Grayson’s Grades: Eagles vs. 49ers

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the first quarter, but were outscored 42-13 the rest of the game and lost to the San Francisco 49ers 42-19.

The Niners scored touchdowns on six straight possessions with five of the six drives going at least 75 yards. Missed tackles led to some of those touchdowns as the 49ers got revenge after losing to the Eagles in the NFC Championship game ten months earlier.

The offense settled for Field Goals early and struggled in the middle of the game. The defense could not get off the field. It led to a blowout loss. However, the Eagles still control their own destiny regarding the top seed in the NFC.

There are some ugly grades on this report card. Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades:

A

AJ Brown - Brown was a frequent target for Jalen Hurts and was a reliable one. He was targeted early and often. In the first quarter it was a couple of slants that got Brown going. He caught those passes over the middle and tacked on some nice yards after the catch. Brown was targeted 13 times and caught eight passes for 114 yards.

DeVonta Smith - Smith was also a reliable target for Hurts in this game. He has such great hands and does an excellent job of always securing the ball in traffic. Smith was targeted 11 times and caught nine passes for 96 yards and a touchdown.

B

Haason Reddick - Reddick made a huge play early when he sacked Brock Purdy. Reddick is the player who injured Purdy in the NFC Championship Game in January. Later in the game he was not getting to Reddick fast enough for a sack, but did register some hits. He finished with three tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss and one quarterback hit.

Fletcher Cox - Cox had a pretty good game. He seemed to get quite a bit of snaps and cashed them in for some good plays. Cox recorded a sack in this game. He finished with two tackles including two tackles for a loss and one quarterback hit. But don't base his game on just the stats. He was doing a decent job in the middle of that line trying to clog up some running lanes.

C

Sean DeSai - DeSai cannot make the tackles. His job is to put his players in the best position to make plays. They did just that in the first quarter. The Eagles forced a pair of three-and-outs and held the Niners to just over two minutes with the ball in that quarter. But then it all changed. The Eagles started missing tackles and giving up big plays. DeSai does need to do a better job of helping his team get off the field on third down, especially after forcing quite a few third and long situations. The Niners were eight-for-11 on third down and one-for-one on fourth down. They racked up 456 yards of total offense. All unacceptable on a team that is expected to contend for a Super Bowl title.

Jalen Hurts - Hurts held the ball way too long multiple times in this game. He kept buying some time and then ultimately should have just thrown it away. Instead, on one trip in the Red Zone, Hurts slipped and fell after one such case resulting in a sack and forcing the Eagles to settle for a Field Goal. It was not a crisp performance for Hurts. He completed 26 of 45 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. Hurts also carried it seven times for 20 yards and a touchdown.

D

Christian Elliss - Elliss struggled in this one, especially in coverage. He was target three times and allowed two completions for 33 yards. Elliss was also part of the group responsible for failing to stop the run. The Niners averaged more than five yards per carry which is unacceptable. This linebacking group needs to do a much better job than they did in this one.

Nick Sirianni - Sirianni made some questionable decisions in this one. He was not his usual aggressive self. He punted on fourth and two with his team down two scores in the second half. Sirianni also chose to do an onside kick with more than five minutes left in the game and two timeouts after scoring a touchdown. The Niners cashed in on that short field and scored a touchdown. Granted, I get the onside kick from the standpoint that his defense showed it was unable to stop the niners, but the more prudent thing to do would have been to give this defense which has made stops in clutch moments the opportunity to do so on the Niners side of the field. Also, his team looked tired and lacked energy which has been such a key ingredient to their success. He has done a nice job with this team this season, but he and his staff were outreached in this matchup.

F

Nicholas Morrow - Morrow had a bad day. The Niners clearly made a point of picking on him and it worked. He was targeted eight times allowing six receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Due to missed tackles, Morrow allowed 151 yards after the catch.

Brian Johnson - I fail to understand how an offensive line with as much beef and experience as this one has is not asked to run the ball more. Eagles running backs carried the ball just nine times for 20 yards. It is hard to blame the running backs when they aren't getting the touches or opportunities. Running the ball takes commitment and the ability to understand that some attempts may go for little to no gain, but continuing to rush the ball helps wear down a defense and ultimately leads to much bigger yardage on the ground. There was no need to panic and go to the air as much as they did. Johnson had Hurts throw it 45 times. I prefer to see Hurts throwing it around 30 times at most. Also, he needs to start finding a way to end these red zone trips with touchdowns and not field goals.

Eli Ricks - Ricks missed a tackle that directly led to a touchdown. He closed in on Jajuan Jennings in the flat and Jennings essentially tossed him aside and ran down the sideline and scored. It was yet another missed tackle by this defense. Ricks finished with two tackles.