There are close losses, and then there’s plain getting beat. Sunday was the latter for the Eagles, who fell, 38-20, to the Vikings in Minnesota (see Roob's observations).
There weren’t a whole lot of positives to take away — a few on offense maybe, but the defense was bad, and the coaching highly questionable, from the game plan to one particularly erroneous call.
The red pen got a lot of use in Week 6, and this report card even goes so far as to hand out a rare F.
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz: 26/40, 306 YDS, 2 TD, INT
Not sure how much more Wentz can do. To win, he would’ve needed to score more than 38 points while overcoming dropped passes in clutch situations and his head coach’s horrendous decision-making against a really good defense on the road. Wentz’s line was quality — he completed 65 percent for 7.7 yards per attempt and a garbage-time interception. This one isn’t on the quarterback.
Grade: B+
NFL
Running backs
Miles Sanders: 3 CAR, 6 YDS, 3 REC, 86 YDS, TD
Don’t look now, but Miles Sanders is third on the team with 219 receiving yards this season — both a compliment and an indictment of the team’s wideouts. Jordan Howard helped keep the chains moving with 49 yards on 13 carries, though a missed assignment in pass protection helped kill a late drive.
Grade: B
Wide receivers and tight ends
Alshon Jeffery: 10 REC, 76 YDS, TD
Not that it really mattered, but Zach Ertz’s fourth-quarter fumble slammed the door on whatever faint comeback hopes may have existed. Ertz also dropped a third-down pass, and Jeffrey dropped one on fourth down — tough balls, maybe, but these are supposed to be star players.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
Jason Peters exited in the second quarter but Andre Dillard held up reasonably well in the future Hall of Famer’s absence. The Eagles averaged a solid 4.2 yards on designed runs (excluding garbage time), and the quarterback was hit just five times in 41 dropbacks — though he escaped pressure a number of times.
Grade: B
Defensive line
Brandon Graham: 4 TKL, TFL, SK
The front four combined for six tackles for loss, including two for Hassan Ridgeway, and did its part in limiting a dangerous Vikings running game to 3.5 yards per carry. But Graham’s sack was one of just three hits on the quarterback by the D-line, which simply wasn’t enough.
Grade: C
Linebackers
Nate Gerry: 6 TKL, TFL
Zach Brown, who had some things to say leading up to this game, had a chance to notch a sack and get the ball back for his offense. Instead, he took a bad angle, the quarterback escaped the pocket and the drive continued. The unit was solid against the run but had no impact otherwise.
Grade: C
Secondary
Malcolm Jenkins: 8 TKL, PD, FF
What a disaster. Back-to-back 50-yard touchdowns over Rasul Douglas, with Rodney McLeod and then Jenkins nowhere to be found. Sidney Jones got beat on a double move at the 8-yard line. They were better in the second half, but abysmal for the first 30 minutes.
Grade: F
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 2/2 FG, 2/2 XP, INT
Can’t really fault Elliott for the pick — that fake field goal was dead on arrival. Rudy Ford’s holding penalty on the Eagles’ opening kick return pinned the offense at its own 7-yard line and helped set the tone for the whole day.
Grade: B-
Coaching
Eagles’ record: 3-3
Here’s the thing about Doug Pederson’s ill-advised fake field goal with time winding down in the first half — even if the pass is complete, unless it’s a touchdown, there’s a good chance the Eagles are lining up for three again moments later. It wasn’t the time. Perhaps taking the three or leaving the offense out there would’ve produced the same outcome, but Pederson hurt the team’s chances of completing a comeback with that decision.
Grade: D
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