The Philadelphia Eagles secured their first win of the preseason on Thursday night, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-10 at TIAA Bank Field. Cody Kessler left the game with a concussion, allowing Clayton Thorson to redeem himself from last week with a solid performance against the Jags.
Here are six players whose stock is up after the big win.
RB Miles Sanders
Sanders has a gear and a penchant for yards after contact that hasn’t been seen since the days of Shady McCoy. Sanders looked special at times on Thursday night and showed why he deserves to be a starter.
Sanders started the game against the Jaguars and then put his dynamic playmaking ability on display, making jump cuts, running with power and picking up the blitz.
Here are several of Sanders top plays from his one half of action.
DE Daeshon Hall
Hall is continuing to emerge and finished Thursday night with two sacks, including one strip-sack off the edge that was Brandon Graham-like.
Hall is giving Josh Sweat everything he has in the battle for the fourth defensive end spot.
DE Shareef Miller
Miller had a sack on the night and is starting to arrive as a rookie. He’s now on pace to land the fifth defensive end spot.
QB Clayton Thorson
Thorson played with heart Thursday night and showed why the Birds selected him in the fifth round. Thorson led touchdown drives of 87 and 90 yards.
He finished the game 16-for-26 passing with 175 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
OT Jordan Mailata
Mailata helped pave the way for over 100 yards rushing for the Eagles. He had some issues in pass protection during the preseason opener but more than redeemed himself against the Jaguars. Mailata played the entire game, didn’t give up any sacks and flashed the potential that has Eagles brass in love with his size, speed, and natural talent.
We talked about Mailata needing to have a big game this week, and he showed why he’ll be on the 53-man roster.
LB Zach Brown
Brown was a player that we said needed to have a big game and he flashed that potential to be a supreme tackler.
He’ll likely lose reps to Johnathan Cyprien on third downs and passing situations, but he’s secured his spot.
