Eagles grades by position after huge win over the Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Eagles are flying back from Cincinnati with a 5-2 record after their second straight blowout win.

This time, it came against a better opponent.

That’s why we can consider the Eagles’ 37-17 win over the Bengals the best and most complete win of the season. They were good in every phase on Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium and that shows up in the grades:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 16/20, 236 yards, 1 TD; 10 carries, 37 yards, 3 TDs

On the Eagles’ second drive of the game, Hurts had a really bad throw to Kenny Gainwell that was nearly picked off. And that was really his only bad play in this game. Hurts on Sunday was efficient and did everything the Eagles needed him to. He hit his targets all over the field, got A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Grant Calcaterra involved in the passing game. And he even had some big-time designed runs and scrambles in this one. It was his best game of the season so far and he out-battled Joe Burrow.

Grade: A

Running back

Saquon Barkley: 22 carries, 108 yards

After signing with the Eagles in the offseason, Saquon Barkley has played in seven games for the Birds. He has now rushed for 100+ yards in four of them. Barkley had just 35 yards at halftime but had some tough carries in the second half to help the Eagles kill clock and walk away with another big win. He made some spectacular plays on the field and even one on the sideline when he hurdled a camera man. Not a lot of work for Kenny Gainwell in this one (5 for 19) and unfortunately Will Shipley had his first-career touchdown taken away because of a hold. We did see more Ben VanSumeren at fullback; that’s not going anywhere.

Grade: A

Receiver

DeVonta Smith: 6 catches on 7 targets for 85 yards, 1 TD

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Smith followed up his 1-catch for -2 yards performance with a big game in Cincinnati. It seems like whenever Smith has a low production game, the Eagles make an effort to get him involved. Not only did Smith have a 45-yard touchdown catch but he also made some big-time catches to move the chains. Not to be outdone, A.J. Brown had 5 for 84 in this game. No other receiver was targeted but it didn’t matter. Rookie Ainias Smith did make his NFL debut and got some offensive snaps.

Grade: A

Tight end

Grant Calcaterra: 3 catches on 3 targets for 58 yards

The Eagles were without Dallas Goedert (hamstring) again in this game but Calcaterra has proven himself to be a legitimate threat in the pass game. Hurts really seems to like throwing the ball to Calcaterra and Calcaterra is earning those targets. He even had a nice block on Hurts’ 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. (And Goedert was the guy who got the double-knot out of Hurts’ cleat in the second half — he’s contributing even when he’s not playing.)

Grade: B+

Offensive line

Playing against his former team on Sunday, backup left tackle Fred Johnson did an admirable job against Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson. The Eagles were without Jordan Mailata and Mekhi Becton in this game but the offensive line held up in pass protection and did enough to help the ground game pick up 161 yards on the ground.

Grade: A

Defensive line

Nolan Smith: 2 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU

The Eagles’ defensive line had just one sack on Burrow and it was split between Smith and Milton Williams. So they didn’t keep up their sack pace from the last two weeks but they still did their job. And the Bengals just couldn’t run the football against them. Cincinnati had 20 carries for 58 yards (2.9) on the ground.

Grade: B+

Linebacker

Zack Baun: 12 tackles, 1 FF

There was one busted play in coverage where it looked like Nakobe Dean bit on a play fake but aside from that it was a strong game again from Dean and Baun. Baun forced a second-half fumble and Dean was there to jump on it. Dean had 9 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 TFL and a fumble recovery.

Grade: A

Secondary

Cooper DeJean: 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU

The Bengals were without Tee Higgins in this game and that didn’t help their cause but they still had Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. Chase had 9 catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. He’s going to get his but the Eagles limited the damage. And they finally got an interception on an impressive play from Isaiah Rodgers against Chase where Rodgers tipped the ball to C.J. Gardner-Johnson. It was CJGJ’s first pick of the season and the first that didn’t come from Reed Blankenship this season. Also a really big fourth-down tackle from Cooper DeJean, who continues to play well. DeJean did drop an interception and Quinyon Mitchell came very close again to his first. At some point, these guys are going to get a pick.

Grade: A

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 3/3 on FGs, 4/4 on PATs, 13 points

The Eagles avoided any major catastrophes on special teams. Elliott made all three of his field goals from 39, 49 and 47 against the team that drafted him back in 2017. Braden Mann’s only punt was a 52-yarder that rolled into the end zone; you’d like to see him pin the Bengals deep there.

Grade: A-

Coaching

Record: 5-2

The Eagles gave up a 10-minute touchdown drive on the first possession but then Vic Fangio’s defense settled down. And Kellen Moore ended up having a solid day as a play-caller on offense. As reporters were let into the locker room, Nick Sirianni was running around singing “PYT” by Michael Jackson at the top of his lungs. The Eagles are now 3-0 since the buzz cut.

Grade: A

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