Grayson’s Grades: Eagles vs. Chargers
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles tied the game with just over six minutes remaining and never got the ball back as the Los Angeles Chargers kicked a field goal with two seconds left to win 27-24.
This was a winnable game with the offense once again controlling the line of scrimmage and rushing for 176 yards. They scored two rushing touchdowns and added another through the air.
Meanwhile, the Eagles defense could barely force incomplete passes. Justin Herbert completed 84 percent of his passes and was never sacked. The Chargers never punted.
The Eagles fall to 3-6 and remain winless at home this season. They will visit the Denver Broncos next Sunday.
Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades:
A
DeVonta Smith - The rookie had one of the best games of his young career. He caught five passes for 116 yards and a big 28 yard touchdown pass late in the game. Most importantly, Smith had no drops which had been a slight issue in recent games. Smith made some nice catches in traffic and also managed to take on some solid yards after the catch like he did on the touchdown reception.
Jordan Howard - Howard had another solid game running the ball. I like the way the first tackler rarely takes him down. He appears to feed off the contact and always seems to fall forward. Howard averaged more than four yards per carry. He finished with 17 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Offensive Line - The Offensive Line had another solid game. They appeared to control the line of scrimmage throughout most of the game. Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Jack Driscoll and Lane Johnson did a great job run-blocking. The Eagles rushed the ball 39 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Dallas Goedert - Goedert could have had an even bigger game if Jalen Hurts managed to hit him when he was wide open early in the game. Hurts was unable to follow through on his throw and therefore failed to get the appropriate touch on the ball for Goedert to run it down and catch it. Goedert is clearly a big part of this offense. My only problem with his game was out of his control. I just wonder why he disappears at times. Sirianni should make sure the ball goes his way at some point on every drive. He appears to be a mismatch for opponents and that should be capitalized on more frequently. Goedert caught three passes for 43 yards.
B
Nick Sirianni - Sirianni showed me he learned something from the win over the Lions. He once again let his offensive line win the line of scrimmage and dominate against a poor run defense. The rushing attack racked up 176 yards and helped to sustain long drives. I would like to see Sirianni try to keep Dallas Goedert a little more involved in the offense. He seemed to disappear in the middle of this game. Overall, not a bad job by the offense and Sirianni had his team in position to possibly win this one. He does make sure he goes out of his way to put his name on the defense as well protecting Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The fact remains the defensive game plan is not good. Sirianni needs to step in and demand a more aggressive plan. It was interesting watching the body language of his players walking off the field. They were shaking their heads. They know this was a game they really should have won.
Boston Scott - Scott did a solid job rushing the ball for the second week in a row. He averaged four yards per carry and finished with ten carries for 40 yards. He produced better yardage the more touches he got. Scott and Howard are providing a good one-two punch on the ground right now.
Jalen Hurts - Hurts played a pretty good game. He left some missed plays on the field. There was a pass to a wide-open Dallas Goedert early that could have gone for a huge gain. Hurts had pressure in his face and was unable to follow through on the throw. That prevented him from having the touch on the ball needed to drop it into Goedert's hands. Hurts also missed DeVonta Smith in the endzone on an out route. He led him too far. Hurts was falling backwards as he threw it and in hindsight admitted after the game he should have set his feet to deliver a better throw. Other than those plays, Hurts ran when he needed to and made several big plays with his legs. He also made some good throws, especially in crunch time when he connected with Smith on a 28 yard touchdown to tie the game.
C
Defensive Line - The Defensive Line had positives and negatives. The positive was doing a great job in stopping the run. They won their battles most of the time on the line of scrimmage to plug up the running holes and disrupt the run plays by the Chargers. However, they failed to generate any kind of pass rush. They only registered one quarterback hit in the game. That meant Justin Herbert was able to throw out of a clean pocket. Some of the players admitted Herbert was frustrating them with his quick release. The line deserved an A on run stops, but the failure by the defensive scheme dropped their grade. They can see Jonathan Gannon about any complaints with that.
Linebackers - The Linebackers did a much better job today filling in the running lanes and helping to limit the effectiveness of the Chargers run game. They were a little late at times in coverage getting to the right spot to make a stop. Overall, the linebackers have showed improvement over the last two weeks. T.J. Edwards led the team with 12 tackles. Davion Taylor added eight tackles while Alex Singleton tallied six in the game.
D
None
F
Jonathan Gannon - Gannon's game plan stunk. He went right back to calling a passive game that featured little to no blitzes and no creativity. I would hate to play in this defense. It is impossible to make plays when corners are giving eight to ten yard cushions on receivers. It is impossible to make plays when you are constantly sending just a four-man rush. This city has always demanded an aggressive defense that forces mistakes to be made by opposing quarterbacks. Gannon's defense failed to force a punt in this game. To their credit they did get several fourth down stops, but also allowed a 98-yard drive and allowed the Chargers to run 15 plays covering 64 yards and using more than six minutes off the clock before kicking the game-winning field goal. It left just two seconds on the clock. Gannon either needs to call a more aggressive game or give up play-calling to someone else. These players are used to getting to the quarterback. The lack of sacks and turnovers has been disappointing.
Darius Slay - Slay has had a really good season, but this was not his day. He got beat multiple times and even got stiff-armed by a receiver on their way into the endzone. Slay was also called for a costly holding penalty when it appeared the Eagles were going to get a stop. I can certainly argue that it is all probably not his fault. As referenced above, Jonathan Gannon has his defensive backs giving way too much of a cushion on opposing receivers. Slay seems to be at his best when he can challenge a receiver and play some bump and run. He had to leave this game in the second half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. He finished with three tackles.