Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles look ready for the regular season. After struggling in their first two preseason games, the Eagles’ offense found a little rhythm in Thursday’s 38-31 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Wentz did more than enough in his one quarter of play, completing 6 of 10 passes for 129 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against the Dolphins. Wentz went 16 for 23 for 241 yards during the preseason with three touchdowns and one interception.
The Eagles will look to finish their preseason with a flourish when they lock horns with the Jets this coming Thursday. This game will afford Matt McGloin another opportunity to lock up the backup QB spot. He was solid in the win against Miami, completing 22 of 26 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown with one interception. McGloin will get the bulk of the playing time against New York with Nick Foles still nursing a sore elbow. McGloin has completed 71 percent of his passes in the Eagles’ three preseason games but has recorded just one touchdown pass and an NFL-high three interceptions.
He’ll need to limit his miscues if he is to beat the returning Foles. The sixth-year pro from Arizona has 36 career starts, a 56-27 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio and an 88.1 career passer rating. Foles led the league in passing four years ago with Philadelphia, throwing 27 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. Foles is a game-time decision for the preseason finale after just returning to the Eagles practice on Monday.
A preseason that started with so much promise has turned into a major disappointment for Christian Hackenberg. The Jets gave Hackenberg every chance to earn the starting job but he still failed to steal the gig from 38-year-old journeyman Josh McCown. He turned 22 possessions into just nine points in three preseason starts. Hackenberg was horrendous in the Jets’ 32-31 loss to the Giants, throwing a pair of first-half pick-sixes last Saturday.
It will be interesting to see if McCown will still get some snaps against Philadelphia this coming Thursday. McCown hasn’t seen enough playing time this preseason and maybe rusty for his Week 1 start against Buffalo. He has participated in only one series thus far this preseason. McCown also received limited practice reps last week as Hackenberg and Bryce Petty made their final auditions for the Jets. The pressure is on McCown to excel in new coordinator John Morton’s preferred West Coast offense. He looked at ease in the preseason opener against Tennessee, completing 3 of 4 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. McCown, who has a career QB rating of 78.2, has compiled a woeful 2-20 record the past three seasons.
