After picking up a win in their preseason opener last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Cleveland Browns for their second preseason game Saturday afternoon.
For a lot of rookies and fringe vets looking to make the 53-man roster, this offered them another chance to prove to the coaching staff that they belong. These two teams had a couple of joint practices against each other earlier in the week at the NovaCare Complex, so the starters took a backseat, along with backup Tanner McKee, who was impressive last week.
That said, Saturday’s second preseason game proved to be a dud for the Eagles, who struggled to execute at certain points and ended up losing 22-13 to the Browns.
After the game, head coach Nick Sirianni offered his thoughts on his team’s performance, and let’s just say that he wasn’t pleased with the effort.
“It wasn’t good enough out on the field today. Coaching, playing, anything”
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) August 16, 2025
— Nick Sirianni
Nick Sirianni Admits Harsh Truth About Eagles’ Performance Against Browns
According to Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP, Sirianni said to reporters afterwards, “It wasn’t good enough out on the field today. Coaching, playing, anything.”
The Super Bowl-winning head coach did not leave a stone unturned, as the performance could have and should’ve been better, especially considering that some of the guys playing will be needed throughout the regular season.
For most Eagles fans, the topic of conversation during and after the game was the QB play. If you don’t have good or adequate quarterback play, it's hard to evaluate guys at the skill positions looking to make the 53-man roster or practice squad.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord were given a tremendous opportunity to separate themselves in the QB3 battle with McKee sitting, and neither guy played well. In fact, the former had a disastrous turnover that summed up his NFL career to this point. Also, the running game was non-existent (19 carries for 33 yards), which falls on the offensive line not doing its job.
On defense, the Eagles struggled to get off the field a lot on third downs; they couldn’t generate a pass rush from time to time, and when they had opportunities to make a play, they fell short.
Now, there were some flashes from Patrick Johnson, Jihaad Campbell, and Azeez Ojulari, but overall, the unit left much to be desired.
Therefore, one has to believe Sirianni will address these issues and hopefully fix them before the preseason finale next week against the New York Jets. That will be the final game for many players looking to keep their NFL dreams alive, whether in Philadelphia or elsewhere.
We know in preseason that the final result on the scoreboard doesn’t matter. However, effort and execution are just as important. If you don’t have those key pillars, it's hard to win in the National Football League.