By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
When the final seconds ticked off in the Eagles 14-6 win over the Jets on Thursday, it marked the beginning of the final countdown on the decision-making process in constructing the final roster.
That's mainly what the final preseason game is about for the 30 or so players that don't have guaranteed roster spots.
One of the standouts of that group was wide receiver Paul Turner, who Doug Pederson says answered the challenge he issued to the younger players on the team.
"He had a great training camp," Pederson said. "His individual performance stood out, he had a big catch, the punt return. He's making it hard on us, and that's what I've challenged all the young guys to make it hard on me and Howie to make these decisions by 4 p.m. on Saturday. He's put himself in a good position and we just got to continue to evaluate and see how it shakes out.
"Until I really study the film tomorrow, it's hard to say this guy separated himself from the others. You've got to evaluate the whole body of work."
Pederson said he is going to be flexible when it comes to certain positions when determining the final roster, such as the decision to keep three or four tight ends.
One player whose status for Week 1 remains up in the air is Lane Johnson. Johnson is facing a 10-game suspension, but the league has not officially announced anything yet or made any indication as to when an announcement could be coming. Pederson said that until anything changes, Johnson is starting going forward.
"Until I get further word from the league office, he goes in as my starting right tackle," Pederson said. "I just decided to keep him out of this game to not risk injury going forward. It is tough. You would like to know one way or the other, but I'm not going to let that bother our football team."
While veteran Mychal Kendricks likely has a spot on the team, Pederson still had him on the field for parts of the final preseason game. Pederson explained that decision after the game.
"From last week to this week, he needed to knock a little of the rust off," Pederson said. "He just didn't have the game reps that we would have liked him to have. I just felt like it was important for him to be out there under gamelike conditions and play. Practice is one thing, games are another and sometimes the speed speeds up on the game field. I just wanted him to get a couple reps tonight and just feel what it was like to be back into game shape going into the season."
As for the game, it was a night for special teams and defense. With the offense not gaining much momentum, it was up to the other units to fill the void. Pederson talked after the game about why key plays and performances by the special teams and defense mean so much.
"Obviously very pleased with special teams and what we've done throughout training camp. The return tonight was huge," Pederson said. "Defensively, we continue to get hands on the football. It all starts up front with the rush and how well we attack the quarterback. And then guys are working hard and catching the football. It's one of those things where sometimes defense and special teams will keep you in a football game. We just didn't do enough offensively to score and fortunately we didn't need to."
Next time the Eagles are on the field, it will be a Sunday afternoon and the results will officially count. For now, the countdown is not to kickoff, but to Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., when the Eagles need to submit the final 53-man roster.
