Wasn’t that special? Eagles get shut out by Browns, 5-0…

First I’d like to congratulate the Cleveland fan base in attendance. They hooped and hollered all through the entire four quarters. Like Palmy says, you have to give it up to these hard-core fans in Cleveland. I love their enthusiasm.

Secondly, we should take this game result with a grain of reality salt. Basically on offense we were in a “last chance for Wendell Smallwood and DeAndre Carter to make the team” mode. That is not the usual protocol for a PS3 game, but Doug Pederson went with it. I respect Doug’s commitment to his young players. He went with a restricted game plan on offense for the express purpose of giving Smallwood and Carter a legitimate chance to make the team. Players love coaches for that. The darkness of the day when Doug has to tell either Smallwood or Carter that they have been cut from the team somehow gets brighter with the tape from this awful game to accompany them to their next stop.

Another objective of this preseason game was to measure the progress of Big V at left tackle. Grrrr…he was horrible again.

One thing I will mention is the Eagles on both offense and defense ran up against a team with such a pronounced overall speed tempo… I don’t think anyone realized the Browns have become possibly the fastest team in the NFL, based upon quickness measurements at every damn position.

I mean, Mychal Kendricks is right— the Browns are loaded with physical talent and velocity.

Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles threw two interceptions and Philadelphia’s starting offense struggled again as the Eagles were beaten 5-0 on Thursday night by the Cleveland Browns.

Foles was hoping to bounce back from a rough outing against New England last week, when he also injured his right shoulder. His overall statistics were better (13 of 17 for 127 yards) against the Browns (2-1), but he made two poor decisions while throwing the first-half picks, was stripped for a fumble and sacked for a safety.

This where The Great JB99 usually chimes in with his “Foles is horrid” chant.

Look, I used to be a Foles-hater myself when he was a rookie. But I stuck with him through the learning curve. He’s no Aaron Rodgers, I get that, but when given solid offensive line play, he’s more than capable of making reads and delivering strikes.

The problem last night for Foles was the offensive line was breaking down, and he reverted to “hope” passes under pressure.

“Hope” is a bad word around here as decreed by Emperor GK Brizer long ago.

Cleveland had a quarterback scare. Starter Tyrod Taylor injured his left hand in the first quarter, and the sight of him heading to the sideline sent a shiver through fans in FirstEnergy Stadium. Rookie Baker Mayfield replaced him for two series before Taylor returned. Cleveland’s starter finished 11 of 16 for 65 yards.

Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick, played the entire second half and went 8 of 12 for 76 yards and an interception. I quite enjoyed (as a casual fan of the overall NFL) observing the maturation process of Mayfield in motion. I almost forgot I am an Eagles fan wishing for his destruction in the moment. I dig the guy’s mental approach. I think we saw Mayfield has that “it” factor”—not sure what “it” is yet, but he’s got it. Kind of a Drew Brees thing…

With Foles behind center, the Eagles’ first-team offense, which was missing wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor and running backs Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles, hasn’t scored a point in three exhibitions.

That doesn’t really bug me that much. Foles has been working with a bunch of tryout guys for the most part. Maybe I’m naive, but I think Foles is aware of the fluid situation on the Eagles’ offensive roster. He has been just a pawn in Doug and Howie’s roster game up to this point.

Still, Foles floated a long pass that safety Briean Boddy-Calhoun easily intercepted . Then, with another chance to finally score, Foles forced a throw into a crowd near the goal line and was picked by linebacker Jamie Collins.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was credited with sacking Foles in the end zone for the game’s first two points.

Foles lost his footing while backing up, fell to one knee and was touched by Garrett. Foles completed a pass on the play, but the Browns challenged it and were awarded a safety.

Garrett had a fun night. I’ve rarely seen such a talented difference-maker on defense have more fun. In fact, for confirmation of that opinion, just ask Big V—whom Garrett garroted on several occasions.

Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez helped his chances to keep his job with a 54-yard field goal. Gonzalez is competing with Ross Martin. Our guy Jake Elliott hooked a 33-yarder wide left. Hmmmm…

INJURIES: Eagles: Starting C Jason Kelce limped off after making a block during the opening series. He did agility and stretching drills under the guidance of the training staff and returned for Philadelphia’s next possession.

Browns: First-round pick Denzel Ward suffered a back injury in the first quarter and did not return. Ward appeared to get twisted while tackling 250-pound tight end Zach Ertz. Ward, the No. 4 overall pick, was on the field for several minutes before walking off on his own power. … Starting S Damarious Randall did not dress because of a knee injury. He was not on the team’s original “not expected to play” list and may have gotten hurt during warmups. … Rookie WR Antonio Callaway did not dress after missing three practices with a groin injury.

UP NEXT: Eagles: Host the New York Jets on Aug. 30.

Matchup
1st Downs	18	17
Passing 1st downs	9	8
Rushing 1st downs	8	7
1st downs from penalties	1	2
3rd down efficiency	3-12	5-16
4th down efficiency	1-3	0-2
Total Plays	65	69
Total Yards	263	258
Total Drives	12	12
Yards per Play	4.0	3.7
Passing	162	120
Comp-Att	24-38	20-31
Yards per pass	3.6	3.4
Interceptions thrown	2	1
Sacks-Yards Lost	7-37	4-28
Rushing	101	138
Rushing Attempts	20	34
Yards per rush	5.1	4.1
Red Zone (Made-Att)	0-2	0-2
Penalties	4-44	1-5
Turnovers	4	1
Fumbles lost	2	0
Interceptions thrown	2	1
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	29:01	30:59

Late in the 4th quarter, after two drives by the Browns and one by the Eagles ended in punts, Nate Sudfeld and the Eagles’ offense got the ball back at their own 20-yard line with 1:53 left in the game. Ten plays later, the Eagles were stalled at their 45 as time ran out.

And that’s what a 5-0 loss looks like in football… if it counted in the standings, we would be really pissed off.