By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Another week, another win for Doug Pederson, albeit in the preseason.
Still, for the Eagles first-year head coach, things appear to be coming together nicely, and while the preseason is no time to jump the gun on any excitement, the Eagles showed efficient offense while continuing to be strong on defense in a 33-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
After the win, Pederson had some high praise for starting quarterback Sam Bradford, who looked ready to go for Week 1 when the Eagles host the Cleveland Browns.
"I thought tonight culminated his hard work he's put in all through the offseason and training camp," Pederson said. "I made the decision way back in OTAs to split all the reps equally, three ways, all the way through training camp. This is the first week that Sam's had 100 percent of the reps and it showed tonight. Just seeing the field and putting the ball exactly where he wants to put it, I think is just his growth and his maturity and his understanding of the offense and trusting his guys."
"To execute the way we did was nice," Bradford said. "I was really happy with the communication at the line of scrimmage. I thought our tempo in and out of the huddle was really good again tonight. Overall, I thought the execution tonight was great. It's obviously something we can build on moving forward."
Bradford makes up just one part of the first-team group that will not see too much action in Thursday's preseason finale. Pederson hinted that their action would be limited by saying he thinks that group is just about ready to go.
"I think so. I'm very confident in what they did tonight," Pederson said. "Obviously, the execution wasn't perfect, but it was headed in the right direction. I thought Sam was very efficient throwing the football and we did some nice things running the ball this week."
Week 3 of the preseason is the chance for the starters to get an extended look in a game and have the chance to prepare for a game as if it is the regular season. Pederson noted that the extra practice time for the starters definitely made a difference and elaborated on the game planning process.
"It just goes to show that when you can allow your starters to practice longer, you get some timing and rhythm with those guys and it showed tonight," Pederson said.
"You're still in preseason mode and you're not showing everything and you're keeping everything very basic, but at the same time you're letting your starters get a full week's work that they would normally get during the regular season. From that standpoint, that's the game plan specific and putting the coaching staff in more of that game plan mentality."
Pederson also continued to compliment the defense. In addition to one interception from Nolan Carroll, the defense, particularly in the first half, continued to be stingy and tenacious, holding the Colts to just three points until the late stages of the third quarter.
"They're playing outstanding," Pederson said. "That's obviously the biggest bright spot for the training camp. They're playing aggressive, tenacious football. That's Jim Schwartz style of ball. That's what I wanted when I hired Jim Schwartz. And that's what you're seeing. Very pleased with where they are, we just have to keep it rolling and carry it into the regular season."
Despite all the successes of Week 3's win, the Eagles did have the growing pains of working the remaining players on the roster into the mix. A 24-3 lead late in the third quarter became a 33-23 final, and penalties, drops and missed coverages became a greater problem as the reserves started to cycle into play. Pederson said that the team will always have something to work on and better themselves at, no matter how plentiful the positives are in other areas.
"There's always room to grow, myself included," Pederson said. "We did take some strides tonight, pleased with the victory. We've got to keep working on the drops and the second-half penalties but overall, you definitely have some work to do each and every week. Now our starters can focus on opening day and get themselves ready to go on Sept. 11."
The Eagles final tuneup comes on Thursday against the New York Jets and while many of the starters will get some rest, a couple of players are still question marks for the game. Vinny Curry, Wendell Smallwood and Taylor Hart all left the game with injuries and Carson Wentz returned to practice on Friday as a full participant. Pederson had no update on Smallwood or Hart, Curry said he would be out a "couple days," and Pederson added that Wentz is on track to have a chance to play on Thursday.
Thursday's preseason finale against the Jets begins at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.
