The Philadelphia Eagles entered the game with the Seattle Seahawks looking to assert themselves as a contender for a first round bye. That is probably history after a 24-14 loss to the Seahawks.

The Eagles lost at home for the first time this season. It sets up another interesting and high profile matchup next week with the Dallas Cowboys. A win there could virtually lock up the division title.

As for this one, the Eagles had no offensive rhythm and the defense struggled to get off the field. The Seahawks appeared to have control throughout most of the game and Russell Wilson put his team on his back and won it for them.

As you might expect, the grades are not very good after this performance:

A

Fletcher Cox -  Cox was a beast at the point of attack on the defensive line. He made plenty of big plays to stop the run and keep Marshawn Lynch from breaking free on runs up the middle. I was impressed with the way he plugged up the middle. Cox finished the game with 11 tackles including one for a loss.

B

Jeremy Maclin - Maclin caught 3 passes for 21 yards including a 1 yard touchdown. He did not get many opportunities, but was shadowed throughout most of the game by Richard Sherman. The Eagles need to do a better job getting him some opportunities to make plays.

Zach Ertz - Ertz made two big plays in this game. He recovered a fumble by Seattle's punter to give the Eagles the ball in the red zone. That led to a touchdown. Later in the game he made a big catch and fought through a tackle for a touchdown. Ertz had an opportunity to make a big grab for a first down later in the game, but dropped it. It was high, but catchable. He finished with 2 receptions for 39 yards and that touchdown.

Mychal Kendricks - Kendricks made some really nice plays. He racked up nine tackles including one for a loss. He did a good job in helping to stop the run. Kendricks forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.

Bradley Fletcher - Stop the presses. I gave Fletcher a 'B'. I think this is his highest grade of the season so far. I thought he did a much, much better job in coverage. He was flagged for a 44-yard pass interference penalty, but I thought it was a bad call. Fletcher finally turned around and actually was trying to play the ball when the Seahawks receiver looked to interfere with him. He had another pass that he defended well. All in all, I thought Fletcher played one of his better games.

C

Connor Barwin - Barwin seemed to be all over the place, but at times missed tackles. He did record a first quarter sack. He seems to be asked to do a lot more than he should though. At times, Barwin is 20 yards down field in coverage. That is not his strength and not his fault for being asked to do it. Barwin finished with 6 tackles.

Casey Matthews - Matthews struggled in pass coverage. He appeared to be out of position a few times that allowed some receivers to get open and move the chains for the Seahawks. He did well in helping to keep Marshawn Lynch in check, but needs to do better in pass coverage. Matthews made 9 tackles in the game.

Malcolm Jenkins - Jenkins gave up a third quarter touchdown. He was a little late recovering and could not catch up to Doug Baldwin. Jenkins did recover a fourth quarter fumble and nearly picked off a pass in that same quarter.

D

Riley Cooper - Cooper did a nice job blocking on Jeremy Maclin's touchdown. He looked lost on the interception that was poorly thrown by Sanchez. Cooper has not produced much of late. He finished with 3 receptions for 13 yards.

LeSean McCoy - McCoy broke Wilburt Montgomery's franchise career rushing record in this game, but it was not even close to being a strong performance by McCoy. He fumbled on the first play of the second half and finished with 50 yards on 17 carries. His turnover turned into a Seahawks touchdown and put the Eagles in a two possession hole.

Offensive Line - The offensive line could have definitely done a better job in the run game and in pass protection. Jason Kelce told me that much after the game. As the second half wore on, the Seahawks brought more and more pressure on Sanchez. He bailed on the pocket quickly and the line could have given him another second or two and it would have likely made a huge difference.

Chip Kelly - I did not like Kelly's offensive game plan. Easy to say after the fact. However, the Eagles do a good job on screen passes and I am hard pressed to remember them throwing more than one screen pass in this game. That always seems like a good way to try and get the offense moving. There was never any rhythm and the Eagles never appeared to try and use Seattle's aggressive defensive front against them.

F

Mark Sanchez - Sanchez looked horrible in this game along with pretty much the rest of the offense. His passes were off target and the offense never got into a rhythm. His decision making bothered me. There were times he could have run for 5-10 yards rather than force a tough throw. The interception he threw in the fourth quarter was inexcusable. It was poorly thrown and Riley Cooper did not realize it was coming until too late. He cannot try to force that in there at that point in the game where you need to drive down the field and get a score. This game was a step back for Sanchez in my opinion. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 96 yards, 2  touchdowns and a costly interception.


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