Kinnard and Matt Pryor were the starting five on Saturday, with some real stakes in play. Roster spots, and even a potential Week 1 start for the recovering Dickerson are up for grabs. There don't appear to be many answers, at least from the guys who played the majority of the game.
The Browns' backup pass rushers manhandled the Eagles all day, forcing numerous pressures and QB hits. One particularly bad pressure in the first drive set in motion a positively zany play that saw a pass go for negative-14 yards after being tipped by the defense, batted by two O-linemen and then inexplicably caught by A.J. Dillon for a big loss that led to a punt.
Later in the first half, Dorian Thompson-Robinson was brought down for an ugly sack.
The offensive line's worst blemish was this disastrous pick-six — that was hardly DTR's fault:
Browns third-string linebacker Julian Okwara was untouched as he attacked the quarterback. The snap from Toth was also quite high on the play.
Pryor was flagged for a false start in the red zone a couple of possessions earlier (moving the Eagles back from the four to the nine-yard line) but McCord's touchdown pass bailed him out on that drive.Kendall was flagged for a false start to begin the second half.
Philadelphia has the best offensive line coach in the game in Jeff Stoutland, and history suggests they'll get it figured out. But the best remedy could be for the starters to stay as healthy as possible this coming season.
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