More Uncertainty In Eagles' CB Competition After Poor Start Vs. Joe Burrow, Bengals

Tanner McKee’s sprint to preseason immortality obfuscated a poor start by the Philadelphia Eagles' defense on Thursday night, which allowed consecutive touchdown drives by the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals offense.

When Burrow, perhaps the best quarterback in the NFL right now, left after two drives, he was 9 of 10 for 123 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 157.5 passer rating.

The main protagonist on the opposite end of Burrow’s brilliance was All-Pro triple crown receiver Ja’Marr Chase with 4 receptions for 77 yards and a 36-yard touchdown in which he undressed Kelee Ringo.

Burrow delivered it to Chase in the flat, and Ringo overcommitted against perhaps the NFL’s top playmaker, who pivoted inside and coasted to the end zone.

It was an ugly opening salvo from the player perceived to be the top candidate to be the heir apparent to six-time Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay, a cap casualty who signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason.

The good news for Ringo is that Adoree’ Jackson, the other top contender for the Eagles’ CB2 role opposite Quinyon Mitchell, hardly played at a high level himself, perhaps making the real winner the newly acquired Jakorian Bennett, who was acquired from Las Vegas earlier in the week for defensive tackle Thomas Booker.

Jackson was also beaten by Chase and allowed an X-play to backup receiver Charlie Jones for 23 yards

Bennett dressed but did not play in the first half.

With Burrow out of the game, third-year CB Eli Ricks had a chance to kickstart his stock but dropped a potential pick-six from Bengals backup Jake Browning.

McKee’s heater then overshadowed most of the early CB troubles, however. The Eagles’ backup played the entire first half and into the third quarter and turned Lincoln Financial Field into a late-summer party in which all the hiccups melted away,

Over the first 30 minutes, the Stanford product finished 14 of 17 for 193 yards and 2 TDs to Ainias Smith and undrafted rookie Darius Cooper.

Cooper, an undrafted rookie from Tarleton State and lengthy 6-foot-6 receiver Johnny Wilson were McKee's top targets.