What is considered the dress rehearsal for the 2011 season is four days away for the Cleveland Browns in Philadelphia against the so-called "Dream Team" Eagles.
The Dream Team looked anything but that last Thursday when they were taken apart by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-14. The Steelers led 21-0 before both coaches started emptying their benches.
Still, it should be a good test for the Browns in their third preseason game, which is when starters usually get the majority of playing time.
After opening with the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, are the Browns ready for the challenge?
First off, this is still a team in a state of evolution, from its quarterback down to the player that will fill the 53rd spot on the roster. Most of the starting spots have been solidified, but that doesn't mean everyone on both sides of the ball doesn't need more work.
"A lot of people were ready to anoint us after last week," McCoy said of the good performance in a win over the Packers. "Tonight (against the Lions) we faced a good front and a good defensive football team, and we had our ups and downs for sure.
"The first half, for the most part, I thought we took advantage of two things. We capitalized on short fields. They gave us a turnover on the minus side of the field and we punched it in. We also had a punt return inside the 50 and punched that in on the short field. Those are two things that are crucial to win football games. We didn't settle for field goals."
Pass protection was a little shaky against the Lions, which should have been expected with Ndamukong Suh on the other side. Take away an 81-yard touchdown run by Armond Smith with the starters out in the third quarter, and the ground game was ineffective - 45 yards on 16 carries.
McCoy wasn't sacked, but he ended up on the ground more than once after releasing the ball. Despite the pressure he managed to complete 10-of-18 passes (including three drops) for 96 yards and three touchdowns.
In two games, McCoy has a sparkling 132.6 passer rating. That number won't be nearly as high once the season starts, but it's an indication that he's settling in.
"He did a good job (against pressure)," Shurmur said. "He executed like you would expect a quarterback to execute. They came after us with some pressure, and he stood in there and did a nice job from that standpoint. He'll be the first to tell you though that he probably had a small handful of throws that he could have made better."
McCoy has developed chemistry with tight end Evan Moore, who caught two touchdown passes against the Lions before leaving with a possible concussion.
McCoy also likes to target rookie receiver Greg Little and receiver Joshua Cribbs.
"One thing Colt is doing great is spreading the football around," Cribbs said. "That's what this west coast offense allows us to do. Some great athletes are going to come out of this offense. Colt is going to spread the ball around, and the athletes are going to make plays."
In an ideal world McCoy won't get touched (as was the case against the Packers), but he knows that will never be the case.
"They came at us with some pressure that we hadn't seen and, for the most part, we did okay," McCoy said. "We were a little short-handed. Peyton (Hillis) didn't play. Ben Watson didn't play and Steiny (Eric Steinbach) didn't play. Those are three guys that really make a difference, so (it is good) to go out and put up points like that in the second game of the preseason against a good defensive football team."
Now the goal is to do the same thing against the Eagles.