Week 6 Eagles grades by position after loss to Bucs

The Eagles were down three touchdowns before coming back to make it a game. But they still fell 28-22 to the reigning Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on Thursday night.

Here are the grades:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 12/26, 115 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 10 carries, 44 yards, 2 TD

The problems with the Eagles’ offense aren’t all on Hurts. The play calling has been atrocious and that is clearly playing a role. But Hurts really struggled against the Bucs. He completed just 12 of his passes and just missed the mark too often in this game. He also fled from the pocket too early on several occasions. He ended up throwing for just 115 yards against the NFL’s worst pass defense. Nick Sirianni needs to help him more but this was an unacceptable performance.

Grade: D-

Running back

Miles Sanders: 9 carries; 56 yards

The running backs were very close to getting their second incomplete grade of the season. But Sanders finally got the rock late in the game and made the most of it. Sirianni seemingly forgot Sanders existed in that first half but Sanders still ended up averaging 6.2 yards per attempt. It would be nice to see Kenny Gainwell get reintroduced in this offense.

Grade: B

Wide receiver

Quez Watkins: 3 catches, 44 yards

The Eagles’ receivers combined for just five catches in this game. They were able to draw a couple big DPIs but that can’t be their biggest role in a game. They need to get open and they need to catch the balls that hit their hands. But the numbers would have looked much better if Hurts hit them on a couple of those deep balls that were underthrown. Another disappointing performance from Jalen Reagor too.

Grade: C-

Tight end

Zach Ertz: 4 catches, 29 yards, 1 TD

Ertz caught the only passing touchdown on the evening but still had a very quiet night. Without Dallas Goedert, we thought Ertz would have a big game and it didn’t happen.

Grade: C-

Offensive line

Hurts was sacked twice and avoided some other pressure. The Bucs have a pretty good front and they got after the Eagles in this one a little bit. Still, there were times when the line did a decent job and Hurts left the pocket on his own.

Grade: C-

Defensive line

Josh Sweat: 6 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 TFL

Fletcher Cox had a few noteworthy rushes in this game but the Eagles didn’t bring down Brady once and they had just three quarterback hits on him. But their pressure did help get a turnover and another near turnover.

Grade: C-

Linebacker

Alex Singleton: 15 tackles, 1 PBU

Singleton finished with 15 combined tackles but it still wasn’t a very good game for him. He missed a few opportunities and seemed to struggle through the air. Genard Avery made one great tackle but also was called for a taunting call that gave the Bucs a first down late. I had the NFL for emphasizing taunting, but Avery just can’t take a flag there.

Grade: D

Secondary

Avonte Maddox: 8 tackles, 2 TFLs

The Eagles held Tom Brady to under 300 yards passing with just 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, which feels like a pretty big win. Sure, Antonio Brown had 9 for 93 and a touchdown but the Eagles were able to hold Mike Evans in check. Maddox had a few really big tackles in this one and is having a quietly good season back in his role as the nickel corner.

Grade: C

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 0/1 on FGs, missed a 46-yarder

Elliott missed a field goal, Arryn Sipposs had a couple bad punts and the Eagles didn’t accomplish anything in the return game. At least they didn’t give up any returns either.

Grade: D

Coaching

Eagles record: 2-4

Sirianni’s game plan and play calling were awful in this game. On his own, he would have earned an F. But I actually thought Jonathan Gannon made some good adjustments on the defensive side to keep the Eagles in this game and to keep this grade out of failing territory.

Grade: D 

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