Rashaad Penny gets the lion’s share of the workload at running back
Head Coach Nick Sirianni said after the game that he will get all of the running backs work in the preseason so they get the first hit out of the way before the games count in the standings.
On Saturday night, it was new Eagle Rashaad Penny’s turn to be in the limelight as he led the team with 34 rushing yards on nine carries.
It was a special occasion since Penny had not played in a game since October 9, 2022.
“You get to walk off the field healthy and to get to go home knowing that you don’t have the MRIs or anything else is a blessing,” Penny said. “It was fun to get back out there.”
Penny’s longest run came on the first play of the Eagles’ second series, a 10-yard run up the middle. The longest run of the night came from the other new Eagles running back D’Andre Swift as he shook Ravens safety Jaquon Amos on his way to a 22-yard scamper.
“I mean, as a running back group, we showed that running downhill, and you know, making big plays, making big cuts, that’s what you want to see from us,” Penny said. “We are all very talented and you can’t do it without the offensive line. But we definitely showed a little bit of what we can do before we get to the real thing.” – Chris McPherson
Pick-Six Ricks lives up to the nickname
Who was the No. 1 cornerback recruit in 2020?
He’s a rookie free agent on the Eagles named Eli Ricks, who enrolled at LSU and, as a freshman, had four interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns earning the nickname “Pick-Six Ricks.”
Ricks did not post such lofty stats during the rest of his college career. He transferred to Alabama for the 2022 season to get his career back on track and after coming back from an injury, started five games down the stretch for the Crimson Tide. The Eagles were the first team to call Ricks after the 2023 NFL Draft and the long corner – 6-foot-2 – decided to sign with the team.
Citing his comfort in Philadelphia due to the “family environment” that starts with Head Coach Nick Sirianni, Ricks got back to his old ways on Saturday night, intercepting an Anthony Brown touchdown and returning it 31 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that brought the Eagles within a point.
“During the first half, they repeatedly threw to the sideline, so I knew if they threw an out route that it was mine to take,” Ricks said after the game. “The quarterback was throwing to the boundary, and I knew I could snag it. And if I get it, it’s going to the house.”
Ricks said he checked his phone after the game and he received a text from his mom, Shauna, that read, “God is good.”
“I’m just hoping to build on this performance, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but it’s a great start for me,” Ricks said. “I really want to make a big splash in this game, and I want to feel like I can play free.” – Chris McPherson