The Eagles did what they needed to do on Tuesday night.
Sure, they didn’t get off to a hot start and there were some tense moments against a team that was decimated by COVID-19 this week. But the Eagles pulled off a 27-17 win over Washington to improve to 7-7 on the season.
The playoff hope is still alive.
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Let’s get to the grades:
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 20/26, 296 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 8 carries, 38 yards, 2 TD, 1 fumble
The fumble in the first half simply can’t happen but Hurts really responded. Just six of his passes fell incomplete on Tuesday night and he was victimized by three drops, including a fluky play that ended up as an interception. Was it a perfect game from Hurts? No. But he really responded after a long layoff and since we last saw him stink it up against the Giants. It was an impressive performance from No. 1.
NFL
Grade: A-
Running back
Miles Sanders: 18 carries, 131 yards
It’s amazing to think back to earlier in the season when we all wondered why Sanders didn’t seem like he was part of the Eagles’ game plan at all. A lot has changed since then and Sanders turned in a career-best performance against Washington. On top of Sanders’ performance, Jordan Howard had 69 yards on 15 carries, which means the two of them finished with exactly 200 yards on the ground.
Grade: A+
Receiver
Jalen Reagor: 3 catches, 57 yards
Yes, it’s been a rough second season for Reagor but the former first-round pick had a career-high in receiving yards on Tuesday night and had a huge catch that helped set up the Greg Ward touchdown in the fourth quarter. DeVonta Smith didn’t have a huge night but had three catches for 40 yards, including an incredible grab on the sideline.
Grade: B
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 7 catches, 135 yards
It wasn’t easy to figure out a grade for the tight ends because Goedert did set a new career high for receiving yards but he also had two very costly drops, the first of which resulted in an interception. But Goedert and the other tight ends also played a role in the running game and ultimately did way more good than bad.
Grade: B
Offensive line
Sure, Hurts was sacked three times but the Eagles ran for 238 yards. This offensive line has been downright dominant over the last couple of months and they haven’t slowed down even with some new faces in there. Sua Opeta started at left guard and even though he was up and down, the unit played really well together again.
Grade: A
Defensive line
Fletcher Cox: 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 QB hits, 1 FF
The Eagles held Washington to just 63 yards on the ground and had constant pressure on recently-signed Garrett Gilbert. Cox turned in the type of performance we’ve come to expect from him in December. Sure, he was going against a backup right guard, but he put that backup on roller skates. While they had just two sacks, the Eagles piled up seven QB hits on Gilbert.
Grade: A
Linebacker
T.J. Edwards: 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU
Alex Singleton finished with eight tackles and Edwards was right behind him. They were a big part of stopping the run on Sunday and Edwards’ diving pass breakup was a great effort that led to an important play.
Grade: B
Secondary
Darius Slay: 4 tackles, 2 PBUs
Slay made some plays but he also gave up some too with tough duty against Terry McLaurin, who is a really good receiver. Sometimes the other guy just beats you and that happened on Tuesday, especially on that deep ball. Gilbert wasn’t great but he did make a few tough throws and had more success than I thought he would.
Grade: B-
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 2/2 on field goals, 3/3 on PATs
Elliott continues to have an incredible bounce back season. He has now made 17 straight field goals and hasn’t missed one since Oct. 14. Kenny Gainwell looked like a clear improvement over Jalen Reagor as a kick returner but maybe Reagor is finally starting to understand the whole north-south thing on punt returns. Arryn Siposs had two punts — one inside the 20 and one touchback that ended up being a 21-yard net. And the Eagles also gave up a 39-yard kick return.
Grade: B
Coaching
Eagles record: 7-7
Nick Sirianni clearly didn’t spent the bye week twiddling his thumbs. He had some fun new wrinkles for his offense and had a good knack for play calling in this game. The Eagles came out a little stale, which wasn’t ideal but they kept their poise and battled back. It was a trying week in a lot of ways and they kept it together and did what they needed to do.
Grade: B+
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