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New England beat Philadelphia 24-21 in a game neither Jalen Hurts nor Drake Maye appeared in at all, a true backups-and-roster-bubble affair that still produced one of the busiest individual workloads of the preseason so far.
Steele carried 12 times for 33 yards and caught six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown on seven targets, 19 total touches, real three-down usage in a crowded Philadelphia backfield. Will Shipley also found the end zone on the ground (11 carries, 56 yards, a touchdown), but neither back's workload matched Steele's combined volume.
With Jalen Hurts never appearing in the box score, McKee ran Philadelphia's offense and delivered his cleanest game of the preseason: 16 of 22 for 173 yards and two touchdowns, a 125.8 rating. Andy Dalton struggled in his own relief stint (3 of 10, 44 yards, 45.4 rating).
DeVito threw for 151 yards and a touchdown on 8 of 15 passing despite being sacked three times, a 110.7 rating, connecting with Kyle Williams for a 69-yard score (two catches, 74 yards). He also added 44 rushing yards on just three carries, a 14.7 average including a 36-yard scramble.
Behren MortonBehren Morton was arguably more efficient in his own stint: 13 of 17 for 129 yards and a touchdown, a 117.0 rating, finding Nick DeGennaro for a score (four catches, 61 yards on five targets).
Carson Steele's night is the most fantasy-relevant workload of the weekend, and the specific shape of it is what makes it matter. Nineteen touches would be notable on its own, but the split is the tell: twelve carries plus six catches on seven targets is genuine three-down usage, and a back who is trusted in the passing game has a floor that pure early-down runners never do. Receptions insulate a player from the touchdown variance that sinks committee backs, which is why pass-catching volume in August is one of the more predictive things a depth runner can flash. Steele plays in a crowded Philadelphia backfield, so this does not crown him a starter, but it does make him the name to hold in deeper and best-ball formats, where a back with receiving chops can return value even in a timeshare.
The quarterback stories here are smaller but not empty. Tanner McKee running the offense cleanly with two scores is the kind of showing that matters only in the disaster scenario, yet a capable QB2 quietly protects the value of every pass catcher on the roster, since it means an injury to the starter would not tank the whole passing game. On New England's side, Tommy DeVito's dual-threat flashes and Behren Morton's efficient relief are roster-battle notes more than fantasy signals, though the receivers who found the end zone, Kyle Williams and Nick DeGennaro, are worth logging as camp names in case one forces his way into a real role. Prioritize Steele, monitor the rest. The takeaway is simple enough to carry into a draft room: one three-down back worth a real bench spot in deeper formats, and a handful of camp names to revisit only if an injury or a cut opens a genuine role ahead of them.
Carson Steele's 19 touches is the single biggest usage story from the entire weekend so far, and Tanner McKee's clean two-touchdown game is a real data point if Philadelphia's QB2 job ever matters. Check the rookie rankings to see where Steele and McKee currently sit, and use the best ball tool to see how a crowded Philadelphia backfield is being valued. Full box score: ESPN.
