Take a trip around the locker room following Thursday night's 34-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to kick off the preseason and read what the players had to say ...

Tyler Steen looks to lock down the right guard position

Tyler Steen made the most of his one drive on Thursday night.

Looking to prove to the coaches that he's ready to emerge as a starter at right guard, Steen helped pave the way for the Eagles' opening touchdown, a nine-play, 75-yard drive that answered the Bengals' opening drive TD.

"The goal was just to go out there and play hard, however long I was going to play. I think I did a good job of just going out there and playing hard," Steen said.

Steen had a key block on linebacker Logan Wilson that popped Will Shipley open for a 38-yard run. The drive was capped off with a Tanner McKee Tush Push from the 1-yard line.

"The same as it always is. It's a grind," Steen said of the Tush Push. "You're just trying to get that 1 yard, whether it's to get a first down or touchdown."

Steen entered Training Camp in a battle with Mekhi Becton for the right guard spot. Steen battled an ankle injury in Training Camp and wasn't fully able to compete for the starting job. He was a valuable reserve during the Super Bowl season, starting two games and playing more than a quarter of the offensive snaps. That experience gave Steen the confidence he needed to assert himself in this year's position battle.

"I feel like I've been here for a minute now, going into my third year, same sort of system, just like little differences here and there, but under Coach Stout (Jeff Stoutland), the same O-line coach, for the past three years and I think just being able to learn those techniques, just continue to get a better understanding of scheme, and just kins of what's expected of me if the defense does something, that quick snap decision to be able to kind of adjust on the fly," Steen said. "I think just being more comfortable doing that has helped me out a lot." – Chris McPherson

Jihaad Campbell is focused on climbing the mountain every day

Jihaad Campbell grew up an Eagles fan, and on Thursday, he got to play in front of the Lincoln Financial Field crowd for the first time.

While it was a unique experience for the first-round pick, he's more focused on his play on the field.

"Man, it was great," Campbell said. "But I'm an overachiever and I want to get back to the tape to watch the things that I can self-assess on get better."

"I think it's a day-by-day, step-by-step process," Campbell added. "This is a big mountain that I have to climb and I'm willing to climb it every day for myself and the whole team." – Matt Ryan

Johnny Wilson shows jump-ball ability

Second-year wide receiver Johnny Wilson finished Thursday's game with three catches for 73 yards, and he showed the impressive ability to use his frame to haul in jump balls.

On Philadelphia's opening drive, Tanner McKee threw a deep ball to Wilson, who tipped it to himself and hauled it in before falling to the ground. Not too long after, he rose up over his defender to bring in a 50-50 ball.

After the game, McKee credited Wilson for knowing how to use his 6-foot-6 frame and said that throwing a ball up to him is more 90-10 than 50-50.

"It's been a long time since I've been able to make plays like that," Wilson said. – Matt Ryan

Darius Cooper didn't get an invite to the Combine, but he's showing he deserves a shot in the NFL

Darius Cooper led the FCS with 1,450 receiving yards last season at Tarleton State, but he didn't receive an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine.

Cooper said it was all part of God's plan as the 5-foot-11 receiver went undrafted and eventually signed with the Eagles. In his first game action, he led the team with six catches for 82 yards and a 20-yard touchdown.

"This is a great organization to be introduced to as a first time being in the league, because you work so hard at the details and the small things," Cooper said. "When you put the work in at practice, you go out with your brothers, and everybody's on the same page, and it just makes the game easier. So it was definitely a great experience to be out there playing with this team, just executing how we did today."

Coming from a smaller school, Thursday night was a cool opportunity for Cooper to play in front of a big crowd at an NFL stadium, and he didn't disappoint.

"Oh, man, it was the best feeling in the world," Cooper said. "I just took it all in. Just thankful for the opportunity to play this game, especially with this great organization." – Matt Ryan

Ainias Smith provides a spark

It was quite a final two minutes of the first half for Ainias Smith.

With 1:33 remaining, Smith scored on a 6-yard touchdown throw from Tanner McKee to give the Eagles their first lead of the night at 17-14. Tight end Kylen Granson cleared out the linebacker and Smith cut inside to catch the ball over the middle.

Then, after a quick stop by the defense, Smith was back on punt return duty. He ran right, got a wall of blocks from rookies Darius Cooper and Mac McWilliams, and was off the the races, making three people miss along the way for a 46-yard gain. Cooper converted a go ball two plays later for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 24-14 halftime advantage.

"It was definitely a blessing, for sure. I was glad that I was able to go ahead and spark the team, spark that energy for the team to be able to go ahead and get another touchdown," Smith said. "Honestly, I had to go ahead and flush it real quick, especially with the touchdown because we had another play and then ended up having the punt return and then after that I had to go ahead and flush it because we're right back out on the field." – Chris McPherson

Patrick Johnson has a knack for preseason plays

Last year in the preseason opener, Patrick Johnson had a strip-sack and fumble recovery with 10 seconds left that allowed Jake Elliott the opportunity to kick the game-winner in Baltimore.

It wasn't quite as dramatic on Thursday night, almost a year later to the day, but Johnson came up with another game-changing takeaway.

With 55 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Johnson, lined up to the blind side of Jake Browning, beat rookie tackle Jalen Rivers for what appeared to be a sack. But a penalty wiped out the play.

No matter.

On the next snap, Johnson tipped Browning's pass thrown in his direction and managed to come up with the interception. ShunDerrick Powell scored early in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a 34-17 lead.

"I was able to get my hand on the football and actually be able to finish the play," Johnson said. "I had my sack right before that kind of got taken away, so in my head I was thinking it might just be a sign to make another play. The ball was thrown right over my head, I was able to get a hand on it, and I was really trying to crib it (score a touchdown), but I got caught pretty quick."

Johnson earned a spot on the 53-man roster a year ago, played in the season opener, then was waived and claimed by the Giants, where he spent the rest of the season. He returned this offseason to make more plays like the ones he made on Thursday.

"Going to Year 5, I have a lot to prove," Johnson said. "I love the city, love the people, love the coaches, the front office, and staff. For me to come out here for the first preseason game, I was excited to make some plays." – Chris McPherson

Ty Robinson gets sack in first NFL preseason action

Rookie third-round pick Ty Robinson shouldered plenty of the workload on Thursday night, playing 50 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference. He had two tackles and a sack and two QB hurries as he looked more and more comfortable as the game wore on.

"I'm still learning how an NFL offense operates. Being able to go out there and start to kind of see the little things I'm starting to see and trusting myself when I see it and being able to take a shot or two," Robinson said. "I'm excited to look at the film and see how I can improve my technique and improve my craft for the next game."

On the sack early in the second quarter, Robinson admitted that he was just the "cleanup guy" in the situation.

"We just called a twist. That was a whole defensive front sack right there. Oosh (Joshua Uche) did a really awesome job of level rushing, so the quarterback felt like he couldn't scramble out or roll out of the pocket. I was the cleanup guy. That's why I really want to give the props out there when it happened, because it was all of those guys making it happen," Robinson said. – Chris McPherson