As the rain fell at Lincoln Financial Field, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside shined on the field.
The wide receiver had the best game of his short career thus far, leading both teams with 104 yards receiving. He caught eight of the nine balls targeted at him with seven of them coming from new quarterback Josh McCown.
Arcega-Whiteside provided the first touchdown for the Eagles early in the third quarter off a 20-yard pass from McCown. He was able to make the grab over his shoulder in the right corner of the end zone for six points.
"It's funny. I was just talking to my coach and he was saying, 'Just go out there and play. Go out there, use your technique, just play fast. Do whatever you did at Stanford.' I was thinking right before that route I'm just going to play fast on this one and see what happens," Arcega-Whiteside said. "Got open and I was able to score a touchdown. I'm pretty thankful for that."
While Arcega-Whiteside still tries to find his role with this team, head coach Doug Pederson is impressed with what he has seen from him in the preseason. His ability to make plays allows him to standout and be a player who the Eagles can utilize.
"One of the things (about) J.J. is (he is) a hard worker," Pederson said. "You see it in practice every day. He comes to work every day. He wants to get better. He wants to be taught. He wants to learn. The red zone, we know he can be explosive. He was able to do that really not on there, but out in the field."
The second-round pick was able to be one of the silver linings in the 26-15 loss to the Ravens, shortened by lightning early in the fourth quarter. While he acknowledges the praise, Arcega-Whiteside is focused on helping this team win games. He is ready to be put in any role and take advantage of the opportunity that comes along with it.
"Whatever the play call is, I have to go out there and do my job," Arcega-Whiteside said. "If the ball comes to me, I have to catch it and score. Hopefully, they put me in a position where I can help the team win games. I'm just going to come out here and work hard and do whatever I can to help."
