The Eagles are back in the playoff hunt following a dominant 30-13 win on Sunday over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field.
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Head coach Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon put their players in positions to make big plays by calling more aggressive attacks. The results were splendid, as the Eagles led the road matchup for nearly the entirety of the game.
Pro Football Focus has graded the Eagles’ performance against the Denver Broncos, and the site came away with some high marks for some notable young players. Here are seven takeaways from PFF’s Week 10 grades:
DeVonta Smith continues to surge
Smith had quite the birthday celebration on Sunday. The rookie wideout made the highlight play of his young career thus far, snagging a leaping contested catch for a touchdown over former Alabama teammate Patrick Surtain in the end zone. The throw from quarterback Jalen Hurts was perfect, as he trusted the young, skinny wideout to out-muscle the defender, and the rookie didn’t let him down, even as he fell to the turf, tush-first.
Smith wasn’t done after the first-quarter highlight, either. A few minutes later, he caught another touchdown pass from Hurts, and finished with four catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. PFF gave Smith an 84.0 overall grade. He received an 80.9 grade for receiving and a 78.8 for blocking. He was the highest-graded offensive player for the Eagles.
Jalen Hurts puts together a strong outing
Hurts was sensational in the first half against the Broncos, leading four scoring drives and nearly coming away with three first-half touchdowns. If it weren’t for a Quez Watkins drop, Hurts’ solid stat line (16 of 23 for 178 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception) would look even shinier.
PFF gave Hurts a strong 75.6 overall rating. He earned high marks as a run, posting an 80.4 grade, after running for 54 yards on 13 carries. His passing grade was 65.3, likely due to his second-half pick in double coverage.
Other youngsters stick out
Denver was a good place for some young players to shine in limited action.
Seventh-round pick Patrick Johnson, a defensive end-turned-linebacker, made an excellent play in coverage that ended up being a nine-yard loss for the Broncos in the fourth quarter. He received 91.5 rating for his two defensive snaps. Fellow late-round rookie, defensive end Tarron Jackson, put together another nice showing in limited action, earning an 86.9 grade for his nine snaps. He had a hurry and a run stop in those limited snaps.
Alex Singleton (72.5), T.J. Edwards (65.0), Josh Sweat (64.9) and Zech McPhearson (62.7) all put together solid showings as well. It was a good day for the defense as a whole.
On offense, Kenny Gainwell (67.9), Jordan Mailata (67.8) and Jack Stoll (66.7) all earned strong grades. Stoll was asked to fill in for starting tight end Dallas Goedert (concussion) for three quarters and performed admirably as a blocker (74.0 in pass pro, 68.7 in run blocking). He also caught two of three targets for six yards.
Safety rotation works out, kinda ...
The Eagles deployed a three-safety rotation on Sunday, mixing Marcus Epps with Anthony Harris and Rodney McLeod throughout the game. While Harris shined in the more aggressive coverage plan, McLeod didn’t have his best outing.
Harris received positive marks across the board, including an 87.0 grade for tackling and a 71.1 grade for coverage. McLeod earned a putrid 38.6 grade, with a 27.9 tackling mark and a 44.3 coverage grade. McLeod was credited with the 64-yard catch-and-run play by Broncos tight end Albert Okwuegbunam in the second quarter.
Epps, who has come on quite a bit as of late, earned a 73.4 grade for his 20 defensive snaps. He made a run stop and broke up a pass that came his way.
The defensive line shines with a solid effort from secondary
Gannon finally switched up his coverage scheme against the Broncos. He actually had to, because the Eagles’ previous nine outings showed a clear weakness for ultra-accurate QB, Teddy Bridgewater, to exploit. The Eagles played more press-man coverage to give the defensive line time to get to Bridgewater and force pressure, and the change in strategy worked.
Cornerbacks Darius Slay (68.6) and Avonte Maddox (67.0) continued to play well, while No. 2 corner Steven Nelson (38.9) was graded harshly. Slay was targeted twice and gave up one pass for a loss of two yards. Maddox stood out as a run-stopper, making three stops on the ground, though he gave up all six of his targets for 43 yards in coverage. Nelson was credited with allowing one reception for 26 yards on three targets, but he also got called for a 35-yard pass-interference penalty in the second half because he didn’t turn his head around on a pass breakup. That seems like a bit of a harsh grade for a play that was kind of ticky-tacky.
On the defensive line, Ryan Kerrigan, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave and Hassan Ridgeway all had their moments.
Kerrigan received a 78.3 grade for standing out as a pass rusher and run stopper, producing a hurry during his 10 snaps, as his playing time continues to decrease. Cox (64.8) and Hargrave (71.7) combined for nine pressures, two run stops and a QB hit. Ridgeway earned 62.3 grade, also producing a hurry with 13 snaps.
Boston Scott and Jordan Howard are valued
After watching the offense from the sideline for the majority of the first seven games of the season, the duo of Scott and Howard has been electric over the past three games. Both players eclipsed 80 rushing yards against the Broncos, a then-top-10 run defense, and they both had runs of over 20 yards during the matchup.
Even with Miles Sanders (ankle) likely to return from injured reserve in short order, the Eagles shouldn’t move away from Scott and Howard, as they have been extremely effective in the featured back’s absence.
Howard received 78.2 grade for his performance. He finished with 12 carries for 83 yards. Scott finished with 11 carries for 81 yards and received a PFF grade of 79.5. Scott received 91.3 grade as a receiver, as he did well in the screen game, catching two passes for 24 yards.
Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson anchor O-line again
Following the game, Sirianni said the offensive line earned a game ball for their dominance.
Center Jason Kelce (74.1) and right tackle Lane Johnson (70.4), based on their grades, should split the pigskin. Left guard Landon Dickerson left the game with an undisclosed injury in the second half, but graded out relatively well (63.7) before leaving. Mailata received the aforementioned 67.8 grade. Right guard Jack Driscoll continued to struggle as a run blocker (49.1) but shined as a pass blocker (86.8), according to PFF.
The Eagles only gave up a sack, a QB hit and two hurries against the Broncos. Dickerson was credited with the sack and hit, while Mailata and Kelce each gave up a hurry.
It was a strong showing from the group that had another in-game adjustment to make, with Sua Opeta and Nate Herbig coming in for spot duty.
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Mike Kaye may be reached at mkaye@njadvancemedia.com.
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