Philadelphia Eagles Week One Position Grades

There’s no need to sugarcoat it–the Philadelphia Eagles had an awful game against the New England Patriots. The Eagles’ week one matchup started about as well as a game could with a Darius Slay pick-six highlighting a 16-0 run to start out the game. However, from then on, Philadelphia just kind of stopped. The Bill Belichick-coached defense proved to be a formidable foe, and Patriots’ quarterback Mac Jones played one of the best games of his short career. All of these factors made the game very close, with the Eagles needing a few strokes of luck to exit Foxborough with a win.

After games like these, it’s important to identify what went wrong, what worked well, and where changes need to be made. Today, we will be looking at each Eagles position group and grading their performance. Of course, it’s important to remember that this is a critical view of what transpired–while you can ignore the performance for the sake of the record, there is always underlying context to every final score. Now, without further ado, let’s look at each Philadelphia Eagles position group.

Philadelphia Eagles Week One Position Grades

Quarterback: D+

Let’s be real: this was the worst game Jalen Hurts has played since 2021. In 2022, Hurts took a massive step forward and showed himself to be not just a capable passer but one of the league’s best up-and-coming quarterbacks. Despite him losing out in MVP voting, there really wasn’t another player who elevated his team the way Hurts did, all of which led to a Super Bowl berth. Against New England, however, he clearly took a step backward, and it almost cost the team the game.

One of the biggest improvements Hurts made from 2021 to 2022 was his ability to process the field. He consistently scanned the field and identified the correct read, making the Eagles’ passing game a true force. However, against the Patriots, he reverted back to his younger self, repeatedly predetermining his throws, forcing passes into double or triple coverage, and missing wide-open pass catchers. While play calling wasn’t perfect, there were some clear reads that Hurts just missed, and this directly took some points off the board.

However, the icing on the cake was Hurts’ fumble to give the Patriots the ball inside of Eagles territory at the end of regulation. The fact that people tried to say that was a play-calling error is ridiculous–calling a play that Hurts routinely makes didn’t cause the fumble. It was just a clear example of bad situational awareness, and, if not for the Eagles’ defense stepping up when it mattered most, could have lost the game.

Hurts made some very good plays throughout the night, but overall, this was an un-Hurts-like performance and one that cannot be repeated. The Eagles roster, as good as it may be, lives and dies off of their quarterback’s play, and tonight, it wasn’t up to snuff.

Running Back: C

During the Eagles’ 16-0 run, Kenneth Gainwell looked great. With the help of his elite o-line, he carved up New England’s defense and looked like he could have a career day. However, when the momentum stopped, so did the third-year back’s production, causing the running game to come to a screeching halt.

With Rashaad Penny being a healthy scratch, the Eagles went into the contest with Gainwell as the lead back, followed by D’Andre Swift and Boston Scott. None of them were particularly amazing. Gainwell led the pack with 14 carries for 54 yards as well as four catches for 20 yards–he was clearly the feature back in the offense. As for the other two, they combined for just two carries for six yards and two catches for seven yards. All in all, this was just a mediocre performance by the group.

Wide Receiver: B

Honestly, there’s nothing bad to say about this unit. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith both had decent games, combining for 14 catches, 126 yards, and a touchdown, and made the plays when they were there. Unfortunately, they suffered from the issues discussed two sections above, as well as from great game planning from the Patriots’ future Hall of Fame head coach.

Tight End: C

In perhaps the biggest travesty of the night, Hurts simply refused to throw the ball to Dallas Goedert. In probably the worst stretch of plays from the Eagles’ offense, Hurts had his tight end wide open on back-to-back plays, the second of which would have been a walk-in touchdown. Instead, the QB decided to throw both passes away before forcing a pass to a covered Goedert for the tight end’s only target of the game. Unfortunately, without a catch, the grade can’t go any higher than a C, but the lack of utilization was truly puzzling.

Offensive Line: C+

It’s definitely not the best work from the Eagles’ highly-praised offensive front. Hurts was sacked three times on the night and, if not for his elite athleticism, might’ve been sacked a few more. Meanwhile, the running game stalled primarily due to the horde of pressure that consistently made its way through the line. The Eagles rely on this unit to power their offense, and while it wasn’t an awful performance, it definitely wasn’t at their normal level.

Particularly of note was Jordan Mailata, whose inconsistency has been more noticeable over the last two seasons. The former rugby player is obviously still growing as he continues to play the game, but as Hurts’ blindside protector, his technique breaks down more often than you’d like. Tonight, there were more than a few plays where he just got flat-out beat, and it led to some rushed throws and the occasional sack.

Defensive Line: B+

Statistically, the group didn’t have its best night, especially not compared to 2022’s record-breaking season. However, it wasn’t all bad, and multiple members actually performed pretty well.

The unit finished with two sacks, one by rookie Jalen Carter and two half-sacks by Jordan Davis and Josh Sweat. Carter was particularly noteworthy for his stellar performance tonight as he consistently found himself in the backfield applying pressure to the Patriots’ passing game. On top of his sack, he also added a TFL and a QB hit and was a clear standout amongst a so-so group.

Davis was another player who stood out, compiling six tackles, a TFL, a QB hit, and a forced fumble to go along with his half-sack. This was a nice showing from the second-year defensive tackle. Milton Williams also deserves some praise for his efforts, as well as Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, two vets who still have major roles along the front.

On the edges, it was a different story for the Eagles. Josh Sweat put together a solid night but didn’t get after Jones as much as you’d hope based on his 2022 performance. Haason Reddick was a bit of a non-factor, and Nolan Smith really didn’t get involved, either. Overall, the EDGE group was a bit disappointing.

Linebacker: D-

I was so close to making this an F grade, but Nakobe Dean showed some flashes in an otherwise awful performance from the linebacker group. If this game proved one thing, it’s that the Eagles still have a massive hole next to Dean. Zach Cunningham had a truly terrible day, totaling four tackles and a fumble recovery but looking completely lost in pass coverage. The Patriots’ Hunter Henry put together a nice stat line for himself, and it was largely due to the gaping hole in the middle of the field left by the Eagles’ backers.

Things only got worse when Dean left the game with an apparent foot injury, being replaced by second-year Christian Elliss. Elliss ended up getting four tackles of his own but was also a complete non-factor in the passing game. While he wasn’t nearly as bad as Cunningham, he still helped show how weak this linebacker room is.

Outside of Hurts’ awful game, nothing was as worrying as the performance of these linebackers. While Mac Jones played a very good game, he’s still far from a top-tier passer, and seeing him carve up the pass defense of Philadelphia was pretty unsettling.

Defensive Back: C-

This unit really had a roller coaster ride throughout the game. As was previously mentioned, Slay started his day with a pick-six, but from that point on, the defensive backfield kind of imploded. James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox gave up a few scores, and Justin Evans, who the Eagles started at safety after months of speculation, just had an okay game. Reed Blankenship was probably the best of the bunch, but even he got beat downfield on a couple of occasions.

However, when it mattered most, the backfield stepped up, and it wasn’t anyone mentioned already. On fourth and long with the game on the line, Eagles’ backup corner Josh Jobe recovered from getting beat on an out route and managed to push Patriots’ rookie Kayshon Boutte just enough to keep him from getting a second foot inbounds. This play ended the game and was a very clutch moment from a unit that was otherwise mediocre.

Special Teams: A

However, through all the struggles of the day, one player truly stepped up to save the day for the Eagles: Jake Elliott. After missing an extra point in the first quarter, Elliott stepped up big time, making all four of his field goals in the last 45 minutes of the game. Three of these field goals were from 48-plus, and overall, it was a really solid showing from the Eagles’ longtime kicker. Philadelphia doesn’t win this game without him.

Arryn Siposs was elevated back to the 53-man roster before the game and just had a standard performance. He punted four times for an average of 49.3 yards, nothing special, but no game-changing errors like he’s known to have, either.