Timber Creek grads QB Devin Leary and LB Deion Jennings make positive debuts for the Ravens
BALTIMORE: If any Eagles fans out there were looking for anything definitive regarding key backup positions from the Eagles-Ravens preseason game at M&T Bank Friday night, you were likely disappointed.
The first half...which is where we would see most of those key backups get their time to shine ended with an uninspiring score of 6-6.
No one jumped out at you with an impact play; and none of the rookies looked overwhelmed by the bright lights of their first NFL action...even if none of it counted.
Veteran wide receivers John Ross and Britain Covey did look good.
Ross finished the first half with three catches for 28 yards, Covey recorded four receptions for 25 yards. He was targeted four times.
Covey also had a nice punt return of 26 yards, making several Ravens defenders miss along the way.
Running backs Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Will Shipley rotated most of the first half.
Gainwell rushed four times for 23 yards, Shipley carried the ball seven times for 23 yards.
The fourth-round pick out of Clemson scored the only touchdown of the first half on a seven-yard pass from Kenny Pickett. Jake Elliott missed the extra point.
Baltimore scored its only points of the first half on a pair of Justin Tucker field goals (46, 21).
Pickett was accurate when he threw the ball. The former Pittsburgh Steelers starter played the first half plus the first series of the third quarter going 14 of 22 for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Tanner McKee came in for Pickett 9:37 mark of the third quarter and his first drive led the Eagles on a 17-play drive for 74 yards that ended when Lew Nichols rushed to the left for two-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in the third quarter to give the Birds a 13-6 lead.
Josh Johnson started for the Ravens. The ten-year veteran was four of 12 for 62 yards, he was sacked once and left at halftime with a 51.4 QB rating.
Covey was asked if his performance move the needle to him securing the No. 3 spot on the wide-receiver depth chart.
“I try to move the needle every day,” Covey said at his locker after the game. “I think if you need a good preseason game performance to really move the needle, that means you haven't doing enough in camp. So I hope, yes...but at the end of the day...I hope every day I do that.”
Covey was reminded that the head coach and the coordinator say they want to see how a player performs under the pressure of bright lights of a real game that's on TV.
“It's a good point,” Covey conceded.
Covey was asked about coaches trusting him even more now that he is showing he can make catches in tight spots and make things happen when he gets the ball in his hands.
“That's the best compliment you can get,” Covey said. “I talk with Jalen all the time and he knows that when I'm out there he can trust me and that's the best compliment you can get.”
“I've never had many chances on offense and I know they're coming one day. I stay ready for that. My track record speaks for itself on the rest of the stuff,” said Covey, referring to his punt return numbers over his first three seasons in Philadelphia.
Also rushing the ball well were Tyrion Davis-Pri ce who carried the ball six times for 34 yards and Kendall Milton, who rushed nine times for 39 yards.
FORMER LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STAR RETURNS TO FACE THE TEAM HE ADMIRED GROWING UP IN SOUTH JERSEY
Enter two-time Footballstories Player-of-the-Year Devin Leary at quarterback for Baltimore.
The former Timber Creek standout came into the game with the Raven trailing by seven.
At first it didn't look like Leary was ready for this level.
His first three drives were three-and-outs. He was sacked by Nolan Smith on one of the drives.
But on drive four at the start of the fourth quarter was much different as Leary led the Ravens on a 15-play, 61-yards drive that ate 7:54 of the clock and ended with the rookie signal-called sneaking in for a touchdown from the one.
Leary was four of five for 44 yards in the drive. The touchdown tied the score 13-13.
He said the fact that he was leading the Ravens against the team he rooted for as a child was not lost.
“A childhood dream come true,” Leary said.
He was asked if there was a part inside of of him he reached to when he got another chance in the fourth quarter.
“The first couple drives we stalled a little bit,” Leary said. “I wish I could have done a little bit better on those drives but ultimately it's my first NFL game, first time getting snaps in a game setting..it's just a 'next play' mentality.
“Once I got word that I was going to get another drive to start the fourth quarter, I had to make the most of it. Our offensive line, our offense as a whole, coach Monk (Todd Monken) did a great job calling the plays. We operated in a much better sense that drive.”
Was the last play his favorite call by Monken?
“The QB sneak? I can't take credit for that,” Leary said with a laugh. “That's all the O-line...that just barreled me in there.”
CRAZY FINISH
McKee showed the coaches he can respond with big drive when the status of the game called for it.
The 2023 sixth-round pick out of Stanford led the Birds on a 16-play drive from the Eagles 33-yard line and stalled on the Ravens 32-yard line.
Elliott had already missed and extra point off the goal post in the first quarter...the All Pro wouldn't miss the 50-yard shot that was presented to him with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter and end head coach John Harbaugh's remarkable 24-game preseason win streak, would he?
He sure did...Elliott's kick struck the right upright.
The football gods weren't done for the evening. The Ravens looked like they were going to settle for a tie when Harbaugh inserted fourth string quarterback Emory Jones, a rookie free agent, with just 16 ticks of the clock left.
Jones took the snap from the Baltimore 40-yard line for what would have been a Hail Mary pass. But that prayer wasn't answered as 2021 seventh-round pick Patrick Johnson, a linebacker out of Tulane, strip sacked Jones and recovered the fumble at the Ravens 32-yard line.
After a Pickett sneak that went nowhere, Elliott nailed a 49-yard to give the Eagles a walk-off win.
Head coach Sirianni said winning is good, even in the preseason.
“We're always trying to win as much as we possibly can; that's how we are playing it," Sirianni said. "It's about the process and operation that we can talk through – many good things – as a coaching staff. All the reps that the guys got were huge. But we were able to get a lot of things worked out as a coaching staff, as far as communication goes. Such as, 'Here's what we're going to do in this scenario. Here's what we're going to do in that scenario.'
"You can simulate situations like that as much as you want, and we try to, but when they happen in real time, you must react. I thought that was good. So again, it's more about the process of what we had to go through today. The win is nice, because you always want to win, but it doesn't count. But now there's a lot of good film to process and learn from."
MORE STUFF
For the Ravens rookie Nate Wiggins defended three passes, made three tackles (two solo) plus a tackle for loss.
A former Leary teammate at Timber Creek, Deion Jennings, a linebacker out of Rutgers, was signed by the Ravens as a rookie free agent.
The 6-foot-1, 230 pounder recorded three tackles (one solo) coming off the bench.
Eagles rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, Jr , a fifth round pick out of Clemson was impressive in his pro debut recording a sack in the second quarter, a quarterback hit, a special teams tackle while leading the Birds with five overall tackles. Second-year linebacker Ben VanSumeren also registered five tackles (two solo).
Trotter said he was nervous at first.
“For me, once you get that first play, that first hit, the butterflies go away, and you just play football.
“It definitely gave me some momentum right there. Knock away the butterflies and not be nervous or anything. Once I got that going, it was just about playing football."
Both defenses held strong throughout the second quarter to keep the game even after one half of football.
"It felt good,” Trotter said. “That was my first play out there, so coming out there making that play, you know, backed up, it felt great. I thank God, I thank my teammates, but I also just, you know, felt really good to get into the game and that be one of my first plays out there." *
Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballstories.com
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