Grayson's Grades: Eagles at Lions

The Philadelphia Eagles looked to emerge from their bye and remain undefeated. They ran into a Detroit Lions team that was desperate for a win and played like a cornered animal.

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After falling behind 21-7, the Eagles scored 16 unanswered points to take a 23-21 lead before losing 24-23.

Running back Ryan Mathews fumbled the ball with less than three minutes to go in the game. That gave the Lions a short field to get into field goal range and ultimately win it.

Here are Grayson's Grades following the loss:

Caleb Sturgis - Sturgis helped to keep this team in the game by drilling some long field goals. He booted a 50-yard attempt through the uprights in the first half and followed it up with a 33-yard make to end the first half. Sturgis also made a 49-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a 23-21 lead.

Carson Wentz - The education of the rookie quarterback progressed despite a loss. Wentz did a nice job of bringing his team back, but made a poor decision to throw deep into double coverage on the first play of their final drive. It turned into his first interception. It was a risky gamble. With more than a minute to go in the game, I would have liked to see him move it downfield 10-20 yards a time over the middle. That being said, if Agholor finds a way to catch it than it becomes a huge play. However, Wentz continues to be very impressive. He is extremely poised and comfortable leading the offense. There was absolutely no panic when the Eagles fell behind 21-7. He made a couple of poor decisions on where to throw the ball but escaped without any turnovers. Wentz made a brilliant play on second and 25 when he escaped the pocket and directed Jordan Matthews downfield. He fired a perfect pass that moved the chains. Wentz carried the ball a few times as well, but showed he is learning and never took a hit on those carries. He either ran out of bounds or slid down. Wentz completed 25 of 33 passes for 238 yards, 2 touchdowns and his first career interception.

Jordan Matthews - Matthews had a pretty solid game. His best catch came when Wentz broke the pocket and directed him to break off his route downfield and the pair hooked up to move the chains on a second and 25. All total, he finished as the Eagles leading receiver with four receptions for 65 yards.

Dorial Green-Beckham - DGB had more opportunities to make plays than he has had so far this season. It shows he is getting more comfortable since coming over to Philly late in the preseason. He did a great job to break a tackle and move the chains on a third down early in the second half. DGB hauled in three passes for 43 yards.

Darren Sproles - Sproles continues to be so effective running the ball. He is hard for a defensive line to find given his short stature. That allows him to wait for a hole and burst through to the second level of the defense for a solid gain. Sproles led the team in rushing carrying it five times for 45 yards. He also caught four passes for 23 yards.

Bennie Logan - Logan was part of a crew of Eagles that helped to collapse the pocket at times. He benefitted from some of his defensive line teammates getting to Stafford and he cleaned it up. Logan recorded a pair of sacks and finished with three tackles.

Brandon Graham - Graham continued his solid season by constantly disrupting some of the Lions running plays, particularly in the second half. He finished as the second-leading tackler with six tackles including two tackles for a loss including a quarterback hit.

Nigel Bradham - Bradham did not play much in the first half. He did a good job with his playing time in the second half by recovering a fumble. He also got a good push to help stop the run in the second half. Bradham also blew up a screen pass for a big loss in the fourth quarter. He finished with five tackles including three tackles for a loss.

Rodney McLeod - McLeod was the leading tackler, which is not exactly what you want out of a defensive back. He had to help clean up some missed tackles, particularly in the first half. McLeod finished with nine tackles.

Fletcher Cox - This was not one of Cox's better games. He was still very much a factor, but not quite as well as he usually is. Cox committed a costly face mask penalty that negated a sack and extended a Lions drive resulting in a touchdown. He got more on track later in the game and started disrupting Stafford in the pocket. Cox finished with one sack and two tackles.

Doug Pederson - Pederson saw his team fall behind 21-7 in the first half. They rebounded to eventually take a 23-21 lead in the fourth quarter before ultimately losing 24-23. His team was extremely undisciplined committing 14 penalties for 111 yards. Many of them extended drives for the Lions or put the offense in bad situations. The Eagles did not look as crisp as they had which leans towards the idea they were rusty coming out of the bye. The Head Coach needs to have his team ready to go after a bye and this team played sloppy.

Jim Schwartz - A tale of two halves for this defense. Schwartz' defense played undisciplined and it extended several Detroit drives in the first half. However, that same defense suffocated the Lions defense in the second half allowing the Eagles offense to put up enough points for the win. There were way too many penalties in the first half that allowed the Lions to have shorter fields to drive and helped move the chains.

Ryan Mathews - Mathews committed a mortal sin in football by fumbling with the lead late in the fourth quarter. It led to the game-winning Field Goal for the Lions. The turnover took away from what was an otherwise decent game. Mathews ran the ball between the tackles well. He also caught a two-yard touchdown pass. Mathews finished with 11 carries for 42 yards and a costly fumble. He also caught five passes for 33 yards and a touchdown.

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