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It’s been a mere 186 days since the Philadelphia Eagles played their last football game. In case you forgot, the last game the Eagles played is when they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
But enough about last year. The Eagles are now on the path to defending their title. In four weeks from tonight, the Eagles will play their first regular season game against the Atlanta Falcons. In the meantime, the Eagles will have to get through four preseason games, including one tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers starting at 7:00 PM ET.
The first preseason game is always better in your head than it is in reality. You’re excited to see the time play again after a long layoff. You’re excited to see the new guys. Then it gets to be late in the third quarter and you’re realizing there’s still so much time on the clock before the game is over. You still watch anyway, because you’re a die-hard, but you start to just want the regular season to get here already.
Personally, I’m looking forward to tonight’s game. Training camp has gotten to a point where it feels like we’ve seen just about everything we need to see in 10 days of practice. Now it’s time to see how the players fare in a game environment.
The Eagles’ first team units should get a drive or two tonight before yielding to the backups. Get a quick tune up and then get out of there without further risking injury. Then we’ll get to see the young guys and the roster battle participants we’re waiting to see. Nickel cornerback, weakside linebacker, fourth running back, and the fifth/sixth wide receiver spots are some obvious areas of interest.
I’m also genuinely interested to see how the quarterbacks play. Is Nate Sudfeld going to justify the hype he’s received? I don’t doubt he’ll have some flashes. Just a matter if he can show some consistency. Joe Callahan should prove to be a lot more fun to watch then Matt McGloin. Callahan can around a little bit and make throws on the run.
Tonight’s game will hardly tell us all we need to know about the 2018 Eagles but it will go towards figuring out what this year’s 53-man roster will ultimately look like.
It’ll also help us pass the time until September 6.
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Score prediction:
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My predictions:
Score prediction: 20-17, Eagles win.
Bold prediction: Sidney Jones gets two interceptions, including one pick-six.
Your predictions:
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