Grayson’s Grades: Eagles vs. Jets

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the New York Jets and sent them back up the New Jersey Turnpike after a 31-6 spanking. The Eagles defense was suffocating while the offense managed to do its job and put up some points.

The Eagles entered this matchup with just three sacks in their first four games. They racked up ten sacks in this game alone. Brandon Graham led the way with three sacks. The defense also scored 14 points by itself. Nathan Gerry had a pick-six while Orlando Scandrick returned a fumble for a touchdown.

This was the Eagles only home game in October. They will be on the road with games in Minnesota, Dallas and Buffalo each of the next three weeks.

There was not much to complain about in this report card. Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades.

A

Jordan Howard - Howard showed great patience on the opening drive and waited for holes to open. He broke off a 15 yard run on that drive and eventually punched it into the end zone from one yard out. Howard always does a good job of ensuring the pile moves forward. He averaged nearly five yards per carry in this game. Howard carried the ball 13 times for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Zach Ertz - Ertz was once again a reliable target for Wentz. His biggest catch came just before halftime when he reached across the goal line as he was going to the ground and earned a touchdown. Ertz caught five passes for 57 yards and a touchdown in this game.

Josh Sweat - Sweat rotated in and especially had a high motor to get to the quarterback in the second half. Luke Falk was probably tired of seeing him in his face. Sweat provided a great spark when he rotated in and tallied three tackles including a sack, a tackle for a loss and three quarterback hits.

Brandon Graham - Graham had a great game. He racked up a total of three sacks in this one. It all started on the first possession of the game when Graham got off the line quickly and hit Jets Quarterback Luke Falk for a sack on the opening drive. That forced a punt. Graham beat his man easily and Falk had no idea the hit was coming. Graham did a great job of getting pressure and putting his hands up forcing a bad throw that Nathan Gerry picked off and returned for a touchdown. Graham finished with six tackles including three sacks, two tackles for a loss and five quarterback hits.

Nathan Gerry - Gerry jumped in front of a short pass and picked it off taking it 51 yards for a pick-six. It was a huge play at the time giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and giving the home crowd a ton of life.

Rodney McLeod - McLeod helped set a tone on defense when he delivered a huge hit on Le'Veon Bell on third and one to drop him for no gain forcing a fourth and one that the Jets went for and threw an interception. McLeod later picked off a pass late in the first half and returned it 23 yards into Jets territory. McLeod tied for the team lead with six tackles to go along with that interception he had in the game.

Fletcher Cox - Cox looked healthier than he has throughout the season to date. He seemed to have a better drive off the line of scrimmage and certainly had more of an impact in this game. In fact, Brandon Graham said afterwards that Cox deserved the credit for one of his sacks because his pressure forced the Quarterback in Graham's direction. Cox finished second on the team with five tackles including one tackle for a loss.

Orlando Scandrick - Scandrick was not even on this team two weeks ago. Due to injuries he was brought onto the team and had a huge impact in this win. Scandrick recorded two sacks but one of them saw him rip the ball away from Jets Quarterback Luke Falk and return it 44 yards for a touchdown. Scandrick finished third on the team with four tackles including two sacks, a quarterback hit and two forced fumbles.

B

Miles Sanders - Sanders has been trending more in the right direction the last few weeks. He did not rack up big numbers on the ground here, but was once again a solid threat through the air. Sanders had a defensive end follow him out of the backfield and Wentz read it throwing him the ball and watching Sanders go 36 yards on the play. Sanders carried nine times for 15 yards. He caught four passes for 49 yards.

Alshon Jeffery - Jeffery had a decent game. He advanced the chains multiple times. Jeffery led the team in receptions catching six passes. He racked up 52 receiving yards on those six receptions. Jeffery's return to the team over the past two games has been noticeable. He is a very reliable target for Carson Wentz and has been doing a great job using his size to his advantage. There were multiple passes designed to get into Jeffery's hands quickly and enable him to make a man miss. He did that a few times and in doing so was able to get enough yardage for a first down.

Doug Pederson - Sometimes the games you are expected to win are among the hardest to earn a 'W'. Pederson has been criticized for many slow starts by his team, especially by his offense. The offense did its job of starting off well by going 53 yards in nine plays and capping off that drive with a one yard touchdown run by Jordan Howard on its opening possession. The offense was not totally efficient. The big reason for the 'B' grade is due to the stagnant performance by the offense in the middle of the game. His offense scored just 17 points in this one. The Eagles were not as effective on third down converting just five of 13 attempts. They were 0-for-2 on fourth down.

Carson Wentz - Wentz did not have a bad game, but he did not have a great game either. He missed some receivers with a little bit of inaccuracy. It also did not help that the Eagles failed on two fourth down conversion attempts. Overall, he did what he needed to especially in a game against an inferior opponent like this. Wentz completed 17 of 29 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown.