Eagles Preseason Opener: 5 takeaways from The 24-7 loss to Baltimore

The Eagles opened the 2026 preseason by getting run out of Baltimore, losing 24-7 to the Ravens on Saturday night, and there’s a real difference between panicking and paying attention.

Nobody who matters played. Jalen Hurts didn’t play. The starting offensive line didn’t play. Zack Baun didn’t play. This was backups, camp bodies, and a fifth-round rookie quarterback carrying the operation on his back for one drive. The sky isn’t falling.

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But some of what happened Saturday tells you real things about this Eagles roster heading into September. Here’s what actually matters.

Cole Payton was the best player on the field

Every other Eagles quarterback who touched the ball Saturday combined to gain 77 yards on eight drives. Cole Payton, a fifth-round rookie out of North Dakota State making his pro debut, gained 45 yards by himself. He spun away from a sack on 4th-and-3, turned it into a 17-yard gain, then capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown throw to Erik Ezukanma with three minutes left.

He led the team in passing. He led the team in rushing. He was the only reason the Eagles didn’t get shut out.

Payton said afterward he thought about running it in himself but decided to throw because he was “gassed.” Fair enough. The kid just outplayed two veterans in his first professional series.

Eagles offense under Sean Mannion wasn’t great, but we’re not panicking

The Eagles fired Kevin Patullo last season because the offense stopped functioning. Sean Mannion was brought in to fix it. Saturday didn’t answer anything, because it wasn’t supposed to, vanilla plan, no starters, first live rep of a new scheme.

Still. Zero first downs into the second half. Nine third-down attempts, zero conversions. Nineteen minutes of possession against Baltimore’s 41. Andy Dalton went three-and-out on all three of his series and finished 3-for-6 for 20 yards. Tanner McKee came in and went 6-for-10 for 35 yards. Neither guy separated himself in the backup quarterback race everyone’s been squinting at since OTAs.

Nick Sirianni put it on everybody, not just the quarterbacks. Dalton said there’s more in the plan that hasn’t been shown yet. Maybe. Preseason openers are supposed to look bad. This one found a new gear of bad.

The backup defense fell apart late, but some names stood out

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has been doing this all camp, and he kept doing it Saturday, five tackles, a sack, two quarterback hits, flying around the field like a guy trying to force his way into a real role. Ty Robinson, fighting for a roster spot behind Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, got a sack of his own and looked like someone who spent the offseason getting stronger instead of comfortable.

Kelee Ringo gave up a touchdown and a pass interference call, then answered with a diving interception in the end zone right before halftime. That’s the Ringo experience in one half. Shaun Wade, a UFL signee who’s bounced through four organizations, got beat on one snap and then chased the receiver down and stripped the ball on the next series. Ambry Thomas recovered.

None of that saved the unit as a whole. The Eagles gave up 435-plus yards and let a fourth-string, undrafted Ravens quarterback walk into the end zone untouched with five minutes left. Depth is going to get tested more than once this season, and Saturday was the first look at what that costs.

Markel Bell looked like a rookie who belongs

The best Eagles rookie on the field wasn’t on defense. Third-round tackle Markel Bell started at right tackle and drove a Ravens defender back six yards on a run play. Lane Johnson is coming off an injury-marred season and probably playing his last year in Philly. Bell looking ready this early matters more in November than it does in August.

International Player Pathway products Joshua Weru and Uar Bernard also made their pro debuts and held up fine for two guys still learning the sport. Weru got a quarterback pressure. Bernard bull-rushed a former third-round pick. Neither helps the Eagles this season. Both looked like something.

What this means for the Eagles going forward

The Eagles lost 24-7 to a team that didn’t play its starters either, and the score itself means almost nothing. What means something: the backup quarterback job is still wide open, the offensive line depth beyond the starters is a real question, and a fifth-round rookie just made the loudest case of anyone not currently on the depth chart.

The Eagles play the Patriots next, August 22nd. That one will tell us more.