Philadelphia Eagles: Wait, is Clayton Thorson good now?
After a horrible start to his Philadelphia Eagles career, were we collectively too quick to write off Clayton Thorson as a legitimate NFL quarterback?
When Cody Kessler, the Philadelphia Eagles‘ presumed third-string quarterback, went down with an injury seven snaps into the team’s preseason clash against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it looked like fans at home were in for a long, excruciating evening of Clayton Thorson running the show.
But in a weird twist of fate, after a few ugly series in the first quarter, playing with the second unit, Thorson transformed into a surprisingly competent QB.
And in the second half, while playing alongside his usual third-stringers, Thorson looked borderline uncuttable.
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Though his evening wasn’t without fault, as Thorson threw an almost pick-six, and sent a horrible pass to a double-covered Greg Ward that was somehow caught by Carlton Agudosi after a challenge, he finished out the game going 16-26 for 175 yards and a touchdown for a QBR of 78.2.
For those keeping track at home, that’s 78.2 points higher than his Week 1 rating of 0.0.
Thorson played so well in the second half that Doug Pederson all but gave up on the kicking game, and went for it over and over again on fourth down – resulting in a pair of conversions that kept the show rolling until any sort of comeback was out of reach.
Was it always pretty? No way, the Eagles were a play away from having to insert either Ward or Braxton Miller into the game as an emergency quarterback, but Thorson helmed the ship like a grizzled pro; looking every bit like a player who definitely deserved to be selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.
At this time, it seems almost pointless to sign a third quarterback to fill out the Birds’ quarterback room, as Thorson is undefeated in contests where he receives virtually every snap on the offensive end of the ball (sarcasm).
As the Eagles return to the Linc for their final home preseason contest against the Baltimore Ravens, why not give fans another W before Carson Wentz takes over the show in Week 1 when the Eagles face off against the Washington Redskins? Seems only right if you ask me.
Next. Mack Hollins is an elite gunner. dark
All jokes aside, very seldom does a single preseason contest make or break a player’s chance of making an active NFL roster – just ask players like Marken Michel and Daeshon Hall – but after struggling mightily against the Titans, Thorson showed poise, steadiness, and most importantly confidence under center against the Jaguars. While he obviously isn’t ready to lead the Philadelphia Eagles into a regular-season game any time soon, Clayton Thorson’s chances of making the roster have drastically improved with two more contests to guarantee his spot.