Eagles grades by position after tight win over Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Eagles were able to escape Lambeau Field with a 10-7 win over the Packers on Monday Night Football.
Their offense sputtered for most of the evening but Vic Fangio’s defense played very well for most of the game and a couple of stars on offense made plays when it mattered most.
The Eagles are now 7-2 as they head home to face the Lions on Sunday Night Football in Week 11.
Here are the Eagles grades by position:
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 15/26, 183 yards, 1 TD; 27 rushing yards, 1 fumble
The Eagles’ offense was able to score what ended up being the game-winning touchdown after two quick plays, which shows how explosive they can be. But they just weren’t for most of the evening. After the game, Hurts credited the Packers, saying that’s the toughest defense the Eagles have faced all season. And that might be true but the offense was stuck in the mud for most of the game and Hurts wasn’t as sharp as he was in the two games before the bye. Even some of his completions weren’t great balls. Edgerrin Cooper made a great play to punch the ball loose but that was a costly fumble on the first drive of the game that really seemed to halt the Eagles’ momentum.
Grade: C
Running back
Saquon Barkley: 22 carries, 60 yards; 3 catches, 41 yards
While Barkley was held in check for most of the evening, his 41-yard catch and run was one of the key plays of the game. His spin move to get around a defender was highlight-reel stuff. While Barkley’s numbers weren’t great, it again felt like a product of an inefficient rushing attack as opposed to Barkley’s individual struggles. Will Shipley had 4 carries for 17 yards and a huge 11-yard catch to move the sticks. Tank Bigsby had 3 carries for 7 yards.
Grade: B-
Receiver
DeVonta Smith: 4 catches on 7 targets, 69 yards, 1 TD
Like Barkley, Smith came through when the Eagles needed him with a 36-yard touchdown catch over a defender for the Eagles’ only touchdown of the game. Smith is 170-pounds soaking wet but he consistently wins those 50-50 balls. He continues to have a very strong season and Smith also converted on a key 3rd-and-12 in the fourth quarter. A.J. Brown had just 2 catches for 13 yards and couldn’t haul in the dagger on 4th-and-6 with 33 seconds left. But Brown did have a block on Barkley’s long catch-and-run and drew coverage that allowed Smith to get open on his touchdown.
Grade: B-
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 4 catches on 6 targets, 43 yards
It wasn’t a super high volume game for Goedert, but he did get open for a 22-yard catch in the middle of the field that set up the Eagles’ field goal drive. Goedert also drew a key DPI. Grant Calcaterra was streaking up the seam early in the game and Hurts missed him. Cameron Latu and Kylen Granson got some time as blockers.
Grade: B-
Offensive line
Give a ton of credit to Lane Johnson for his gutty performance. He left the game in the first half with what seemed to be a very painful ankle injury but somehow toughed it out to return for the Eagles’ final drive of the game. The Eagles already came into this game without starting center Cam Jurgens. Brett Toth filled in for Jurgens and was fine aside from a holding call that negated an explosive run from Barkley. Fred Johnson filled in for Lane Johnson at right tackle but also got some snaps as an extra offensive lineman/tight end. The Eagles did not give up a sack in this game and were able to minimize the damage from Micah Parsons.
Grade: B-
Defensive line
Jaelan Phillips: 6 tackles, 2 QB hits, 1 TFL, 1 FR
The Eagles traded away a third-round pick to acquire Phillips from Miami and he was tremendous in his Eagles debut. He started the game, played a ton of snaps and was super disruptive with seven pressures on 36 pass rush reps. Phillips blew up a 4th-and-1 play from the Packers in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t just Phillips. The Eagles got great rushes from Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith off the edge and the interior lineman played well too. Jalen Carter played just about every snap and batted down two passes at the line.
Grade: A
Linebacker
Nakobe Dean: 7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
The Eagles continue to split reps between Dean and Jihaad Campbell, who also got some snaps on the edge. Dean’s strip sack in the second quarter on a blitz was an impressive play. Dean has been playing at a high level since his return from PUP. Zack Baun — no surprise — led the Eagles with 8 tackles. Josh Jacobs did get into the end zone but the Eagles held him to 3.5 yards per rushing attempt. Campbell was called for a DPI that set up that Jacobs rushing touchdown.
Grade: A
Secondary
Reed Blankenship: 7 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR
The Packers didn’t have a ton of weapons in this game and Jordan Love ended up completing just 20 of 36 passes for 176 yards and a rating of 68.8. Quinyon Mitchell seemed to get banged up early but was able to remain on the field. Cooper DeJean was called for a couple of defensive holds and didn’t have his best game. Adoree’ Jackson got the start at CB2 and seemed to hold up. We’ll see if the Eagles continue to stick with Jackson or if they’ll continue to try different options. Blankenship had perhaps his best game of the season with 7 tackles and a forced fumble.
Grade: B+
Special teams
Xavier Gipson: 2 punt returns, 31 yards, long of 18
A bit of a mixed bag for special teams. Jake Elliott made his only field goal attempt from 39 yards. Braden Mann had a field-flipping 66-yard punt but followed it with a 31-yard shankapotomous. Xavier Gipson had a nifty 18-yard punt return to give the Eagles’ offense some room to operate.
Grade: B
Coaching
Record: 7-2
The Eagles deserve credit because they just continue to win and there’s an art to that. But the offense really sputtered on Monday and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was far too passive for much of the evening. Of course, the Eagles had some self-inflicted mistakes that put them in bad situations but sometimes you’d like to see the Eagles’ offense be a little more aggressive when they have A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the field. Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-6 to ice the game is going to be talked about a lot in the next week and would have been the biggest topic of conversation had that decision come back to bite them. Hard to fault Vic Fangio’s defense after they gave up just 7 points.
Grade: C+
