Eagles grades by position after tight win over Jaguars

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

The Eagles were clearly the better team on Sunday and dominated the Jaguars for most of the game. They still had to escape with a 28-23 win.

But they improved to 6-2 as they head to Dallas to face the Cowboys in Week 10.

Here are our Eagles position grades against the Jaguars:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 18/24, 230 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 13 carries, 67 yards, 1 TD

The Eagles didn’t need Hurts to throw for a ton of yards in this game but he was extremely efficient. He had one risky throw that was nearly picked off by Andre Cisco but the call on the field was reversed. Hurts had his fourth straight game without a turnover. He also ran the ball well in this game and scored on an 18-yard run.

Grade: A-

Running back

Saquon Barkley: 27 carries, 159 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble; 3 catches, 40 yards, 1 TD

Barkley was incredible on Sunday and he made one of the best plays you’ll ever seen on a football field in the first half when he avoided a few tacklers and then somehow hurdles a guy with his back to him. Barkley also had a big-time touchdown catch and finished the game with 199 scrimmage yards. But he had a few bad plays in this game too. You can argue about the validity of the fumble call but it was a fumble after he hit the ground in the third quarter. He also slid short of the sticks in the fourth quarter on second down and he dropped a pass in the red zone. Overall, it was still a great game from Barkley but he had his mistakes too. And Kenny Gainwell didn’t get much going; he had just 9 yards on 5 carries.

Grade: A-

Receiver

DeVonta Smith: 4 catches on 6 targets for 87 yards, 1 TD

A.J. Brown had 2 catches for 36 yards before leaving this game with a knee injury. (Nick Sirianni didn’t have any sort of update on Brown after the game.) But without Brown, Smith had a great second half. His one-handed touchdown catch in the back of the end zone in the third quarter wasn’t even the most spectacular play in this game but it was still one of the best catches you’ll ever see. And a few plays earlier, he had a 46-yard catch to set up the touchdown. Jahan Dotson had a wild 36-yard catch on his only target in this game. Rookie Johnny Wilson had a touchdown called back for OPI.

Grade: B+

Tight end

Grant Calcaterra: 5 catches on 5 targets for 30 yards

In the third game without Dallas Goedert (hamstring), Calcaterra continues to be a solid piece on offense and a reliable target for Hurts. Calcaterra has eight catches over the last two weeks. The Eagles also used Jack Stoll and E.J. Jenkins in heavier personnel packages.

Grade: B

Offensive line

The Eagles’ offensive line gave up three sacks in this game but you could also argue that Hurts held the ball a bit too much. Lane Johnson was a brick wall but did have a costly false start and Fred Johnson gave up a few pressures. On the ground, the Eagles averaged 5.2 yards per carry and finished with 237 yards. But the Tush Push was stuffed a couple times.

Grade: B

Defensive line

Josh Sweat: 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 1 PBU

After going without a sack in the first three games of the season, Sweat has five in his last five games and his first two-sack game of the season. He had a good showing. So did Jalen Carter, who saw a ton of double teams but was able to fight through them and have a big-time performance. The Jaguars averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in this game. Bryce Huff barely played and after the game Nick Sirianni explained that Huff is dealing with a hand injury. That meant more snaps for Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham.

Grade: B+

Linebacker

Zack Baun: 10 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBUs

This is the best linebacker game we’ve seen from the Eagles in quite a long time. Nakobe Dean called game with a huge interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter and he didn’t even have the best performance of the linebackers. That distinction goes to Baun, who was all over the field and had an interception of his own. The play of these linebackers has to be one of the biggest storylines of the 2024 season. This is the first time two Eagles linebackers have had interceptions in the same game since Jeremiah Trotter and Carlos Emmons on Sept. 3, 2000.

Grade: A+

Secondary

Cooper DeJean: 3 tackles, 2 PBUs

The Eagles gave up a few completions here and there but they limited Trevor Lawrence to just 169 passing yards in this game. Standout rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was held to just 2 catches for 22 yards. DeJean had another stop on 4th down. And Isaiah Rodgers looked fine filling in for the injured Darius Slay.

Grade: A-

Special teams

Sydney Brown: 1 FF, 1 tackle

Jake Elliott hit a 57-yarder off the right upright but that was the only thing that went wrong for special teams in this game. Brown’s forced fumble on punt coverage was a huge play and it helped the Eagles get their first first-quarter points of the 2024 season. Will Shipley had a big special teams tackle and so did Kelee Ringo, who also recovered that FF from Brown.

Grade: A

Coaching

Record: 6-2

Were there some questionable decisions from Nick Sirianni in this one? Absolutely. Did he leave points on the board? He did. But the Eagles still did enough to win this game even if it felt like it might have been in spite of the coaching staff at times. The most questionable decision from the coaching staff was going for it on 4th-and-inches with a non-Tush Push late in the third quarter instead of kicking a field goal to get a two-score lead. There were other questionable decisions on offense like the timing of getting Ben VanSumeren and Ainias Smith the football. But the run on 3rd-and-17 that went for a Barkley touchdown was great call from Kellen Moore. And Vic Fangio’s defense played pretty well all afternoon and he seemed to call a good game.

Grade: B-

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