Grayson’s Grades: Eagles at Bengals
The Philadelphia Eagles outscored the Bengals 37-10 over the last three quarters to win in Cincinnati for the first time ever. They were winless in their five previous games there dating back to 1971.
Once again the Eagles were held scoreless in the first quarter. They remain the only team in the league that has yet to score a single point in the first quarter. However, the offense was efficient after that and the defense forced a pair of turnovers.
The Eagles improved to 5-2 overall. Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades:
A
Jalen Hurts - Hurts was efficient and more importantly protective of the football. He did not turn it over for the third straight game. Hurts also made good decisions when it came to evacuating the pocket and running. He made accurate throws as well. Hurts only threw four incompletions. He hit several mid-range throws to AJ Brown and Grant Calcaterra. Hurts also connected with DeVonta Smith on a deep ball for a touchdown. Hurts completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also carried it ten times for 37 yards and three touchdowns.
Saquon Barkley - Barkley had another solid game for the Eagles. He was great hitting holes and always making sure to carry defenders forward for extra yardage. Barkley is so good at making cuts in the hole that causes defenders to miss. He carried the ball 22 times for 108 yards.
DeVonta Smith - Smith had arguably the biggest catch of the game. He was in one-on-one coverage and Hurts gave him a chance to make the catch in the endzone. It was a well-thrown ball and Smith caught it in the back of the endzone for a 45 yard touchdown. Smith caught six passes for 85 yards and that touchdown.
AJ Brown - Brown was once again a key target for Hurts and the Eagles. He worked well on the outside and gave Hurts some big windows to throw the ball into that led to solid yardage. Brown found most of his success in mid-range throws. He caught five passes for 84 yards.
Grant Calcaterra - Calcaterra continues to do a great job of filling in for the injured Dallas Goedert. Calcaterra is proving to be a reliable target for Hurts. He worked well over the middle of the field in mid-range distance and caught three passes for 58 yards.
Nick Sirianni - Sirianni needs to figure out how to get his team ready to play to find success in the first quarter, but he does manage to keep having them play well through the rest of the game. He has managed to get his team to turn a corner while also start to create an identity on both offense and defense. The key is to continue to have his team trending in the right direction as some key division games are coming up on the schedule.
Kellen Moore - Moore has embraced the identity of his offense as a running team. He is feeding Saquon Barkley the ball and letting him set the tone. That in turn is allowing the passing game to run at an efficient pace. They racked up nearly 400 total yards and scored 37 points. The Eagles were six of 11 on third down as well which helped to move the chains.
Offensive Line - The Offensive Line played very well again without two of its starters. Fred Johnson continues to do well filling in for the injured Jordan Mailata. This line blocks very well in the running game and did a good job of creating a pocket for Jalen Hurts to deliver the ball in passing situations.
Jake Elliott - Elliott was automatic whenever his number was called. He helped put the first points on the board for the Eagles in the first half. He also added a couple of big kicks later in the game to help stretch the lead. He made all three field goals attempted from 39, 47 and 49 yards. Elliott also booted four extra points through the uprights.
CJ Gardner-Johnson - CJGJ did an amazing job of pulling in a tipped ball by Isaiah Rodgers for a huge interception in the second half. Rodgers batted it away from the receiver and CJGJ caught the deflection while remaining in-bounds to secure the interception. The Eagles only had two takeaways coming into the game so this was a huge turnover forced. Gardner-Johnson finished the game with one tackle, one pass successfully defended and one interception.
Isaiah Rodgers - Rodgers suddenly got a lot more snaps when Darius Slay left this game due to injury. He did not back down from the competition and did a great job of getting a hand on a pass to deflect it right into CJ Gardner-Johnson's hands for an interception. Rodgers had one tackle and one pass successfully defended.
Nakobe Dean - Dean did a good job in run support and also recovered a fumble to help the Eagles put this game away. He continues to grow from week to week and appears to be getting more and more comfortable at this level. Dean finished second on the team with nine tackles including a tackle for a loss, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery.
Vic Fangio - Fangio's defense showed it could win in a variety of ways. The two games prior to this one the defense won in large part by recording 13 sacks. This game they stuffed the run very well and ultimately managed to force a pair of second half turnovers. Fangio's defense held the Bengals to just 58 rush yards. However, it started the game slow by failing to get off the field on third down. It allowed the Bengals to open the game with a 17 play 70 yard drive that took over ten minutes off the clock. Ultimately the Bengals converted ten of 13 third-down attempts. But a huge pat on the back for the defense forcing a pair of turnovers. They entered this game with just two takeaways and doubled that in this one.
Defensive Line - The defensive line played especially well stuffing the run. Brandon Graham made a huge third down stop that forced a fourth down attempt which the Eagles stopped creating a turnover on downs. It was an example of how much better that side of the ball is playing as a unit. The chemistry seems to be growing and the understanding of Vic Fangio's scheme continues to improve. The Eagles held the Bengals to just 58 yards rushing which was due in large part to the play of this line.
B
None
C
None
D
None
F
None