Eagles grades by position after tight win over Panthers

Eagles grades by position after tight win over Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles came into Sunday as heavy favorites against the Panthers and while they were able to escape with a win, it was a little too close for comfort.

No blowout in this one.

But the Eagles were able to get a 22-16 win to improve to 11-2 on the season.

Here are our grades by position:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 14/21, 108 yards, 2 TDs; 8 runs, 59 yards, 1 TD

It was a shaky game for the Eagles’ quarterback and for their passing offense in general. Several offensive players expressed some frustration about the state of the passing game and Jalen Hurts admitted he needs to be better. That doesn’t mean he didn’t do some good things on Sunday. He was able to pick up some huge yards on the ground on scrambles and had a 35-yard run on a key 3rd-and-11 on the final play of the third quarter to help set up the Eagles’ game-winning touchdown. But Hurts struggled to get into a rhythm in this game and made some questionable decisions like when he took a 9-yard sack to avoid a five-yard penalty. But he also made some nice throws like a conversion to A.J. Brown on a third-and-long and the touchdown to Grant Calcaterra.

Grade: C

Running back

Saquon Barkley: 20 carries, 124 yards

Saquon Barkley came into this game 108 yards shy of the single-season franchise record set by LeSean McCoy back in 2013 and he got it early in the fourth quarter. Barkley averaged 6.2 yards per carry in this game and is up to 1,623 yards on the season and is still on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL record for rushing yards in a season. Kenny Gainwell also chipped in 26 yards on 3 carries, including a 20-yarder.

Grade: A

Receiver

A.J. Brown: 4 catches on 4 targets, 43 yards

Brown showed some frustration during this game and that’s understandable. The Eagles’ passing offense struggled to get much going on Sunday and Brown finished the game with just four targets and didn’t see his first one until late in the first half. DeVonta Smith returned from a hamstring injury and had 4 for 37 and a touchdown. The only other receiver to have a catch was Jahan Dotson with 1 for 5.

Grade: B

Tight end

Grant Calcaterra: 3 catches on 3 targets for 16 yards, 1 TD

The Eagles didn’t have Dallas Goedert in this game. The Eagles placed their starting tight end on IR on Saturday, which means he’ll have to miss at least three more games. Calcaterra filled in and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter that was the game-winner. It was his first career touchdown. The Eagles also had C.J. Uzomah and E.J. Jenkins in this game as blockers.

Grade: B

Offensive line

Hurts was sacked four times in this game but it felt like he invited plenty of that pressure on his own. That doesn’t mean it was a perfect game from the O-line, which wasn’t great in pass protection. They shared the frustration about the shaky passing offense. But the line did block it up for Barkley to go for 124 and a 6.2 average.

Grade: B

Defensive line

Jalen Carter: 3 tackles, 3 QB hits, 2 TFLs

Another week of Jalen Carter being a menace for an opposing offensive line. He tied a career-high with 6 pressures on 38 pass rushes, per NFL NextGen Stats. He also had a couple of QB hits on the very first season. But the Eagles struggled to wrap up Chuba Hubbard at times and the only sack on Bryce Young came from a linebacker despite some opportunities. Josh Sweat had his hands on Young deep in Carolina territory late in the game but Young was able to free himself and make a huge third-down conversion through the air. A couple of good effort plays from Jordan Davis and Jalyx Hunt in pursuit of Young.

Grade: B

Linebacker

Zack Baun: 11 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits, 3 TFLs

The Eagles’ free agent pickup, Zack Baun, continues to make big play after big play. He seems to have a knack for that. Nakobe Dean ended up leading the team in tackles with 12. We mentioned that Hubbard was able to pick up some yards after contact in this game. He forced 10 missed tackles by the Eagles, per NFL NextGen Stats.

Grade: A-

Secondary

C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 6 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBUs

It wasn’t a perfect game from C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was the closest player on the touchdown pass in the second quarter and didn’t make a great play on a near deep TD in the fourth. But give CJGJ a ton of credit for that game. He fought through multiple injuries, had an interception and a huge hit to start the game. Also give credit to Darius Slay for that huge PBU on fourth down to clinch the win. Slay and Cooper DeJean were targeted and gave up some catches but ultimately the defense did enough. It was a quiet day for Quinyon Mitchell; teams just don’t throw at him. While Tristin McCollum was fine, the Eagles missed Reed Blankenship (concussion), who could be back next week.

Grade: B+

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 0/1 on FG; miss from 52

The Eagles might have a legitimate kicker problem. Jake Elliott missed a 52-yarder and is now 0-for-5 from 50+ this season. And then Nick Sirianni elected to punt in the fourth quarter instead of trying a field goal from about 55 yards out. Braden Mann had a great punt and Avonte Maddox made a huge play as a gunner (filling in for Sydney Brown) to down it at the 2. Kelee Ringo also had a big tackle early as a gunner.

Grade: B

Coaching

Record: 11-2

Sirianni’s decision to punt on fourth down in the fourth quarter is one that will get talked about a lot over the next week. He explained that there was some wind on that side of the field and he was comfortable trying to put the Panthers in a back-up situation. Kellen Moore’s offense continues to struggle to start games; the Eagles failed to score in the first quarter again. It also wasn’t the best game for Vic Fangio’s defense but they ultimately gave up just 16 points.

Grade: B-

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