Aug 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba (24) recovers a fumble against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
NFL preseason continued this week, and the Philadelphia Eagles played their second of three preseason games Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, unlike last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Saturday's game against the Cleveland Browns ended in a loss.
For the second consecutive week, none of the Eagles' starters played, which was no surprise. Therefore, Eagles fans – and GM Howie Roseman – got a great look at the Eagles' potential roster depth.
Here are three takeaways from the Eagles' preseason loss:
Mukuba, Campbell impress
In an otherwise disappointing showing from the Eagles' defense, two rookies showed up and showed out. First-round linebacker Jihaad Campbell's snaps were limited last week, but he started Saturday's game and made an immediate impact. On the second play of the game, Campbell took down Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel:
Eagles’ first-round pick Jihaad Campbell notches a sack on the second play of the game👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/7LINR9BzJ3
Campbell's explosive pass rush ability was on clear display during the blitz. He was still nearly untouched by the time he got to Dillon Gabriel.
Not to be outdone, Eagles' second-round safety Andrew Mukuba decided to make his mark as well. Mukuba missed last week's game, and since he's mostly run with the second team during training camp, there was a lot of intrigue surrounding him heading into today's game. Well, during the first play of the second quarter, Mukuba certainly put on a show:
Drew Mukuba takes Dillon Gabriel’s pass the other way for SIX! pic.twitter.com/mct6hSE2Jl
That 75-yard pick-six was just Mukuba's first big play of the day. Two drives later, Mukuba – who has been hailed as a ballhawk since college – found the ball yet again, emulating Roy Kent from Ted Lasso:
Drew Mukuba: he’s here. He’s there. He’s EVERY-FLIPPIN-WHERE.
pic.twitter.com/D0wOjYPD4Q
Campbell and Mukuba were two bright spots in an otherwise sloppy game.
Eagles offense had a rough day
And 'rough day' might still be an understatement. By the time the game was over, Eagles quarterbacks (who will be discussed later) had thrown for just 64 total yards.
The running game wasn't much better. Montrell Johnson Jr., the Eagles' leading rusher of the day, toted the ball six times for a grand total of 20 yards. AJ Dillon, now entering his sixth NFL season, carried the ball three times for seven yards. He also caught a ball he definitely should not have caught:
This was… definitely a play!
(via @RossTuckerPod) pic.twitter.com/dwLIt4s863
On top of that, the second half of the game was simply a dismal showing. Here's how it went:
Punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs.
That is wholly uninspiring football. Poor Braden Mann punted seven times this game.
Obviously, most of these skill players won't be on the roster in a few weeks, so don't put too much stock into that showing. However, there's still one battle that needs to be settled, and it was decidedly not settled Saturday:
Third-string quarterback still a question mark
The Eagles played Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord at quarterback Saturday, which was expected considering the way that Tanner McKee slung the ball around last week.
This was a battle for QB3; given the importance of the quarterback position, the Eagles very much value both of their backups. They handed DTR and McCord the keys to the kingdom ('the kingdom' being the third-string offense) and let them have at it.
Well, here are the final results of today's heavyweight bout:
Dorian Thompson-Robinson: 5/8 (62.5%), 17 yards (2.1 average), 0 TD, 1 INT, 27.1 passer rating
Kyle McCord: 8/16 (50%), 47 yards (2.9 average), 1 TD, 0 INT, 77.1 passer rating
Those numbers do not inspire confidence.
McCord threw his first NFL touchdown in his hometown stadium, but he didn't quite do enough to completely pull away from Thompson-Robinson in the competition.
That being said, DTR was not good. He made multiple questionable decisions, including the aforementioned AJ Dillon catch. After a slightly high snap from Brett Toth in the third quarter, DTR threw as he was getting hit, and the Browns took it back for a pick-six.
In 2024, the Eagles' QB3 – Tanner McKee – saw action in two games. He started one. The third-string quarterback has to at least be able to handle some NFL-level game action.
The Eagles switched out McCord and DTR numerous times throughout the game, even during the fourth quarter, which suggests they think further evaluation is still necessary.
Since starter Jalen Hurts, McKee, Thompson-Robinson and McCord are the only quarterbacks on the Eagles' roster, next week will presumably be another test for both McCord and DTR.
What's next?
Next Friday, Aug. 22, the Eagles will play their last 2025 preseason game against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
