Week 13 Eagles grades by position after win over Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Eagles took care of business on Sunday afternoon, coming away from MetLife Stadium with a 33-18 win over the Jets.

The win keeps their playoff hopes alive.

Let’s get to the position-by-position grades for this one:

Quarterback

Gardner Minshew: 20/25, 242 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 133.7 rating

Nick Sirianni wisely made sure to shut down any talk about a potential quarterback controversy but Minshew played a really good game. He looked like a veteran out there on Sunday. He made smart decisions, was efficient and had some big-time throws. He did everything the Eagles asked of him on Sunday.

Grade: A

Running back

Miles Sanders: 24 attempts, 120 yards; 3 catches, 22 yards

It’s a shame that Sanders hurt his ankle again late in this game because he finished just 2 yards shy of his career high. But he did get a career-high attempt and Nick Siranni kept feeding him the ball. Boston Scott missed most of the week with an illness, which meant Kenny Gainwell was really the No. 2 and the rookie played well. He had 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground and another 33 yards in the receiving game.

Grade: A

Receiver

Quez Watkins: 3 catches, 60 yards

Another quiet day for DeVonta Smith, who has just 2 catches on 4 targets for 15 yards. But Watkins had his biggest game in quite a while. The receivers weren’t as big a part of the game plan on Sunday; the Eagles used a lot of tight end-heavy packages.

Grade: B-

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 6 catches, 105 yards, 2 TDs

After having 1 catch for 0 yards last week, Goedert went back to MetLife Stadium and had the best game of his career. Not only did he put up big numbers, but he showed off his big-play ability. His touchdowns were from 36 yards and 25 yards out. And while the other tight ends didn’t have any catches, they were out there a good amount blocking.

Grade: A

Offensive line

The Eagles didn’t have Jordan Howard, they didn’t have Jalen Hurts and they didn’t even have offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland on the sideline to start the game. And they still ran for 185 yards. Not only that, but they gave Minshew a clean pocket for most of the afternoon.

Grade: A+

Defensive line

Josh Sweat: 3 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, 2 QB hits, 1 TFL

The Eagles ended up getting after Zach Wilson but a lot of their pass rush didn’t come until the second half. They were a little slow starting and the Jets were able to run on them early. But in the second half, the Eagles’ defense settled in and their line was a big reason for that. In addition to Sweat’s sacks, they got half a sack from Javon Hargrave, who continues to extend his career high.

Grade: B-

Linebacker

T.J. Edwards: 11 tackles

Rough game for Alex Singleton, especially in coverage. That’s the area where he’s going to struggle. Edwards led the team with 11 tackles and continues to play well. Overall, it wasn’t as strong a performance from the linebackers as we’ve seen in recent weeks.

Grade: C

Secondary

Marcus Epps: 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU

Wilson ended up throwing for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns but the secondary wasn’t awful. In fact, Darius Slay continues to play at an extremely high level. And Epps had that big interception.

Grade: B-

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 4/4 on field goals, 3/3 on PATs

Some of the Eagles’ returns were adventures. And giving up a 79-yard kickoff return to start the game just can’t happen. Those are pretty clearly negatives. But the biggest positive is the Eagles have a kicker who is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now. Elliott is having a great season.

Grade: C

Coaching

Eagles record: 6-7

I give Sirianni a lot of credit for his commitment to the run game even without Hurts in this game. Hurts creates a lot of opportunity on the ground but Sirianni understands that has to be their identity no matter what. I did think he got a little too conservative at times in the second half, a strategy that works against the Jets but overall wasn’t aggressive enough.

Grade: B

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