Eagles ranked by position after close win over Brown – NBC Sports Philadelphia

It wasn’t as easy as it should have been.

But after the Eagles were booed at halftime, they did enough to pull out a 20-16 victory over the struggling Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s get to the degrees of attitude:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 16/25, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 126.1 rating; 14 attempts, 33 yards

Hurts got off to a really rough start in this game but ended up putting it together and making some great plays. The Eagles’ offense is still very disjointed and in desperate need of a better start, but Hurts had some really good moments in this game, finally having a turnover-free game for the first time this season. It obviously helped that he had his two big weapons back – Hurts hit DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown for touchdowns in this game.

Grade: B+

Running backwards

Saquon Barkley: 18 carries, 47 yards

Through the first four games of this season, Barkley has been the Eagles’ best player. He still made some tough plays against the Browns on Sunday as it was clear the Eagles wanted to run the football against Cleveland. But Barkley also made two critical mistakes. He failed to pick up a first down late in the second half and then whiffed on a block to sack Hurts before a blocked field goal was returned for a touchdown. Kenny Gainwell had a 19-yard run and finished 3-for-23.

Grade: C+

receiver

AJ Brown: 6 catches on 9 targets, 116 yards, 1 TD

The Eagles brought Brown and Smith back into this game and both played well. In two games this season, Brown has 11 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He barely had any separation on his 22-yard catch but was able to beat man coverage and come down with the pass. A 40-yard drive in the fourth quarter iced the game. Smith had a 45-yard touchdown run on a net route. Jahan Dotson only had one official catch but it was a beauty down the sideline for a 10-yard run to move the sticks in the fourth quarter before firing up Brown.

Grade: A

Tight end

Grant Calcaterra: 4 catches, 67 yards

Dallas Goedert left this game early with a hamstring injury, so both Calcaterra and Jack Stoll moved up the depth chart. Calcaterra had a 34-yard catch and a 20-yard catch in this game. He had more yards in this game than he did all of last season. And even though Stoll didn’t have a catcher, he helped set up a long 45-yard breakaway run to Smith. He made sure not to make contact on the way to get a penalty.

Grade: B+

Offensive line

Although sledding was difficult at times in the run game, Hurts was sacked just once in this game and the Eagles were mostly able to neutralize Myles Garrett as a pass rusher, which is not easy when you’re facing the reigning defensive player. Of the year. Jordan Mailata left this game with a hamstring injury and was seen on crutches after the game. Obviously something to keep an eye on moving forward but Big Fred Johnson appears to be playing well in his absence. Unfortunately, the Eagles didn’t get much of a push in the run game, which hurt the offense.

Grade: B-

Defensive line

Jalen Carter: 1 sack, 3 QB hits, 1 TFL

Granted, the Browns have given up more sacks than any team in the NFL through five weeks, so you have to keep that in mind. But the Eagles went after Deshaun Watson in this game. They got solid contributions from Carter, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Bryce Huff, Moro Ojomo, Nolan Smith and more. Graham’s TFL was a huge play in his 200th career game. And it seemed like Hof might finally be turning the corner. The Eagles sacked Watson 5 times in this game and 4 1/2 of those sacks came from the D-line.

Grade: A

The linebacker

Nakobi Dean: 12 tackles (7 solo)

Although Dean wasn’t perfect, missing some tackles, he led the team with 12 tackles and made some big tackles. Zack Baun had 8 tackles in this game but took a late penalty on Watson in a situation where the Browns couldn’t have picked up 15 yards as an offense. Interesting note: When the Eagles went to their defense, Baun stayed on the field instead of Dean.

Grade: A-

secondary

CJ Gardner-Johnson: 6 tackles, 2 PBUs

The Eagles finally made the switch from Avonte Maddox to Cooper DeJean at nickel cornerback and it seems to have really paid off. In his first extended defensive action, DeJean looked the part. The Eagles missed an interception when Gardner Johnson and Quinion Mitchell collided while playing the football but at least they were both there. Even when Darius Slay left with a knee injury, Isaiah Rodgers and Kelly Ringo played well in his place.

Grade: A-

Special teams

Cooper Degen: 4 punt returns, 41 yards (12.8)

The blocked field goal was a huge play but it was actually just Myles Garrett making a big play. He jumped over the line, kept his stride, and blocked and scored a second-quarter field goal by Rodney McLeod. So that wasn’t good. But DeJean looked like a returning role from punt in place of the injured Britain Coffey. He had some juice.

Grade: C

Training

Record: 3-2

The Eagles failed to score in the first quarter again in this game and started the game with another quick three. This must change. Kellen Moore clearly benefited from the return of Brown and Smith and called some good plays in this game despite the static offense at times. The network concept once again made a huge splash. On defense, Vic Fangio called it a good game. Even though the Browns’ offense is terrible, Fangio puts his guys in position to make plays. Nick Sirianni’s antics will be a big topic going forward. He was getting into a fight with some Browns players during the game and was then seen yelling at fans afterward. While the Eagles may want Sirianni to be himself, we know that Jeff Lurie sometimes wants Sirianni to tone it down a bit.

Grade: C

Subscribe to Eagle Eye wherever you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcast | YouTube Music | Spotify | stitch | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube