It may be just preseason, but a 40-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens has to have Philadelphia Eagles fans thinking their team can accomplish great things in the 2015 season. The Eagles clicked on all cylinders, rolling up over 475 yards of offense while adding a special teams touchdown en route to a 30-0 third quarter lead. Most importantly, Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray made their preseason debuts with the Eagles. Preseason is still just preseason, but here are five takeaways from Saturday night’s win over the Ravens. 1. Sam Bradford Got His Feet Wet In two seasons under Chip Kelly, Michael Vick, Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez have combined for the third-most fantasy points at the quarterback position. Sam Bradford is a questionable choice to be the team’s signal-caller of the future, but considering that Kelly flipped Foles for Bradford and threw in a second-round pick, it seems to suggest Kelly thinks Bradford can do great things in this offense. And there’s a lot to like about Bradford. He’s tall, accurate, has a quick release and is still just 27 years old. Quarterbacks in this league can play into their mid-thirties with ease, and Kelly is clearly counting on a Drew Brees-like resurgence from Bradford. Bradford wasn’t perfect in his first appearance. He completed three of five passes for 35 yards. He missed Riley Cooper on a deep ball that would have been a touchdown. But he led a 12-play, 84-yard touchdown drive in his only action. He took several tough hits, including one from Terrell Suggs that was a borderline cheap shot. The Eagles are very confident that Bradford can stay healthy; in fact, with Kelly believing there’s an 88 percent chance Bradford stays healthy in 2015. 2. Kenjon Barner May Have Earned a Roster Spot Chip Kelly is largely a three running back guy, in the sense that he prefers to keep three running backs on the 53-man roster and no more. But Kenjon Barner may have just earned himself a spot on this year’s roster with another impressive preseason showing. In Week 1, Barner took a punt 92 yards to the house. He followed that up by taking one 68 yards to the house, this one much more impressive considering he had to break several tackles at the beginning. There’s also the Oregon factor with Barner, and the fact that Kelly traded a conditional seventh-round pick for him last offseason. The depth at running back (DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Darren Sproles) is great enough that Barner wouldn’t likely see much action carrying the football. But it’s going to be difficult to ignore a guy that can make plays like Barner has done so far in preseason. 3. This Defense Forces Turnovers The 2015 Philadelphia Eagles will have a much different outlook on defense than they did last year. Longtime pass-rusher Trent Cole is gone, and in his place will be former first-round pick Brandon Graham, a first-time starter on the outside. Newly-acquired inside linebacker Kiko Alonso is a playmaker if he can stay healthy. $63 million cornerback Byron Maxwell has the potential to be a lockdown cover guy, and defensive back Walter Thurmond will be a first-time starter at safety. But if the Eagles play like they’ve played so far in two preseason games, it won’t be a problem. Last year’s fifth-round pick Ed Reynolds intercepted two passes in the debut, which made the coaching staff feel comfortable enough to release Earl Wolff during the week (that and the fact that Wolff’s knee won’t stop swelling). Second-round rookie Eric Rowe had an impressive punchout in the opener, and the secondary intercepted Joe Flacco twice in the second game. In all, the Eagles have held Colts and Ravens quarterbacks to a dismal 5.09 passing yards per attempt, recording four interceptions and four sacks. If that continues into the regular season, the Eagles will be dangerous. 4. The Running Game is Lethal Chip Kelly swapped out LeSean McCoy for a pair of running backs in DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, each former Pro Bowlers. Murray is fresh off the NFL rushing crown, and while he handled the ball nearly 500 times including playoffs, the Eagles are taking it easy with him both by managing his practice time in August and complementing him with the signing of Mathews. As a unit, the Philadelphia Eagles combined for 238 rushing yards on 38 carries in the win over the Ravens. Murray, Mathews and Kevin Monangai all scored touchdowns, and most impressively, undrafted rookies Raheem Mostert and Monangai were the two leading rushers. It’s unreasonable to expect the Eagles to average 200-plus rushing yards per game, but anything close to that performance is good news. 5. Bryan Braman May Be a Future Pro Bowler on Special Teams If you haven’t been watching, Bryan Braman is an absolute wild man on special teams. And defense. Per Pro Football Focus, Braman rates as the second-best 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL so far this preseason. He’s registered two quarterback hits, three pressures and four tackles, and he’s done all this on just 37 defensive snaps. It’s no secret that the Eagles lack depth at the outside linebacker position. Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin are highly-paid players, but the depth currently consists of 2014 first-round bust Marcus Smith (who is currently injured), inside/outside linebacker Brad Jones and Braman. If Braman can develop into a legitimate player on defense, he will see snaps. Either way, he’s looking like the kind of player that will make the roster with ease just for what he does on special teams.
