The long wait for Philadelphia football is finally over as the Philadelphia Eagles traveled down I-95 to visit the Baltimore Ravens for the 2026 preseason opener. The starting units did not suit up for the preseason opener, giving fringe players an opportunity to put forth their best effort for a coveted spot on the 53-man roster. When the final whistle blew, the Eagles were on the wrong end of a 24-7 scoreboard against the Ravens in the first exhibition contest of the 2026 campaign.
The first half was a frustrating offensive affair for Eagles fans to sit through. Andy Dalton was constantly under pressure, and his stat line showcased that duress. The 15-year veteran completed three passes on six attempts for 20 yards as the Eagles offense struggled to move the ball in the first quarter. Darius Cooper caught two of the four passes sailed his way, with the longest reception checking in at 13 yards.
Philly’s offense didn’t pick up a first down until early in the second quarter when Tanner McKee took control of the offense. The 25-year-old is entering his third NFL season and started one contest in each campaign over the last two seasons. McKee completed five of his seven passes for 29 yards and was the only QB able to push the Eagles offense towards a first down.
Defensively, the Eagles defense was bullied by the Ravens offense in the first half. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Ty Robinson picked up first-half sacks, but those were the only positives for the defense in the first half.
Baltimore’s offense was efficient in its offensive opportunities. Backup QB Tyler Huntley completed six of seven passes for 76 yards, while third-stringer Joe Fagnano racked up 118 yards with one touchdown pass in the first half, but he also threw a late interception to Kelee Ringo towards the end of the first half. Baltimore scored the only points of the opening 30 minutes on a Fagnano-to-rookie Ja’Kboi Lane connection.
There were a few standout players, such as McKee and Cooper, who flashed skills when they had the chance. But Philadelphia didn’t give themselves many opportunities to extend drives early in the game. If the game were contested 106 miles up the road at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the boo birds would’ve been out in full force after the first two quarters.
Baltimore marched down the field to open the second half behind a 12-play, 47-yard drive that ended in a 42-yard field goal from Tyler Loop to extend the lead to 10-0. Fangio’s defense allowed a couple of 10+ yard passes on the drive that left the Ravens slightly outside the red zone. Baltimore’s offense stalled out before Loop converted on his kick to add more points in the home squad’s favor.
The Eagles offense stalled out with a negative-6 yards across five plays before punting the ball back to Baltimore. Fagnano started the long march down the field once again, but wide receiver Elijah Sarratt fumbled after a great recovery effort from cornerback Shaun Wade, who was initially beat on the play, but his second effort knocked the ball loose for the Eagles defense to recover. Philadelphia gained one yard on the resulting drive before booting the ball back to the Ravens.
Fagnano continued to pick apart the Eagles backup squad’s soft shell defense with 18-yard and 12-yard passes, pushing the Ravens into Eagles territory. An illegal contact penalty on Ambry Thomas kept the drive alive for Baltimore, allowing rookie running back Adam Randall to punch in the rushing touchdown for an insurmountable 17-0 lead.
Cole Payton, the Eagles' fourth-string starter from North Dakota State, entered for the fourth quarter, but fortunes remained the same for the Eagles' offense, which punted another ball away to the home squad on Saturday night. Philly won’t have to worry about getting another look at Brandon Mann after eight punts averaging 47.6 yards on the night. Philadelphia gained two total first downs in the weekend clash against Baltimore.
Defensively, Mac McWilliams led the Eagles with 10 tackles, while Thomas finished second with seven tackles (to go along with an extremely costly penalty). Tarron Jackson secured a fourth-quarter sack as the Ravens drained the clock in the final frame.
The Eagles finally made a scoring push in the fourth quarter behind Payton's scrambling abilities. With the Ravens shutting down air options, the rookie scrambled for several first-down runs before locating Erik Ezukanma in the back of the end zone with the only score of the night for the folks rocking the all-white Eagles uniforms with the classic green helmet.
It was a small bit of happiness for Birds fans who stuck around for the entire 60 minutes of pigskin action on Saturday evening, where nothing really went Philly's way at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.
Get ready to hear plenty of A.J. Brown’s name over the next week as the New England Patriots host the Eagles for a pair of joint practices in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and Thursday, Aug. 20. The Eagles and Patriots clash for the second of three preseason games on Saturday, Aug. 22.
We’ll have plenty of coverage of the Eagles’ reunion with their former wideout as the preseason rolls along towards the home opener in South Philly on September 13.
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