Any fans of Syracuse football who were watching the Cleveland Browns vs. Philadelphia Eagles preseason game on Saturday got to enjoy a really cool end to the first half.
Kyle McCord and Andre Szmyt, two recent Orange stars, each made a cool case for an NFL roster spot.
McCord was up first. The Eagles took him in the sixth round of April’s NFL Draft after his prolific season at Syracuse, which followed starting experience at Ohio State.
On the Philly QB depth chart, McCord is in a battle for the third spot. Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee are holding down the first two positions.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson started for Philadelphia on Saturday but didn’t look great, so McCord had a chance to make his mark.
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And on a drive late in the first half, McCord got the Eagles down to the 4-yard line. A false start pushed the third-and-goal play back to the 9, and the Browns brought the house. McCord calmly stood in and delivered over the middle to Ainias Smith for a touchdown.
The Browns came back the other way and were led down the field in the two-minute drill by Dillon Gabriel. They stalled at the 32-yard line, setting up a field goal.
Cleveland’s returning kicker is the veteran Dustin Hopkins, and he had already made a field goal on Saturday, although a bad snap had caused a missed extra point.
For the 49-yard attempt, the Browns sent out Szmyt, the former Groza Award winner with the Orange.
The Eagles even used a timeout to attempt to ice Szmyt, but it didn’t work. He was right down the middle with his boot at the halftime buzzer.
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Both McCord and Szmyt will have more work to do to secure NFL futures.
But on a sunny, hot afternoon in Philadelphia, they started to state their cases as guys who belong in professional football, and to happen in such close timing to one another on the same field was a fun moment for Syracuse supporters.
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