Grayson's Grades: Eagles at Giants

The Philadelphia Eagles have not had success coming out of a bye week under Doug Pederson. They lost for the third straight year out of the bye and this 27-17 defeat essentially wiped out the cushion they had on top of the NFC East.

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It was an ugly game with the Eagles failing to convert a third down in a game for the first time since 2004. They were 0-for-9 on third down. The Eagles also killed themselves by committing 11 penalties for 74 yards.

The Eagles fall to 3-5-1 and remain in first place in the NFC East. However, the schedule is about to get a lot more difficult. Their next five opponents have a combined record of 32-13.

An uninspired performance yields an uninspired report card. Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades:

Boston Scott - Scott did not get a lot of touches in this game. He only got three carries but made the most of one of them taking it 53 yards for a touchdown when the Eagles needed some sort of life. Scott was nearly knocked out of bounds but managed to keep his feet in to complete the touchdown run. Scott carried the ball three times for 63 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards.

Richard Rodgers - Rodgers has been a reliable receiver for Carson Wentz during the absence of Zach Ertz. He caught some passes all over the field and helped to move the chains when they were able to do that. Rodgers led the team in receiving yards catching four passes for 60 yards.

Miles Sanders - Sanders returned to the field and provided some explosive runs. He carried the ball 15 times for 85 yards for an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Sanders had multiple runs of over ten yards. He did have a problem catching the ball in this game. Sanders dropped several passes after taking his eye off the ball and looking downfield. Those drops definitely hurt the offense and helped to end drives. He was targeted five times and caught just two of them for ten yards.

Derek Barnett - Barnett started the game with a sack. However, that was not enough to stifle the Giants defense. He was able to get into the backfield but unable to get Daniel Jones again. Barnett led the team with three Quarterback hits. He added three tackles and a sack.

Alex Singleton - Singleton was able to get into the line of scrimmage and try to blow up some plays. He also managed to get close enough to Daniel Jones to affect some of his throws. Singleton led the team with 16 tackles. He added one tackle for a loss. Singleton and his defensive teammates allowed too many big plays on the ground. That needs to improve going forward.

Jason Kelce - Kelce had some major blocks in this game including the one that got Boston Scott loose for his 53 yard touchdown run. The big problem for Kelce was getting the ball to Carson Wentz. He had four bad snaps in this game that derailed plays before they even really began. Kelce is such a valuable part of this offensive line and highly effective blocking. Typically his snaps are good and easy to handle but the struggle was real in this game.

Fletcher Cox - Cox typically does not show up in the stat sheet very much. He does a lot to help out his teammates including taking on double teams more often than not. Despite that, Cox registered three tackles and one quarterback hit. Cox needed to try and bottle up the middle more than he was able to and that allowed some running lanes for the Giants.

Travis Fulgham - Fulgham has been so productive that it was genuinely weird to not hear his name called. Fulgham finished this game with just one catch for eight yards. He was targeted five times. A few of those targets were bad passes that were thrown behind him.

Avonte Maddox - Maddox looked bad in the secondary. He was beat multiple times for some big plays. He continues to be late to turn around and find the ball. Maddox has to expect to be picked on given that Darius Slay is on the other side. He has to do a better job defending those passes especially when he is going to see opposing quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees in the next few weeks. Maddox finished with seven tackles.

Carson Wentz - Wentz was inconsistent once again. He completed less than 60 percent of his passes in the first half. He made some bad throws and missed some open guys. Wentz did a better job of limiting sacks and did not turn it over. He was sacked three times. Wentz seems to struggle finding any kind of rhythm and if he does get into a rhythm rarely does it continue into the following possession. He was a victim of a couple of drops but for the most part the miscues were his. Wentz completed 21 of 37 passes for 208 yards.

Doug Pederson - Pederson just cannot seem to get his offense into any kind of sustained rhythm. There is a failure to use one play to set up another. Miles Sanders averaged nearly six yards per carry, but only ran it 15 times. Meanwhile, Carson Wentz passed it 37 times in the game. The offense failed to convert a third down in a game for the first time since 2004. I don't understand the decision to go for two when they cut it to a four-point deficit at 21-17. At that point in the second half, he should have kicked the PAT and made it a three point game. Pederson is 1-3 coming out of a bye and that has to be better. With extra time to prepare, how can his team come out and fall behind by double digits early in the game? Pederson's team has once again put itself in a tough position. We shall see if this adversity helps to bring out more positives from this team.

Jim Schwartz - Schwartz' defense continues to give up way too many touchdowns. Those drives need to be stopped short of the endzone. Unlike previous games this season, the offense did not turn it over but the defense still struggled. Daniel Jones had too many successful running plays. Schwartz' defense also gave up too many big plays through the air. After the offense cut the deficit to three points, Schwartz' defense allowed the Giants to march down the field and cap off a six-play 75-yard drive with a touchdown in less than three minutes.