Grayson’s Grades: Eagles Win Over Rams

PHILADELPHIA - There are some of those games that went into Eagles lore among one of the classics such as the Miracle at the Meadowlands. You can add the Legend at the Linc to that mix. The Eagles overcame a 19 point second half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Rams 33-26. Jordan Davis' blocked field goal and touchdown return as time expired will be one of those plays that will not soon be forgotten.

The first half was awful. The offense scored on its opening possession then failed to get a first down the rest of the half running a total of 12 plays for -9 yards. The Eagles were booed off the field.

Meanwhile the defense failed to force a punt in the first half, but did do a good job of keeping the Rams out of the endzone holding them to four field goals while giving up just one touchdown.

Coaches and Players always say they prefer an ugly win over a pretty loss. That was echoed throughout the locker room afterwards. The Eagles improve to 3-0 but have yet to play a truly solid 60 minute game on both sides of the ball. They admitted there will be a lot to correct in film sessions following this victory.

Here is the latest edition of Grayson's Grades:

A

Jordan Davis - Davis is having his best season as a pro so far. Through three games he has shown an ability to stay on the field much better than he was able to do in previous years. He is also moving very well laterally on the line helping him to make some big plays. None bigger than the blocked field goal and return for a touchdown as time expired to preserve a win.  Davis also chased down Matthew Stafford on third down after he evacuated the pocket and tried to run for a first down forcing a Rams punt. Davis also came up with a huge stop on fourth down early in the fourth quarter to get the ball back for the Eagles offense. Davis finished the game with five tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss, one blocked field goal and a touchdown.

AJ Brown - Brown provided a huge spark in the second half. He not only made some big catches, but tacked on some nice yards after the catch as well. Brown caught a touchdown during the big second half comeback and had another huge grab on the game-winning drive to get the Eagles inside the Red Zone. Brown caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.

DeVonta Smith - Like AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith provided a big spark for his team pulling in some big catches. His most important contribution was on fourth and goal with the game on the line and Smith did an amazing job securing a catch in the endzone along the sideline to give the Eagles a 27-26 lead. DeVonta Smith caught eight passes for 60 yards and that huge touchdown.

B

Jalen Hurts - Hurts had an amazing second half and deserves a ton of credit for leading this team back from a 19-point second half deficit to a 33-27 victory. As good as the second half was, the first half was equally horrible. The offense could do nothing right outside of the opening touchdown drive. They managed to go three-and-out four times running 12 plays for a total of -9 yards. I liked what we saw out of the no-huddle offense in the second half and would like to see Hurts run it more frequently. The lack of time for a defense to get set really seemed to help Hurts and the offense. Hurts completed 21 of 32 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried it nine times for 40 yards and a touchdown.

Zack Baun - Baun made a huge play early in the game picking off a Matthew Stafford pass and getting the ball to the Eagles offense. They turned that ensuing possession into a touchdown and an early lead. Baun continues to do a great job in the middle of this defense and finished the game with seven tackles and two passes successfully defended.

Jihaad Campbell - Campbell continues to have a very strong rookie season. He plays well and relies heavily on his instincts to read a play and go make a tackle. Campbell finished second on the team with eight tackles. I would like to see him given a couple of key spots in a game to go rush the quarterback. That being said, he is just three games into his career and showing the ability to be a playmaker.

C

Saquon Barkley - Barkley averaged just 2.6 yards per carry. The Rams clearly appeared to take the stance that Barkley was not going to beat them like he did with some huge runs last season. There were very few holes for Barkley to squeeze through, especially between the tackles. I would have liked to see the Eagles give Barkley some more opportunities to run off tackle. Barkley carried it 18 times for 46 yards. He also caught four passes for nine yards.

Offensive Line - The Line had a great opening drive and then struggled mightily the rest of the first half. That was due in large part to the injury to Lane Johnson. Matt Pryor failed to do the job so Fred Johnson ultimately replaced him. Johnson's insertion into the line helped it produce back-to-back touchdown drives in the second half. The line struggled to open any holes between the tackles for Saquon Barkley limiting his production.

Nick Sirianni - Sirianni had some big decisions to make in this game, perhaps the biggest was in the fourth quarter facing a fourth and six around midfield. Sirianni went for it and it fell incomplete. Sirianni needs to spend a little time with Kevin Pautllo over play design and play-calling strategy. The decision to go no-huddle in the second half was an important one. Not sure what role, if any, Sirianni may have played in that decision. Sirianni's message to the players after the game was important about overcoming adversity and not packing that in when they were down by 19 early in the second half. One of the key turning points last season was the bye week and the time the coaching staff had to self-scout their own team and fix the issues. The Eagles won't hit the bye until week nine this season, but it appears this team needs a little self-scout to fix it's big issues, particularly on offense.

Vic Fangio - On one hand Fangio's defense was able to keep the Rams out of the endzone with one exception and it appeared offensive pass interference could have been called on Davante Adams' 44 yard touchdown reception. On the other hand, the defense could not force a punt in the first half. They also failed to generate much pressure on Matthew Stafford allowing him to find open receivers and complete passes. The Eagles forced a turnover on the opening possession when Zack Baun undercut a route and picked it off. They did a much better job in the second half of keeping the Rams off the board.

D

Kevin Patullo - I have no idea what he was trying to establish in this game and he appeared to be incapable of making an in-game adjustment in the first half. The running game had no holes to run through, the passing game lacked creativity and overall the offense looked extremely flat after it took the opening interception and marched 38 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead. The big adjustment that seemed to work was a no-huddle offense. While employing the no-huddle the Eagles marched down the field on back-to-back possessions and scored touchdowns to get back into the game.

F

Matt Pryor - Pryor came in for an injured Lane Johnson after the opening touchdown drive. With Pryor in there the offense could do nothing productive. Pryor also gave up a sack on Jalen Hurts during the few series he was in for. He was eventually replaced by Fred Johnson and the offense started cooking again.

John Metchie III - Metchie could not catch a kickoff return at all in this game. He muffed four of them. That throws off the timing of the return with his blockers and it takes away all momentum gained by catching the ball moving forward. He needs to spend a lot of time working on that or the Eagles need to consider making a change at kickoff returner.

Tank Bigsby - Bigsby also struggled on kickoff returns. He muffed at least one of them which makes a good return that much harder. The muffed kickoff returns severely hurt the Eagles starting field position.