Final: Eagles 40, Ravens 17
Philadelphia, PA – In their second preseason game of the 2015 season, the Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) put up a well-rounded, solid effort in opposition of John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens (1-1).
Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray took the field together on offense for the first time since their playing days at the University of Oklahoma, as both made their debuts with the Eagles Saturday evening.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 |
| Eagles | 14 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 40 |
After defensive back Walter Thurmond intercepted quarterback Joe Flacco in the end zone on the opening drive of the game, quarterback Sam Bradford and running back DeMarco Murray took the field for their debut drive as an Eagle and did not disappoint.
On an 11 play, 69-yard drive, Bradford led the Eagles down the field at breeze. Murray rushed for 15 yards on four carries, as well as Darren Sproles picking-up five yards on an attempt. The rush that mattered the most, however, was from Ryan Mathews. On 1st and 10 at the Baltimore 14, Mathews rushed for 14 yards into the end zone for the first scoring play of the night for either side. Two defensive holdings and a roughing the passer penalty helped to keep the Eagles' momentum going.
The second drive of the night for Flacco ended in a similar manner as the first. On 2nd and 9 at the Baltimore 33, defensive back Byron Maxwell intercepted the Super Bowl XLVII Champion.
Quarterback Mark Sanchez entered the game in replacement of Bradford, who went 3/5 with 35 passing yards in his Philadelphia debut. The Eagles took advantage again off of the Baltimore turnover, as Murray rushed for a two-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the drive.
On the Ravens' third drive of the night, which lasted two minutes and 50 seconds, they were forced to punt on 4th and 19 after being backed up from an offensive holding penalty by Marcel Jones.
Starting at their own 20, Sanchez was effective in leading the Eagles down the field in their first possession of the second quarter. Kicker Cody Parkey connected on a 21-yard field goal in the red zone, which gave the Eagles a 17-0 lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining before the half.
Ravens' backup quarterback Matt Schaub took over for Flacco in the following possession. While Baltimore picked-up a first down thanks to a four-yard rush by Javorius Allen, Schaub was ineffective in throwing two incompletions, resulting in bringing out the special teams to punt. The following drive for Sanchez and the Eagles was nearly the same, featuring one converted first down and two incompletions thereafter.
As the Ravens punted the ball away for the third time of the night, Kenjon Barner turned heads for the second week in a row through going the distance for a special teams touchdown. Though last week's return against the Indianapolis Colts was for 92 yards, his 68 yard touchdown return this week was just as impressive.
The first three-and-out of the game, for either side, came from the Eagles with a little over two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Sanchez was 1-3 on this drive with a seven-yard completion to 23-year-old rookie Raheem Mostert.
The Eagles entered halftime with a 24-0 lead on 151 passing yards and 66 rushing yards. Parkey missed a 55-yard field goal attempt with six seconds remaining in the quarter.
Matt Barkey, who has been recently linked to trade rumors with speculation that Tim Tebow will earn a roster spot as the third-string quarterback, took over the offense at the start of the third quarter. The 24-year-old, California native went 4-9 on 39 yards. Parkey ended the drive with a 35-yard field goal, putting the Eagles on top, 27-0. In the following Eagles' possession, rookie kicker Kip Smith out of Oklahoma State nailed a 30-yard field goal.
Schaub, who went 12-20 on the night with 129 yards, was pulled after six drives to give reps for rookie quarterback Bryn Renner out of the University of North Carolina. Renner went 2-3 on pass attempts in his first drive, and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller out of Georgia Tech for the Ravens' first points of the night.
Tebow replaced Barkley, after two drives, for the Eagles' first possession in the fourth quarter. The former Heisman Trophy winner was sacked on 2nd and 5 for a loss of 12 yards, but an illegal contact penalty on the play cancelled the loss of yards. Former Villanova University running back Kevin Monangai fumbled at the Philadelphia 37, the Eagles' first turnover of the night.
Renner showed poise again for Baltimore, taking his team down the field for another successful red zone drive. Kicker Justin Tucker's 22-yard field goal attempt was good, shrinking the Ravens' deficit to 20 points.
On Tebow's second drive of the night, he helped his own cause by rushing for 26 yards to the Philadelphia 46 on first down. He then connected to Monangai for an 8-yard reception, his only completion on the drive. Smith's 34-yard field goal attempt was good, giving the Eagles a 33-10 advantage.
Renner powered down the field once again for Baltimore on a seven play, 80 yard drive that took 1:53. He completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Brown, his second touchdown pass of the night. After a chop block penalty was called on the two-point conversion try, Tucker successfully kicked a 48-yard extra point attempt.
Tebow rushed for a 4-yard touchdown in the following drive, his second over two preseason games, however the ruling was overturned with the ball being placed at the 1/2 yard line. Monangai rushed into the end zone, capping-off his successful night.
Passing Summary:
Ravens
- Joe Flacco: 3/7, 23 yards, 2 int, 11.9 rating, 3 drives
- Matt Schaub: 12/20, 129 yards, 79.0 rating, 6 drives
- Bryn Renner: 15/21, 158 yards, 2 TD, 124.7 rating, 4 drives
Eagles
- Sam Bradford: 3/5, 35 yards, 81.2 rating, 1 drive
- Mark Sanchez: 14/20, 118 yards, 85.0 rating, 5 drives
- Matt Barkley: 6/14, 86 yards, 63.4 rating, 2 drives
- Tim Tebow: 2/5, 13 yards, 47.9 rating, 4 drives
Top-Performing Receivers:
Ravens
- DeAndre Carter: 3 rec, 34 yards
- Darren Waller: 3 rec, 21 yards, TD
- Daniel Brown: 1 rec, 28 yards, TD
Eagles
- Nelson Agholor: 4 rec, 49 yards
- Rasheed Bailey: 4 rec, 37 yards
- Raheem Mostert: 3 rec, 44 yards
Top-Performing Rushers:
Ravens
- Terrence Magee: 11 car, 44 yards
- Justin Forsett: 5 car, 29 yards
- Bryn Renner: 3 car, 22 yards
Eagles
- Ryan Mathews: 3 car, 19 yards, TD
- DeMarco Murray: 5 car, 17 yards, TD
- Kevin Monangai: 10 car, 87 yards, TD
Breakdown:
Scoring Summary:
Ravens
- Fourth Quarter, 14:18: Renner 7-yard touchdown pass to Waller; Tucker extra point is good (7-30)
- Fourth Quarter, 6:37: Tucker 22-yard field goal attempt is good (10-30)
- Fourth Quarter, 2:50: Renner 28-yard touchdown pass to Brown; Tucker extra point is good (17-33)
Eagles
- First Quarter, 6:24; Mathews 14-yard rushing touchdown; Parkey extra point is good (7-0)
- First Quarter, 2:38; Murray 2-yard rushing touchdown; Parkey extra point is good (14-0)
- Second Quarter, 10:19; Parkey 21-yard field goal attempt is good (17-0)
- Second Quarter, 4:08; Barner 68-yard punt return for touchdown (24-0)
- Third Quarter, 10:06; Parkey 35-yard field goal attempt is good (27-0)
- Third Quarter, 5:05; Smith 30-yard field goal attempt is good (30-0)
- Fourth Quarter, 4:42; Smith 34-yard field goal attempt is good (33-10)
- Fourth Quarter, 1:59; Monangai rushes for 1-yard touchdown; Smith extra point is good (40-17)
What's Next:
- Saturday, August 29, 2015: at Green Bay Packers (1-0), 8:00 pm
- Lambeau Field, TV: NBC10; Radio: 94 WIP
- Thursday, September 3, 2015: at New York Jets (1-1), 7:00 pm
- MetLife Stadium, TV: NBC10; Radio: 94 WIP
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is a contributor of Eagledelphia.com.
