Grayson’s Grades: Eagles at Giants
The Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff berth with a dominating 48-22 win over the New York Giants.
Jalen Hurts passed for two touchdowns and added another on the ground. Miles Sanders rushed for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season for the first time in his career. Also in this game, A.J. Brown went over 1,000 yards receiving for the season.
The defense also had another solid game. They recorded seven sacks including a forced fumble and held the Giants starters to just 14 points. The backups scored a touchdown with less than a minute remaining.
The Eagles improved to 12-1. This was the first of three straight road games. The Eagles visit the Bears next week followed by a trip to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Christmas Eve.
Another solid report card in this latest edition of Grayson's Grades:
A+
Jalen Hurts - Hurts continues to play like the hottest Quarterback in the league. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts also carried the ball seven times for 77 yards and a touchdown. Hurts is fun to watch and a great leader for this team. He remains calm and humble throughout the game, even when his teammates are celebrating on the sidelines. His on the field play speaks for itself. His intangibles off the field are just as impressive.
Miles Sanders - Sanders went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark in a season for the first time in his career. He had a monster day carrying the ball 17 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdown runs was a 40-yard score. Sanders is a lot more patient when he gets the ball this year which is allowing holes to open and lead to some solid runs. Sanders also caught one pass for 11 yards.
Offensive Line - The offensive line clearly dominated the line of scrimmage. They won their blocks and created plenty of holes in the running game while also giving Jalen Hurts plenty of good protection. The offense racked up 437 yards of total offense thanks in large part to the work of that line. Credit Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo and Lane Johnson for a great performance.
Brandon Graham - Graham was frequently harassing Giants Quarterbacks. He racked up three sacks, three tackles for a loss and three quarterback hits. Graham finished with four tackles. Graham seemed to have another speed in his pass rush against the Giants. He was winning his battles and creating havoc in the pocket even when he couldn't get there for the sack.
Nick Sirianni - Sirianni should be the Coach of the Year in my opinion. The impressive thing is keeping his team focused literally on the opponent that week. This team was not talking or focusing in anyway on clinching a playoff berth. They just wanted to beat the Giants. Sirianni vowed to correct special teams two weeks ago and this was another good performance from that unit. He has his finger on the pulse of this team and the players are responding to his coaching and leadership.
A
Jonathan Gannon - Gannon's defense held another running back to another sub-par performance. After shutting down Derrick Henry last week the Eagles shut down Saquon Barkley. They held him to nine carries for 28 yards. His defense also produced seven sacks and forced a turnover. I thought the second Giants touchdown was due to softer coverage which frustrates me. However, Gannon's defense is producing results.
AJ Brown - Brown went over the 1,000 yard receiving mark for the season in this game. He had four catches for 70 yards including a 33-yard touchdown. Brown continues to have a great season. He has been a reliable and key addition to this offense.
DeVonta Smith - Smith got out to a great start in this game. He made several key catches including a 41-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. Smith finished with five receptions for 64 yards. He and Brown combined to catch nine passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Josh Sweat - Sweat set the tone early in the game. It was the Giants opening possession when he sacked Daniel Jones. When he was not getting to Jones, he was helping to collapse the pocket allowing other Eagles players to record some sacks. Sweat has a quick first move off the line of scrimmage that proves to be quicker than the opponent is anticipating. He needs to continue playing at that high of a level as this team heads toward the postseason.
Haason Reddick - Reddick racked up the Eagles second sack of the game. It came on the Giants opening possession and forced a punt. Reddick creates havoc on the outside. His rushing coupled with Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham on the other side really stresses an offensive line. Reddick's sack was his tenth of the season.
Boston Scott - Scott earned this grade more for his play as a kick returner than anything else, but he is fun to watch with the ball. He reminds me frequently of Darren Sproles due to his lack of size and his quick burst of speed. Scott had three kick returns for 117 yards. His longest return was 66 yards and it came immediately after the Giants scored a touchdown. He added six carries for 33 yards and a touchdown while catching one pass for four yards.
B
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C
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D
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F
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