By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The good from the Eagles preseason Week 1 win over the Buccaneers was the defense’s overall solid performance, forcing five turnovers and holding Tampa Bay to nine points. The bad came from some highly inconsistent play from the Eagles offense and the casualty of Carson Wentz suffering a hairline fracture to his ribs, leaving him unavailable to play for the foreseeable future.
So without Wentz, clearly the talking point from Week 1, the Eagles return to the field on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a chance to give the potential first-team players a little more time on the field.
Here are six players, positions or storylines to watch in the Eagles Week 2 game against the Steelers.
Wide Receivers – It’s really an open competition at the wide receiver position with a lot on the line for the current group of Eagles wideouts. Jordan Matthews will sit out his second straight game with a knee injury and newcomer Dorial Green-Beckham will not play either after being acquired in a trade on Tuesday. That leaves Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Rueben Randle and Chris Givens, as well as several undrafted rookie hopefuls, to try to have standout performances. After the entire group stood out in a bad way in the preseason opener, the Eagles need someone to show some sign of consistency.
Sam Bradford – Bradford’s preseason debut lasted all of one minute and three plays — one completed pass and two rushing plays to Ryan Mathews, one for a touchdown. Bradford is expected to be in action for the entire first quarter, potentially more, according to Doug Pederson. This will be a good way to see how Bradford’s consistency is to this point in the preseason.
Eagles Secondary – It seems pretty safe to say that Leodis McKelvin, Rodney McLeod and Ron Brooks are locks for the team in a fairly prominent role in the secondary. This week also welcomes Malcolm Jenkins back to the field. But if the Eagles first-team defense gets a longer look against the Steelers first-team offense and the likes of Antonio Brown, then it could be a good test to see where they are at this time as well.
Fletcher Cox – It sure seemed like Cox benefitted from Jim Schwartz’s scheme in last Thursday’s preseason opener, coming up with a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery. It’s another week to see what happens when the Pro Bowler gets to attack at the line and rush the passer.
Offensive Line – With the Eagles essentially expected the hammer to drop on Lane Johnson, a de facto starting five has emerged with Allen Barbre at Johnson’s right tackle position, rookie Isaac Seumalo at left guard and Jason Peters, Jason Kelce and Brandon Brooks rounding out the group. Beyond the top five, the Eagles depth on the line is a clear issue, and that includes Seumalo, who struggled with the rest of the second-team players in his debut. This group needs to not only show signs that they are capable of protecting the quarterback, but also just stay healthy through another week of preseason action.
Steven Means – His name has been coming up a ton during training camp and Jim Schwartz has said that the undrafted free agent means business, pun intended. Means had a strong debut last Thursday and needs to continue that to keep his hopes of making the team strong.
