AP Photo/Scott R. Galvin
The Philadelphia Foles..err, Eagles, defeated the Cleveland Browns 27-10 in Game 3 of the 2012 preseason.
The new most popular player in Philadelphia, Nick Foles, continued his preseason shock-and-awe show by completing 12 of 19 passes for 146 yards, 2 TDs and one interception.
Foles was picked-off on his second pass attempt after launching a bomb down the field for DeSean Jackson, who was double-covered. At that point, fickle Eagles fans were breaking their ankles from jumping off the Foles bandwagon.
However, it didn't take that long before those same fans jumped right back on...
After the defense forced a turnover that gave the Eagles the ball inside the Browns' red zone, Foles showed nice patience and subtle movement in the pocket while surveying the field and finally finding Brent Celek open for the touchdown.
Foles was very "veteran-looking" on that play.
On his second touchdown pass, Foles again looked sharp as he split two defenders on a laser over the middle to Dion Lewis for the score.
Foles almost had a third touchdown pass, a beautifully placed outside ball to Damaris Johnson in the end zone. The play was initially ruled a touchdown but was called back after replays showed Johnson didn't get his second foot in-bounds.
Overall, Foles had another impressive performance, and this time it was against the opponent's first-team defense.
Damaris Johnson only caught two passes for 58 yards, including an excellent 45-yard catch over former Eagles CB Sheldon Brown. Johnson also had a touchdown catch called back because he didn't get his second foot in-bounds.
The non-TD catch was a good one though. Foles placed the ball behind and to the outside where Johnson made a nice adjustment to make the catch.
Johnson also averaged 14.5 yards per return on four punts, including a 30-yarder. Though he bobbled his first punt, he bounced back for a good game and is still the favorite for the job heading into the season.
Other random notes from the game:
- There was an apparent bad miscommunication between the linebackers on the first Browns drive of the game. Brandon Weeden completed a short pass over the middle to Alex Smith on a 2nd and 19 play.
The entire middle of the field was empty and no defenders in sight. After Smith caught the ball, you could see Brian Rolle and DeMeco Ryans come in from the top of the TV screen in pursuit.
Easy first down for Alex friggin Smith.
- Derek Landri continues to have an impressive preseason as well. In the first quarter he stripped Weeden of the football and showed his "army crawl hustle" as he tried to recover the loose ball that Trent Cole eventually recovered.
- Demetress Bell continued to show why King Dunlap has surpassed him on the depth chart. Bell entered the game with the first string and immediately whiffed on a defender that tackled LeSean McCoy in the backfield.
It was McCoy's only carry of the night, for -4 yards.
- Keenan Clayton made an appearance last night as he blocked a punt and had a nice PBU (pass break-up) on defense. He's making a late push for a roster spot ahead of players like Akeem Jordan and Ryan Rau.
Rau, by the way, is the guy who made the nice hit to force a Browns fumble in the red zone.
- Phillip Hunt and Brandon Graham also continued their excellent camps and preseasons respectively. Between them both, they had several pressures and two sacks.
- Brett Brackett helped his caused by catching three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. On the score, he fought through defenders and stretched the ball out to the goal-line.
It was an impressive play by him.
- UDFA safety Phillip Thomas stood out by making some nice tackles and making plays in coverage. He is still a long-shot to make the roster, but could be practice squad material.
- Lastly, I have to say that I'm glad that the Eagles Television Network does not broadcast the regular season games. If they did, I'd go nuts!
There were multiple snafus on seeing the right angles on replays and missing penalty calls by the refs. The camera folks are easily faked out by where the ball is on a given play as well.
It's torture watching the game like that.
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