One day at training camp became a nightmare Eagles would like to forget

Bad practices are a part of the game of football. Every NFL team goes through them from time to time during a very long season. It's just not great when it happens with another team in a joint practice.

All indications were that Thursday's joint practice at training camp between the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns was won by the Browns. Bleeding Green Nation's Brandon Lee Gowton reminded readers in his latest article that it's just practice, but didn't hold back on the rough day for Philly.

"The Eagles got their butts handed to them on Thursday morning.

The Eagles’ offense had some valid reasons for not looking awesome. No A.J. Brown, no Lane Johnson, no Landon Dickerson, and mostly no Saquon Barkley. Those are clearly key absences. Also, Jim Schwartz is one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators.

However, none of that is an excuse for the offense looking as sloppy as it did at times. It’s not just that they were ineffective; it’s also that they weren’t very crisp. They didn’t put themselves in a great position to succeed with the mistakes and miscues they made.

The Eagles’ defense shouldn’t have been as bad as it was. Sure, they were missing Zack Baun, but their top linebacker options behind him have played well this summer. Vic Fangio’s unit was largely going up against a 40-year-old Joe Flacco and then a rookie Dillon Gabriel. And yet they allowed the Browns’ offense to run circles around them."

Telling sign of things to come for the Eagles-Browns' Week 2 preseason matchup?

The joint practices appear to be even at 1-1, with neither the Eagles nor the Browns winning them. Philly got the advantage in Wednesday's practice thanks to a great day on the ground for the Eagles' offense, with Saquon Barkley breaking out multiple long runs.

So what positives could Eagles fans take from Thursday's practice? Jalen Hurts had some nice completions to DeVonta Smith, and a fan favorite Darius Cooper. Rookie Mac McWilliams reportedly had a nice practice. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. looked like he was ready to be a starter on defense.

It wasn't all bad, but it appeared to be more bad than good. A good learning experience for the Eagles as they work out the kinks before Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Friday will be a quieter day for the team as they will have a walkthrough before their early afternoon Saturday preseason game with the Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. That's where they can break the tie and earn back some momentum going into the next part of training camp.