Week 6 Eagles grades by position after disastrous loss to Jets

[time2rock]

Week 6 Eagles grades by position after disastrous loss to Jets

The Eagles were heavy favorites but lost 20-14 to the Jets on Sunday afternoon. Here's the report card.

By Dave Zangaro • Published October 16, 2023

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Eagles were heavy favorites against the Jets on Sunday afternoon but left MetLife Stadium with a crushing 20-14 defeat. 

It was their first loss of the season and it comes with the teeth of the schedule approaching in the coming weeks.

Here’s the report card:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 28/45, 280 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT; 8 rushes, 47 yards, 1 TD

For most of Sunday’s game, Hurts actually played really well. Hurts showed great pocket presence for three quarters before things unraveled at the end. He threw three interceptions but I have hard time pinning the first two on him. 

The last one though? It was brutal. There was one thing Hurts just couldn’t do on that 3rd-and-9 and that was throw an interception. It’s like taking a class in college and final exam counts for 50% of your grade. Hurts flunked it. That crucial mistake — and the next drive — really tank his grade for this game.

Grade: D+

Running back

D’Andre Swift: 10 carries, 18 yards; 8 catches, 40 yards, 1 TD

The Eagles got away from running the ball early in this game despite having a lead for much of it. Swift obviously didn’t get much going on the ground but he did have success as a receiver. The problem was that Swift also coughed the football up late in the first half, which led to a Jets field goal. Kenny Gainwell also wasn’t very productive. He had three total touches for 17 yards. Boston Scott did have a catch for 14 yards.

Grade: C

Receiver

A.J. Brown: 7 catches on 9 targets, 131 yards

Brown continues to put up major numbers and has now gone over 125 yards in four consecutive games. He’s just the second Eagle ever to do that, joining Harold Jackson (1971-72). But DeVonta Smith finished just 5 catches on 11 targets for 44 yards and had a couple of uncharacteristic drops, one that really hurt. Olamide Zaccheaus had just one catch for five yards.

Grade: B-

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 5 catches on 8 targets, 42 yards

Two of the three interceptions on Sunday came when Hurts was targeting Goedert. The first one was pretty fluky and the second one clearly wasn’t Goedert’s fault. Still, Goedert wasn’t able to have another productive game like last week and his contributions in the run game were relatively minimal based on the game plan.

Grade: C

Offensive line

Losing Lane Johnson to an ankle injury in the first quarter completely changed the game. Veteran Jack Driscoll really struggled when he got in there at right tackle and it led to a ton of pressure on Hurts. Having two backups — Sua Opeta and Driscoll — on the right side of the line isn’t ideal. Driscoll was bad enough that it’s fair to wonder what the Eagles are going to do if Johnson misses any time.

Grade: C-

Defensive line

Haason Reddick: 5 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 2 TFLs

If the Eagles win that game, we’re all talking about the clutch performances from Reddick and Josh Sweat. With a makeshift secondary down to deep reserves, the Eagles’ defensive line was dominant against the Jets, sacking Zach Wilson five times, including some big ones down the stretch. Even without Jalen Carter, this unit looked really strong. Good performances from just about everyone up front.

Grade: A

Linebacker

Nicholas Morrow: 6 tackles

Nakobe Dean returned after a four-week stint on IR with a foot injury but was not the starter. The Eagles started Morrow and Zach Cunningham but rotated the rest of the way. Those guys looked fine for a defense that did its job against the Jets and Wilson.

Grade: B

Secondary

James Bradberry: 5 tackles, 2 PBUs

By the end of this game, the Eagles were down to just one opening day starter in the secondary in Bradberry. Already without Avonte Maddox, Darius Slay, Justin Evans and Sydney Brown, the Eagles suffered injuries to Reed Blankenship and Eli Ricks during the game. They ended up having UDFA Mekhi Garner — a cornerback — at safety in the second half. This unit is duct taped together but it wasn’t awful. (Although it’s a little scary thinking about facing the Dolphins next week.)

Grade: B

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 0/1 on field goals; miss from 37 yards

The Eagles’ special teams had been excellent for a few weeks in a row but Sunday wasn’t a good performance. Elliott missed a short field goal, the punter wasn’t great and the Eagles took a penalty when Kelee Ringo ran into the punt returner, which set up a field goal drive in the second half.

Grade: D

Coaching

Record: 5-1

There were plenty of decisions to question on the offensive side of the football. Brian Johnson and Nick Sirianni are partially responsible for the feeble offensive performance and it’s certainly fair to question play calling and the run-pass ratio after that game. But for all the struggles on offense, DC Sean Desai seemed to do a really good job, especially considering all of the injuries on his side of the ball.

Grade: D+

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/week-6-eagles-grades-by-position-after-disastrous-loss-to-jets/540929/

 

[LacesOut]

Brutal loss, especially when they need to stack wins against teams that they should beat. 

[time2rock]

15 hours ago, LacesOut said:

Brutal loss, especially when they need to stack wins against teams that they should beat. 

Happens every year (and to all teams) … beat teams you think you have little chance at beating and lose to teams you have a strong likelihood to beat.  Biggest thing is how you respond to the loss.  Don’t want that to be the start of a losing skid.  🤞🏻🤞🏻

[greenskeeper]