The Eagles suffered a gut-wrenching 17-10 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. In a game that could have and should have been an Eagles victory, the offense grew stale and the Pats took advantage. But were there any silver linings to take?
Quarterback
Carson Wentz wasn't exactly excellent last night. Sure, it was windy, the receivers left a lot of meat on the bone, the offensive line was shorthanded and the running game was a shadow of its former self without Jordan Howard, but that doesn't mean Wentz was naturally blameless.
Completing 50% of his passes (the lowest completion percentage in a game since his rookie season), Wentz missed open receivers on several occasions and failed to see them on others. There were times where his lack of pocket-awareness led to some ugly sacks.
This was one of the less impressive efforts we've seen from Wentz, especially this year, where for the most part he's been the man keeping the team in games. That just wasn't the case this week, despite some obvious flashes of the elite talent we all know he has.
Grade: C-
Running back
In a game that had Jordan Howard's name stamped all over it, not having him on the field really hurt. Miles Sanders averaged 3.5 yards per carry on 11 attempts but did show some clear development in his game as far as sticking his foot in the ground and driving forward.
As a receiver, however, where Sanders has made a huge impact this year, he was silenced by some brilliant game-planning by the Pats defense.
Boston Scott was unable to find much running room on the ground either and got away with murder on what felt like a quadruple fumble. Scott fielded a kick and ended up dribbling it halfway down the field as if he was Lionel Messi. Not his best look.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
You can arguably attribute a lot of the offensive stagnation to the O-line. Jason Kelce had a bad day at the office, while losing Lane Johnson to concussion protocol early really didn't help matters.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai showed just how valuable a franchise right tackle is to this offense, and on the other side of the bookshelf, Jason Peters picked up a few penalties early on that really killed any offensive momentum.
The Eagles allowed 12 QB hits, 6 sacks, and 5 TFL, while being unable to run the ball after that beautifully crafted ten-minute drive in the second quarter. Regardless of rhyme or reason, this just wasn't good enough.
Grade: D
Tight end
Zach Ertz led the team in receiving with 94 yards and Dallas Goedert now leads the team with a career-high 4 TD grabs on the season after his red-zone snag. There isn't much more this dynamic duo can possibly do at this point, at least in contrast to the rest of the offense.
Grade: B+
Wide receiver
Nobody expected Jordan Matthews to come in and rip the Patriots to shreds, but 1 catch on 6 targets? That was disappointing, as was Mack Hollins, and please, do not get me started on Nelson Agholor.
The receiving corps was woeful on Sunday, but hey, Arcega-Whiteside made a 19-yard catch, which is probably the most impactful he's been all year.
Grade: D-
Defensive grades on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive line
The Eagles may have only tallied one sack last night, but the pressure speaks for itself.
Tom Brady was held without a touchdown for just the second time this year and also was also forced into a new career-high in incompletions. Spicy.
It was really encouraging to see Schwartz make some key adjustments. 5-man fronts, stand-up blitzers, it was great. The defensive line did a lot of damage against the Patriots, who just insisted on getting the ball out rapidly, no matter what.
As for the run defense, allowing 74 yards on the ground is impressive, and is no less than we've come to expect.
Grade: B+
Linebacker
Nate Gerry still struggled, (and somehow led the team in tackles, so nice?) but Kamu Grugier-Hill made play after play and really imposed his will against his former team.
They weren't perfect and there were a lot of plays given up over the middle, but they were better than we'd seen in recent weeks.
Grade: C
Cornerback
I'm not going to be able to live this down all week, but Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills played brilliantly. There, I said it. Happy?
You couldn't ask for more from the two, aside from fixing the miscommunication errors that have plagued them every week and did once more on Sunday.
Darby was fast and aggressive and showed willingness as a tackler, even if it did end with mixed success, while Mills has shown a complete rejuvenation since his return to action.
Avonte Maddox helped keep one of the NFL's best slot receivers in check, and Craig James even made some plays!
Not a lot to scoff at here, impressive stuff.
Grade: B+
Safety
Rodney McLeod may have dropped a surefire pick, but the Safeties played reasonably well. Malcolm Jenkins came out swinging and was a force all around the field which was refreshing to see, and Rudy Ford was an under-the-radar stud considering the increased workload thanks to the cutting of Sendejo.
The entire defensive backfield was really strong against the Patriots, I wish the same could be said for the offense.
Grade: B+
Specialists
Jake Elliott became the first Eagles kicker to start his season with 13 consecutive successful field goal attempts, and Cameron Johnston's leg is made of titanium.
Grade: A
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
