“Cool Beans” effort by Eagles in 20-16 win over Buffalo…

“It will be some time before a trade winner is declared, but cornerback Ronald Darby has the Philadelphia Eagles feeling good about their end of last week’s deal early on. Last week, the Eagles traded wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Darby, who was the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2015 but experienced a dip last season. The 23-year-old Darby showed off his 4.38 40-yard speed on a weaving 48-yard interception return against his old squad Thursday and had a strong night overall, as the Eagles edged the Bills 20-16. Matthews suffered a chip fracture in his sternum in his first practice for the Bills and did not make the trip.”

A little ditty about the negative side of the equation:

“Carson Wentz was only supposed to play a series or two, but the offense sputtered out of the gates so head coach Doug Pederson had him stay in for four drives to try to get some positive momentum going. He ended 6-of-9 for 56 yards. With Nick Foles still out with a sore elbow, Matt McGloin and Dane Evans got the rest of the reps….The ground game sputtered for a second straight week. The Eagles managed 40 rushing yards on 16 carries (2.5-yard average) in the first half. LeGarrette Blount had eight yards on five carries. He now has 17 yards on nine carries through two preseason games. The offensive line, which was weakened by the absence of left tackle Jason Peters (personal reasons), has not generated much push to this point.”

Yeah, that’s not cool beans stuff there… but…

The Eagles’ first and second team defense looked solid…

Eagles rookie defensive end Derek Barnett followed a strong preseason debut against the Packers with another productive night. He had a sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss.

Cornerback Rasul Douglas, the third-round pick out of West Virginia, jumped an out route and came up with a nice pass breakup. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has been pleased with his progress.

Linebacker Mychal Kendricks was the star of the show, along with Darby. He had an interception, a sack, two tackles for loss, and chased down Tyrod Taylor from behind to force an errant throw that led to Darby’s interception. There has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Kendricks this offseason. While his future in Philly is hazy, he made a good impression Thursday night.

Injury update: Quarterback Nick Foles (elbow), running back Wendell Smallwood (hamstring), receiver Bryce Treggs ( sore legs) and cornerback Ron Brooks (hamstring) were among those to sit out. With Jason Peters excused for personal reasons, Lane Johnson moved over to left tackle. He got beat by a Jerry Hughes spin move and yielded a sack. Bills WR Rod Streater was carted off the field early in the fourth quarter after injuring his foot. The entire Bills bench walked over to the cart to comfort Streater before he was driven to the locker room. There was no immediate word on the extent of his injury.

In case you are wondering, Alshon Jeffery, a former Pro Bowl wide receiver signed by the Eagles in the offseason, caught his first pass from Carson Wentz and finished with two receptions for 23 yards.

To be fair in praise of good efforts, Bills cornerback E.J. Gaines had an interception in his first game since coming from the Rams in a trade last week. Gaines picked third-string quarterback Matt McGloin, who has struggled in two preseason games.

Oh yeah, and to youse who said we should pick up this cagey veteran receiver, wideout Anquan Boldin, a three-time Pro Bowl pick recently signed by the Bills, caught only one pass for 5 yards.

Both teams looked sloppy in a mistake-filled game. There were 23 penalties and seven turnovers, including Mitchell White‘s interception in the end zone on the final play to secure the win.

Wentz completed 6 of 9 passes for 56 yards. Taylor was 8 of 18 for 53 yards and two interceptions.

After T.J. Yates tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Reilly late in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 16-13 lead, Philadelphia’s Byron Marshall ran in from the 1 for the go-ahead score.

By the way, Bills RB LeSean McCoy, the Eagles’ franchise rushing leader, had 21 yards rushing on four carries and still runs better than every running back Philadelphia has tried since former coach Chip Kelly traded him to Buffalo in 2015.

I also loved the game tape on Zay Jones, and I wish we had drafted him. WR Zay Jones, a second-round pick, had three catches for 42 yards. He made a nifty grab in the corner of the end zone late in the second quarter, but couldn’t get both feet in.

Our own undrafted RB Corey Clement had 34 yards rushing, including a 6-yard TD. Not too shabby.

Final:

Scoring Summary:

FIRST QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	FG 11:06 Caleb Sturgis 24 Yd Field Goal 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:17	0	3
SECOND QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	FG 11:37 Stephen Hauschka 42 Yd Field Goal 10 plays, 41 yards, 3:46	3	3
	FG 7:50 Caleb Sturgis 48 Yd Field Goal 7 plays, 45 yards, 3:47	3	6
	TD 0:47 Corey Clement 6 Yd Run (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 8 plays, 67 yards, 1:43	3	13
	FG 0:00 Stephen Hauschka 26 Yd Field Goal 9 plays, 67 yards, 0:47	6	13
THIRD QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	FG 7:41 Stephen Hauschka 30 Yd Field Goal 10 plays, 42 yards, 3:08	9	13
FOURTH QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	TD 4:57 Brandon Reilly 9 Yd pass from T.J. Yates (Austin Rehkow Kick) 1 play, 9 yards, 0:25	16	13
	TD 3:00 Byron Marshall 1 Yd Run (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 5 plays, 60 yards, 1:57	16	20

Matchup
1st Downs	24	22
Passing 1st downs	14	12
Rushing 1st downs	8	6
1st downs from penalties	2	4
3rd down efficiency	5-18	2-12
4th down efficiency	2-2	0-1
Total Plays	85	69
Total Yards	408	329
Total Drives	15	14
Yards per Play	4.8	4.8
Passing	272	263
Comp-Att	27-53	27-41
Yards per pass	4.6	6.1
Interceptions thrown	3	2
Sacks-Yards Lost	6-31	2-16
Rushing	136	66
Rushing Attempts	26	26
Yards per rush	5.2	2.5
Red Zone (Made-Att)	1-4	2-4
Penalties	15-131	9-85
Turnovers	4	3
Fumbles lost	1	1
Interceptions thrown	3	2
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	30:26	29:34

Philadelphia Passing

Philadelphia Rushing

Philadelphia Receiving

Philadelphia Fumbles

Philadelphia Defense

Philadelphia Interceptions

Philadelphia Punt Returns

Philadelphia Kicking

Buffalo Passing

Buffalo Rushing

Buffalo Receiving

Our third string defense looked very crappy as the game dragged on late into the second half. But all in all, a cool beans night—especially since the Eagles suffered no major injuries.