Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field:
Quarterback: D
Jalen Hurts looked completely lost for most of the game. It wasn’t all his fault, of course. The offense is broken. It was depleted without top receiver DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert. The Eagles also lost right tackle Lane Johnson right before kickoff. The conditions weren’t ideal with off-and-on rain throughout the game, but Hurts looked out of sorts and completed just 12 of 27 passes for 93 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over, but was sacked four times.
Hurts did hook up with receiver Darius Cooper for two first-half touchdowns. He might have underthrown the first, but he stayed composed in the pocket with seconds ticking down before the half and found his receiver alone in the end zone. Hurts also hung in and hit Makai Lemon on fourth down despite having a rusher in his face in the second quarter.
Hurts took a third-down sack when he was “hot” after the Rams sent an overload blitz to the right side. This seemed more of a schematic issue than an individual one, and it reared its head again on the next drive when Hurts was forced to throw the ball away on third down. But this has been a long-running issue and the quarterback has been at the center of the lack of execution.
Andy Dalton was demoted after his end zone interception vs. the Chicago Bears last week. Tanner McKee was promoted into the No. 2 spot despite losing the competition coming out of training camp. Both dressed and there wasn’t an emergency third quarterback because the Eagles didn’t have enough healthy bodies to fill out the game day roster.
Running back: C-
Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley had to step up for the second time in three games after Saquon Barkley left early with an injury. Bigsby gained seven yards on his first carry, but was held to just four yards on his next five tries.
Bigsby did get going some in the second half. He had a third-quarter rush in which he carried a defender for four yards. His 19-yard fourth-quarter scoot came on a two-back look. Bigsby got hurt late in the game. Shipley was mostly the third-down back. His blitz pickup wasn’t helped by the overall protection problems. He had strong back-to-back runs up the middle in the fourth quarter.
Barkley ran for six yards on his second carry, but pulled up lame with a hamstring injury at the end of the run. He never returned.
Receiver / Tight end: D
With receiver DeVonta Smith out with a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for more than just one game, Dontayvion Wicks was the de facto No. 1. Hollywood Brown (ankle) was also inactive, which meant that Elijah Moore dressed for a second straight week.
Wicks drew a pass interference penalty on a go route just before the half, but he finished with only three catches for 18 yards. Receiver Darius Cooper had two touchdown catches in the second quarter. Cooper made a tremendous 18-yard jump-ball grab on the first and hauled in a 10-yarder in the end zone on the second.
Makai Lemon caught three passes for 27 yards early on, but was quiet the rest of the way. The receiver had a 13-yard grab out of the slot to convert a second-quarter fourth down. He had an 8-yard grab for a first down in the first quarter and held on despite getting smoked by safety Kamren Kinchens. Lemon ran into a defender on a play-action bootleg in which Hurts had to dirt the ball.
Tight ends Zach Ertz and Josiah Deguara were called up from the practice squad. Ertz caught his first pass at the Linc since returning to the Eagles late in the first quarter. He hung on for eight yards despite getting popped. He had another short grab. Ertz couldn’t pull in a late third down reception on a curl route.
Tight end Johnny Mundt’s holding penalty brought back a Bigsby 19-yard run in the second quarter. Moore wasn’t involved much in the offense. But he did get yelled at by Hurts on the first play when the quarterback barked, “Get off the [bleeping] ball. Come on,” to get the receiver to motion.
Offensive line: D
Lane Johnson was a late scratch due to personal reasons, per the Eagles. Five years ago, the right tackle left right before a game with the Kansas City Chiefs to address his mental health, and the team had to do last-minute juggling on the offensive line. The Eagles lost that game as well, and are now 18-30 when Johnson isn’t in the lineup.
Rookie Markel Bell made his first NFL start in Johnson’s place. He was more than capable despite the overall offensive struggles. Bell had strong blocks to the second level on Bigsby’s first carry — a seven-yard gain after Barkley left. He was flagged for lining up illegally on a second-quarter third down.
The unit, in all, struggled. But the personnel issues didn’t help, not to mention the slow implementation of the new scheme. Pass protection was a mess. The O-line did hold up vs. a four-man rush with seconds ticking off the clock, though, and Hurts hit Cooper for the 10-yard touchdown.
Cam Jurgens had another rough go at left guard, especially early on. He got wrecked by Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner on both of Bigsby’s last two carries, including a 5-yard loss on third down. Jurgens had a third-down false start in the second quarter. Drew Kendall got his third straight start at center. He was briefly in the medical tent during the first quarter, but didn’t miss time. Kendall got toasted by Turner on a third down before the half but Hurts miraculously escaped before throwing the ball away.
Defensive line: B-
The Eagles’ front made running difficult for the Rams offense — until the end. Running back Kyren Williams had a 23-yard rush in the third quarter and scored the game-winning touchdown on the ground. The D-line also did a solid job of pressuring the always dangerous Matthew Stafford, but crushed under the weight of the Eagles’ poor offense.
Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis were at the center of stopping the run. Carter, despite a wrist injury, had a third-down hurry when Stafford couldn’t hook up with Davante Adams in the back of the end zone in the first quarter. Edge Nolan Smith Jr. had his best game of the season. He had a sack wiped out by a penalty in the first half, but he put one on the board in the third quarter when the Rams blew the protection on his outside rush. Smith won with an inside rush and forced Stafford to burn a pass play.
Jonathan Greenard had the pressure on Stafford’s first-quarter interception. Greenard limped off the field with an ankle injury in the third quarter and never came back. Jalyx Hunt dropped into coverage and broke up a pass in the second quarter. Hunt was victimized by a perfect Stafford 19-yard fade to tight end Tyler Higbee in the second quarter. But he struggled to get off tight end Davis Allen’s block on Puka Nacua’s 2-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep.
Moro Ojomo had a tackle for loss on a third-and-1 run in the second quarter that forced the Rams to punt. Defensive tackle Byron Young got pushed back when Williams ran for six yards up the middle on third-and-2 in the first quarter.
Linebacker: B+
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. started in place of the injured Zack Baun (concussion). It came as little surprise that he more than acquitted himself. Trotter broke up a dump to Blake Corum in the first quarter. He drew a holding penalty when he shot into the backfield on a Rams run play in the first quarter. Trotter led the Eagles in tackles with 15.
Jihaad Campbell lost Higbee in coverage on a pick route that resulted in an 11-yard catch. Campbell’s “A” blitz hurried Stafford into an incomplete pass on third down in the third quarter. He had a fourth-quarter pass breakup on fourth down.
Cornerback: B
This group kept the dangerous Adams and Nacua in check for most of the day and then they imploded. Adams converted third-and-9 with a 10-yard catch in front of Quinyon Mitchell in the first quarter. Mitchell had tight coverage vs. the receiver on a deep post route on the next play, however. He allowed Adams another third-down conversion before the half. Mitchell left with a knee injury in the third quarter and was replaced by Jonathan Jones. Jones was flagged for a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty on a hit near the sideline.
Riq Woolen had tight coverage on Nacua on a pass over the middle in the second quarter. Woolen couldn’t lock down Nacua on a 32-yard pass in the fourth quarter. He also committed a pass interference penalty late.
Cooper DeJean intercepted a desperate Stafford heave before the half. He did well to set the edge on a stretch run in the first quarter. He missed an open-field tackle attempt in the second quarter. DeJean left briefly after delivering a bit hit on Corum in the third quarter. Mac McWilliams jumped in at slot cornerback and immediately made a run stop near the line.
Safety: B
This position had a solid bounce back after a couple of below-average performances. With a lot of two-high safety shells, the Eagles kept Stafford and Co. from big plays down the middle of the field. Andrew Mukuba’s first-quarter interception was the defense’s first turnover forced this season.
Michael Carter II got the nod in nickel personnel with Marcus Epps sidelined by a groin injury. He and DeJean were in coverage when Adams couldn’t pull in a catch in the back of the end zone in the first quarter. Carter may be given the job outright.
Special teams: A
Kicker Jake Elliott was perfect despite the damp conditions. His 56-yard field goal in the second made him 2 for 2 on 50-plus-yard kicks this season. Punter Braden Mann had a 49-yard punt down to the 4-yard line in the second quarter. Mann boomed a 57-yarder later before the half.
Britain Covey’s dazzling 41-yard punt return in the second quarter was his longest in three seasons. Covey also broke a couple of would-be tackles on a 15-yard return earlier in the game.
Coaching: D
Nick Sirianni’s Eagles are in trouble. His offense stinks, his roster is marred by injury, and his defense can’t be expected to carry the load for 60 minutes. Sirianni’s fourth-down decision-making also backfired on him. He went for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 38-yard line late in the third quarter. Hurts was stopped short, though, on a Tush Push attempt. Sirianni rolled the dice again on fourth down at the 2-yard line in the fourth quarter and the Eagles were denied.
Fangio’s defense came to play. The defensive coordinator’s unit rebounded after a poor outing in Chicago. Two of the Rams’ six first-half possessions ended with interceptions and two with punts. The Eagles allowed just 10 points at the break. But the defense just couldn’t hold up after one failed offensive possession after another.
Sean Mannion’s offense was ineffective and earned an “F” mark. It couldn’t get much going on the ground after Barkley left, while the pass offense was abysmal with Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert out. The under-center, play-action game just wasn’t there again. The Eagles were dreadful on third down. It was ugly. Something has to change.
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