The Cleveland Browns had to turn to other quarterbacks with rookie Shedeur Sanders injured.
The decisive touchdown came on defense instead of from relief quarterbacks. K.J. Henry returned an interception 45 yards for a score in the third quarter to send the Browns to a 22-13 preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
In a game missing almost all regular-season starters on both sides — Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley sat out for the defending Super Bowl champions while Myles Garrett and Jerry Jeudy rested for the Browns — the Eagles got a better look at their draft picks fighting for playing time.
Andrew Mukuba returned an interception 75 yards for a score and recovered a fumble, and Jihaad Campbell had a sack, an impressive showing for the Eagles’ top two 2025 draft picks.
Maybe somewhere actor Matthew McConaughey was impressed. McConaughey, a Texas Longhorns superfan, had a social media post in support of Mukuba when the safety was drafted out of Texas in the second round.
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Mukuba missed time early in training camp with a shoulder injury and returned only in the last few days to take first-team reps. He was in the right spot to pick off a pass from Dillon Gabriel. Mukuba took it all the way for the 75-yard score and a 7-6 lead. He added a fumble recovery later and broke up a pass in the second half, the kind of plays needed to close the gap in his competition with Sydney Brown for the starting spot.
Campbell, a linebacker out of Alabama selected 31st overall, sacked Gabriel on the second play of the game.
The Eagles just may have found two more defensive gems to make meaningful contributions in their pursuit of another title. The Eagles and Browns both played it safe with their starters after the two teams held a pair of joint practices earlier in the week.
Sanders hurt his oblique in the first practice and did not play Saturday. The Browns started Gabriel, a third-round pick who worked his way back into the lineup after he had been sidelined with an injured hamstring.
Gabriel was 13 of 18 passing for 143 yards and the pick-6. Tyler “Snoop” Huntley played in the second half and was 10 of 13 for 71 yards.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw a pick-6 to Henry that gave Cleveland a 19-13 lead in the third. Thompson-Robinson was replaced by Kyle McCord, another 2025 draft pick, in the next series. McCord, who is from nearby Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and was raised as an Eagles fan, threw a touchdown pass and threw for 47 yards overall.
The Eagles had just 88 total yards.
Ahmani Marshall rushed for a 4-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Sanders out
Sanders, who covered his head with a towel as he watched from the sideline, didn’t play after he sustained an oblique injury during drills ahead of practice Wednesday. The Browns said he is day to day.
Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards with two first-half touchdown passes to Kaden Davis in his NFL preseason debut in a win in the opener over Carolina.
The 40-year-old Joe Flacco, in the mix to start the season opener, also sat out. And Kenny Pickett didn’t play as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
High snap
Yes, Thompson-Robinson threw the pick-6, but he wasn’t helped by a high snap from Brett Toth. Toth played at center and Drew Kendall was at left guard as the Eagles tried to get by without the injured Landon Dickerson. Dickerson has been sidelined since he suffered a right knee injury at an open practice. The Eagles have not given a timeline for his absence or ruled him out for the season opener.
Up next
The Browns host the Rams on Saturday. The Eagles play Friday at the Jets.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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