Taste of Things to Come? Eagles Rolled the Browns With Their Backups

Share

As is often the case during the preseason, it's hard to say what the Eagles dismantling Cleveland by a final of 27-10 means for their Week 1 encounter, if anything at all. That said, it's reassuring in any situation when you make short work of a future opponent, and do so largely on the strength of backups.

Andy Reid had already pulled his starters on defense less than 10 minutes into the game with the score still 0-0, and led by a rookie quarterback, his first-team offense played just three snaps longer, eight total -- enough to pick up seven. Still the route was on. After an impressive opening series ended in a turnover, the Browns couldn't get anything going with their ones, lending the appearance they could be in for a long Sunday in two weeks.

Then again, when we say preseason doesn't matter, it's a two-way street. Just as we shouldn't make too much of the Eagles' struggles against New England's backups this past Monday, the takeaways from the Browns having essentially the same issue should not be overblown either. Special teams also influenced the outcome heavily, often providing the Birds with excellent field position.

On the other hand, it was hard not to sense there is a big gap between where these two teams stand at the moment. The best example that came to mind when reviewing last night's events was when the Eagles put a backup defense on the field, it still features linemen who would start almost anywhere else. Coming off a 4-12 season, the Browns certainly looked the part of a team that doesn't share such luxuries.

Anyway, not a lot to analyze here. Neither team wanted to show anything, so tempting as it is to say the Browns seem overmatched here, we'll save any declarations until the real thing is upon us.

Contact Us