Grayson’s Grades: Bills at Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - Familiar faces lined up on opposite sides of the field when the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Buffalo Bills in week two of preseason action. These two teams were involved in a trade last week sending Wide Receiver Jordan Matthews from Philadelphia and a third round pick to Buffalo in exchange for Corner Ronald Darby.

This game also featured a return to Philadelphia for former Eagles Running Back LeSean McCoy.

Darby made his presence known early in his first appearance at the Linc as an Eagle. His play seemed to lift up the defense overall in a 20-16 victory.

A

Carson Wentz - Wentz played a little longer than he did in the preseason opener. He was on the field for four drives and looked solid for the most part once again. Wentz moved around in the pocket well and delivered the ball with confidence. He completed six of nine passes for 56 yards. He also had two carries for three yards.

Alshon Jeffery - Jeffery made his debut in an Eagles uniform and was a popular target for Carson Wentz. The Eagles tried to get him the ball five times. He managed to haul it in twice. Jeffery and Wentz will continue to work on their chemistry. Jeffery caught two passes for 23 yards in front of the home crowd.

Ronald Darby - Darby was impressive in his Eagles debut. He has already won over many of his new teammates with his athletic ability and his knowledge of how to play his position. Darby does still have a lot to learn in this defense, but says he is studying hard and using some of his new teammates to help speed up the process. Darby 48 yd INT return, 2 passes defended.

Mychal Kendricks - Kendricks is having a solid preseason so far. He did well in Green Bay last week and followed it up by picking off Tyrod Taylor's pass on the Bills' first possession of the game. He followed that up with a sack in  the second quarter. Kendricks finished the night with two tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack and a quarterback hit.

B

Rasul Douglas - Douglas showed good physical play to disrupt timing of a pass and force it to fall incomplete. He also did a great job of undercutting a route and nearly picked off a pass in second quarter. Douglas has a great wingspan that helps him to break up passes and used that length to his advantage against the Bills.

Corey Clement - Clement showed great agility and makes nice cuts in the hole to find space. He used great explosion at the hole to burst through and pick up 24 yards on the ground. Clement also did a great job in pass protection to pick up his block and give his quarterback an extra second to throw the ball. Clement used some nice blocks to find the endzone in the second quarter. It was a nice downhill run from six yards out. Clement carried the ball eight times for 34 yards and one touchdown. He also caught two passes for six yards.

Dane Evans - Evans took advantage of his opportunities in the fourth quarter and led the Eagles on a game-winning touchdown drive that took five plays to go 60 yards late in the game.  He displayed a very strong arm zipping the ball all over the field. Evans also showed the ability to get out of the pocket when needed and nearly picked up a big first down. He threw a few passes behind his receivers, but overall looked pretty decent. Evans completed nine of 12 passes for 92 yards and one interception. The interception was not his fault. David Watford failed to secure the pass allowing the defender to take it away from him.

Marcus Johnson - Johnson missed last week's preseason opener, but took advantage of the opportunity to play against the Bills. He ran solid routes throughout the game. Johnson also showed great acceleration after the catch for a 38 yard gain. He finished with a pair of receptions for 45 yards.

Derek Barnett - Great outside speed rush to pick up his third sack of the preseason. Barnett is showing a great ability to create havoc in the opposing backfield. However, he has done that against second and third team players. It will be interesting to see what happens when he gets some opportunities against the starters. Barnett accounted for two tackles, a sack and a pair of quarterback hits.

Nelson Agholor - Agholor looks a lot more comfortable in the slot than he ever really did at wide receiver. He made a nice move on a slant route showing explosion off the line of scrimmage and after the catch for a 21 yard gain. Agholor caught two passes for a total of 28 yards in this game.

C

Jalen Mills - Mills had a mixed game. He gave a little too much cushion to receivers at times. But he also did a great job to blow up a wide receiver screen for no gain. He made a great break on the receiver and hit him just after he received the pass. Mills finished the game with two tackles.

Matt McGloin - Stepping up in pocket nicely. Better job of throwing off his front foot. Failed to set his feet on a deep ball intended for Mack Hollins. It was overthrown and picked off. Overall, definite improvement for McGloin over his performance last week. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 120 yards and one interception.

LeGarrette Blount - Blount had some chances to carry the pigskin in this game. The holes were not really there for him. Blount must hold onto the ball, it is rule number one for a running back and he failed to do that on the Eagles' fourth possession of the game. Blount  caught a short pass and then lost a fumble halting an otherwise decent drive at the time. Blount had five carries for eight yards. He also caught two passes for 15 yards.

D

CJ Smith - Smith had a rough time at Green Bay last week and showed some bad habits again in this game. He fails to turn his head around and play the ball more often than not. That increases the chance of drawing a pass interference flag. It also allows a quarterback to fit the ball in over top of the defender. That is exactly what happened when he gave up a touchdown just before the half.