Grayson’s Grades: Eagles at Seahawks

The Philadelphia Eagles never trailed until there were just 28 seconds left in the game and ultimately suffered a 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

This was a devastating loss. It was a game they had to have and there were mistakes made in the final quarter that led to this result. The Eagles have lost three in a row for the first time since October of 2021. It likely puts to rest any hopes of earning the top seed and it was another missed opportunity to seize control of the NFC East.

Several players on defense showed up in moments but overall there were a lot of average efforts. Josh Sweat made a great play to blow up a rushing attempt and drop the ball carrier for a significant loss. But could not get home for a sack. Jalen Carter picked up a big sack late in the game, but failed to get much pressure outside of that. Haason Reddick has been one of the most consistent players on the defensive line, but he also failed to get much pressure on Drew Lock.

Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades:

A

None

B

D'Andre Swift - Swift continues to run the ball well when given the opportunity. He averaged four yards per carry which is enough to keep moving the chains. Swift shows good patience in the hole and good vision once he hits the hole to find a running lane. He had more opportunities in this game than he has had in a while and I thought he did a good job with those opportunities. Swift carried the ball 18 times for 74 yards.

C

None

D

Jalen Hurts - Hurts played through an illness that made his status Questionable for this game. Gutting it out for his teammates is a great quality. That being said, his decision-making was questionable especially in the fourth quarter. Hurts was engineering a sustained drive that had put the Eagles on the edge of field goal range with just over eight minutes remaining in the game and a four point lead. Hurts threw a deep ball for Quez Watkins that got picked off. Why throw that ball? Why not continue chewing up clock and adding at worst a field goal to extend the lead to seven? Then with 13 seconds remaining and the Eagles down by three on their own 45 with a couple of timeouts, Hurts went deep for AJ Brown. It was picked off and ended the game. The Eagles only needed about 13 yards to give Jake Elliott a chance to tie it. Why throw that ball? Hurts in the fourth quarter completed just two of six passes for 25 yards with two interceptions. It was a 7.6 rating. Overall he ran the ball better than he has throughout most of the season. Hurts carried it 13 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 17 of 31 passes for 143 yards and two interceptions.

F

Nick Sirianni - Sirianni is currently sitting in the pilot seat of a plane that has two engines on fire and he needs to try and land this thing safely. Three straight losses put the Eagles from the drivers seat of the top seed in the NFC to at risk of going into the playoffs as the five seed. The fourth quarter was atrocious on both sides of the ball. There was little to no pressure on Drew Lock from the defense on that final drive. The offense had an opportunity to shorten the game and run out some clock while still putting up points with about eight minutes to go and Jalen Hurts threw a deep ball that was picked off. As you hear the players speak after the game, there is a real danger of the pressure and anxiety building in that locker room. As I said, Sirianni has a plane with two engines on fire and needs to find a way to get it back under control.

Brian Johnson - Johnson did a better job of mixing in a much more consistent rushing attack including utilizing Jalen Hurts legs better. However, I don't understand abandoning the ground game with a lead in the fourth quarter and a potential field goal in your back pocket if the drive were to fizzle out. Some of Jalen Hurts decisions on where to go with the ball are very questionable which begs the question, how is he being coached to handle those decisions. There are open receivers not getting targets. There is serious question in my mind if there is any real breakdown of film in those situations to understand where a better play could have been made.

Matt Patricia - Patricia did a better job of at least helping his defense get off the field than Sean DeSai had, but in fairness this was a less potent offense than the last two. It had to be better. The failures here continue to be lack of pressure on Drew Lock, plus some continued missed tackles. The most egregious failure was the play-calling on a 10-play 92 yard game-winning drive by the Seahawks. Twice the Eagles got the Seahawks into 3rd & 10 situations on that final drive and both times the Seahawks converted.

James Bradberry - There is no excuse for letting any receiver get behind you with about 30 seconds to go in the game and your team leading by four. The opponent needs a touchdown. You can afford to give up something in front of you and make the tackle. The inexcusable play is to give up the game-winning touchdown. Bradberry let his man get past him and make a great catch for the score.