The Philadelphia Eagles lost 24-21 to the New England Patriots in their second preseason game. But since it’s just the preseason, what matters is the individual performances, and several Eagles players made serious statements about their roster standing in the first 30 minutes of football.

Will Shipley was tremendous. He racked up over 50 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone, running with authority, hitting holes, extending plays, and even flashing a few nice catches out of the backfield. He punched in a touchdown.

Shipley was the Eagles’ second running back before they traded for Tank Bigsby last season, and he’s had an up-and-down stretch dating back to the end of last year. He wasn’t an integral part of this offense for a while there. But on Saturday, he looked like a guy who wants that roster spot and isn’t leaving any doubt. He was most likely making the 53 anyway, but he solidified it. Will Shipley was one of the main winners of the night.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. keeps stacking sacks

On the defensive side, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had another sack, giving him sacks in two straight preseason games. I’m ready to go as far as saying that if Zack Baun or Jihaad Campbell suffers an unfortunate injury this season, Trotter is not a far dip from either one of those guys.

That might sound a little far-fetched, and I’m not saying he’s his pops just yet, but Trot is showing crazy progression over these first couple years. He looks like a solidified starting linebacker in the NFL. He had maybe the fastest sack you’ll ever see in this game, and he just continues to look like a polished player at the position.

My only worry? He’s going to get unhappy. His agent is going to look at this tape and say his client should be starting on a roster somewhere, because he’s looking that good. That’s a real concern for a team trying to keep quality depth.

Ty Robinson goes from life support to legitimate roster contender

Now, the biggest stock riser of the night might be defensive lineman Ty Robinson. He didn’t really come on until the second quarter, but once he did, he was a wrecking ball. Robinson had two sacks in the latter half of the second quarter and around four or five quarterback hits by my count. That gives him three sacks across the Eagles’ two preseason games.

Remember what Vic Fangio said earlier this week? Robinson was on life support. As Eliot Shorr-Parks put it, Ty Robinson has gone from life support to having life to maybe even having a roster spot. This was a fourth-round pick last year, and Howie Roseman usually hits on those defensive linemen. But Robinson was giving you nothing. Absolutely nothing. It got to a point where we all said maybe the Eagles just have too many draft picks and some of these guys aren’t going to work out.

Roseman drafted Robinson because he saw some kind of trait or developmental upside, and this is the first time we’re seeing it come alive. I know it’s against backups, but you can see the swagger he’s playing with. It’s different. His confidence, the way he’s preparing himself, the ferocious pass rush. Robinson is becoming one of the best stories of this preseason, and I feel like he may have done enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.

The offensive line is creating real depth

We have to talk about the Eagles offensive line because the offense looked rough last week and played significantly better on Saturday, and that starts up front. I’m not saying this group is going to get back to the dominant form we’ve been used to seeing, and obviously there are health concerns with Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens to monitor. But if those guys go down, I feel a whole hell of a lot better right now than I did last season.

Markel Bell continues to look like an unbelievable steal in the third round. Lane Johnson said he’s the best rookie he’s ever been around. There was a run early from Shipley where Bell just shoved his defender completely out of the picture. Where did that guy go? It almost doesn’t look fair. Bell is so massive and so overpowering that you start to wonder how other teams let the Eagles get him in the third round.

And then there’s Willie Lampkin, the 5-foot-11 center everybody talks about because of his height. But this guy has serious power. On one play, Lampkin literally drove his defender six yards down the field. He is honestly a lock to make this roster at this point. If Lampkin doesn’t make it, something fishy is going on, because he has played well enough all summer through training camp and preseason to be on the 53. He was dealing with crazy injuries last year and nobody even knew if he’d be able to come back. Willie Lampkin has been one of the best stories from last year to this year. Say the name. He’s been awesome.

Darius Cooper keeps making his case

Darius Cooper had three catches for 44 yards at the half, and I don’t even think they kept him in much after that. Just a couple nice routes over the middle, nothing flashy, but consistent. Cooper has done enough to make this roster in my opinion. I would be very surprised if he doesn’t.

The question becomes the numbers game. Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore didn’t even suit up. Are those final two wide receiver spots already spoken for? Maybe. But Cooper’s body of work from last year through training camp and into preseason speaks for itself, and cutting him would be a tough call for this front office to justify.