Eagles WR DeVonta Smith quiet in preseason debut; QB Jalen Hurts sent to hospital for stomach ailment

PHILADELPHIA — The surprises began shortly before the game started when Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who participated in warmups, was held out with what the team called a non-COVID illness.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni later said Hurts went to the hospital for a stomach ailment. The fans at Lincoln Financial Field probably felt the same way after watching the Eagles lose 35-0 to the New England Patriots on Thursday night.

"He came in. He wasn’t feeling great," Sirianni said about Hurts. "We put him through pregame warmups. He wanted to go out there and go through pregame warmups. He still wasn’t feeling good."

Sirianni said Hurts was discharged from the hospital at some point during the game, but he didn't know if Hurts came back to Lincoln Financial Field or just went straight home. Either way, Sirianni said Hurts is OK.

ESPN reported that Hurts was diagnosed with a stomach infection and told to stay at home for at least the next two days.

Joe Flacco took over at quarterback, and it didn't go well for him or the rest of the Eagles' offense. That included the long-awaited debut of prized rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith, although his debut wasn't as bad as it might have looked.

Smith dropped two passes (one was nullified by a roughing the passer penalty). On another, a back-shoulder throw from Flacco deep down the sideline, Sirianni said Smith "was a little late with his eyes," meaning that he didn't turn for the ball quickly enough.

But it seemed like even if Smith had caught it, the play would have been out of bounds.

Finally, Flacco and Smith connected on the fourth attempt, a 9-yard play over the middle. Flacco also hit Smith for 10 yards near the end of the first half.

Smith didn't play in the second half, finishing with two receptions on four targets for 19 yards.

"It looked like he was a little antsy at first," Sirianni said. "But he made a couple of plays there. That’s what happens with young wideouts. They gotta play. They gotta go through the ups and downs a little bit, and the preseason is for that to happen.

"I thought he ran a couple of good routes, too."

It seemed like Smith was able to get separation from his defenders, both because of his speed and his precise route running. And that was the promising part of his debut.

Keep in mind, Smith had just returned Tuesday after missing two weeks of practice with a knee injury. It's safe to say he had only taken a few snaps, if any, with Flacco during training camp.

"I know what I did wrong," Smith said. "I have to focus on catching the ball. That’s what it is, taking my eyes away too early. There’s nothing else to it. Those are plays I have to make."

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Smith will have plenty of time to work on that now that he's back. That begins next week when the Eagles have two practice sessions with the Jets in Florham Park, N.J.

"Obviously we would have liked to do a little bit better job, but at the same time I wouldn’t say it was anything crazy or pressing," Flacco said about connecting with Smith. "It was good to see him get out there and run some routes against some press coverage and some physicality out there."

Speaking of Flacco

It was not a good night for Flacco, even though he went 10-for-17 for the second straight week.

Against the Steelers, Flacco threw for 178 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown to Quez Watkins. Against the Patriots, Flacco threw for 83 yards and an interception.

On his third play, Nate Herbig, starting at center in place of Jason Kelce, snapped the ball over Flacco's head from the 41-yard line. Flacco chased down the ball, tried to make a play, but was tackled and fumbled it.

The Patriots recovered at the Eagles' 9 and scored a touchdown two plays later. Flacco's interception came when his pass to Jalen Reagor deflected off Reagor into the arms of Brian Khoury.

"We came out there and got a couple first downs, then kind of hit a wall after that and weren’t able to kind of turn it over and get any momentum going in our favor," Flacco said. "It kind of carried through the rest of the night."

No kicker

The Eagles didn't have kicker Jake Elliott on Thursday after he hurt his ankle on Monday. The Eagles obviously didn't feel that Elliott's injury is serious because they didn't sign another kicker.

That left the kicking duties to punter Arryn Siposs. Tight end Zach Ertz would have served as the holder on field-goal attempts.

The Eagles never tried a field goal. They passed up a chance on a fourth-and-3 from the Patriots' 9 in the second quarter. That would have been a 27-yard attempt. Flacco threw incomplete into the end zone for Quez Watkins.

Siposs kicked off to start the second half. He kicked it into the end zone for a touchback.

Signs of trouble?

The Eagles have been outscored 52-0 since leading 16-7 at halftime of the preseason opener against the Steelers ... Third-string QB Nick Mullens struggled for the second straight game. He was 5-for-10 for 27 yards with an interception and was sacked three times ... The Eagles gave up 486 total yards, including 207 rushing yards ... The offense got only 163 yards.

Injuries

The Eagles lost two players to injury. Tight end Jason Croom suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury on a pass in the second quarter. He was carted off the field as his teammates gathered around him.

In addition, K'Von Wallace left later in the second quarter with a groin injury and didn't return.

Others sitting out

When Hurts was scratched, Sirianni said he decided to also sit center Jason Kelce, right guard Brandon Brooks and right tackle Lane Johnson. The Eagles also went without cornerback Darius Slay, defensive linemen Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat. Barnett (shoulder) and Hargrave (ankle) were the only ones listed on the Eagles' injury report from practice Tuesday.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: DeVonta Smith makes NFL preseason debut for Philadelphia Eagles