This is the last game that doesn’t count.
With the Eagles’ regular season just over a week away, Thursday night’s preseason game will be a chance for non-starters to make a last push for a roster spot or put out more positive film.
As they always do, the Eagles will finish the preseason against the Jets. This one will be in North Jersey.
6 p.m.: Eagles Pregame Live on NBCSP
7 p.m.: Eagles at Jets on NBC10
10 p.m.: Eagles Postgame Live on NBCSP
The television broadcasters will be Scott Graham (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst) and Dave Spadaro (sideline).
Merrill Reese, Mike Quick and Howard Eskin will have the call on 94 WIP.
The end of the road
NFL
The preseason is too long and hopefully, eventually, the NFL fixes it. With how much emphasis teams are putting on practice, especially joint practices, we don’t really need four preseason games anymore. Yet, here we are.
And while practice counts more toward the evaluation of a player these days, a good showing in a game (even the fourth preseason game) can help a player trying to make a roster.
Hey Joe!
The Eagles’ former vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas is now the Jets’ general manager, so we’ll see Douglas at the game. It’ll also give him a closer look at some players he helped bring to Philly who might be cut in the next day or two. Don’t be surprised to see at least one Eagles cut end up back in North Jersey.
The best battle
One of the most fun battles still going on is at defensive end. The Eagles’ top three are Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett and Vinny Curry, but after that, they have young players trying to prove themselves. The three-headed battle of Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall and Shareef Miller has been a fun one this preseason.
Cuts start soon
The reality here is that most of the guys you see in the game on Thursday night won’t be on the team after 4 p.m. on Saturday, when cuts are due. For some of them, this will be their final NFL game. The aim here isn’t to get sappy — this is life in the NFL — but to remind everyone that while the product isn’t great, this game means an awful lot to some of these players.
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.