Eagles grades by position after gritty win over Lions

The Eagles were dominant on defense Sunday night in their 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions.

After 10 games, the Eagles have an 8-2 record and sit atop the NFC playoff picture.

Let’s get to the grades from Sunday Night Football:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 14/28, 135 yards; 63.8 rating; 10 rushes, 31 yards, 1 TD

This wasn’t the best game for Hurts or the Eagles’ offense. They really had just one drive in this game that came just before the end of the first half. They went 64 yards on 10 plays and Hurts capped it with a Tush Push touchdown. But the offense sputtered most of the game despite the Lions having two backups in their secondary. Hurts completed just half of his passes for 135 yards but he did protect the football. And he made some plays with his legs on designed QB runs.

Grade: C

Running back

Saquon Barkley: 26 carries, 83 yards

It was another game of tough sledding for Barkley, who averaged just 3.2 yards per carry and has gone over 100 yards just once in 10 games this season. It wasn’t a great game for Barkley but he had some nice runs late in the game as the Eagles ran out the clock with the ball in their possession. Tank Bigsby had 4 carries for 34 yards with a long of 17. He gave some juice. No touches for Will Shipley.

Grade: B-

Receiver

A.J. Brown: 11 targets, 7 catches, 49 yards

The Eagles worked to get the football to Brown but it didn’t suddenly open up the offense. Brown was targeted a season-high 11 times but had just 49 yards receiving. The Eagles also struggled to get DeVonta Smith going. He had just 1 catch for 8 yards. Jahan Dotson had 2 for 43, including a 34-yarder to get the Eagles’ out of a backed-up situation. Dotson took a shot at the tail end of that catch and held on despite the penalty-drawing hit.

Grade: C

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 5 targets, 2 catches, 24 yards

Pretty quiet day for Goedert with those 2 catches. Grant Calcaterra had a nice block on an important second half run — a block that Jordan Mailata made sure to highlight. Kylen Granson and Cameron Latu got some run as well.

Grade: C

Offensive line

The Eagles entered this game with all five of their starters but were down to three by the end. Lane Johnson left the game in the first half with a foot injury. And then Cam Jurgens, who returned from a knee injury, came out of the game late. The Eagles struggled to get their ground game going again. And even though Hurts was sacked just once, nothing seemed to go well on offense for most of the night. Jordan Mailata did play well; he didn’t allow a single pressure on 31 pass blocking snaps, per NextGen Stats.

Grade: C

Defensive line

Jaelan Phillips: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits

The Eagles were able to sack Jared Goff just twice on Sunday night, which makes this a perfect game to show that sacks don’t always tell the full story. Because Goff for most of this game was under duress and the Eagles rattled him. The Eagles hit Goff seven times (three from Jalyx Hunt) and had him constantly under pressure. The Eagles also got five batted passes (three from Jordan Davis, two from Jalen Carter) from their defensive line. Davis’s first batted pass resulted in an interception by Cooper DeJean. The D-line was the engine that powered the Eagles’ perfect day on fourth downs — the Lions were 0-for-5.

Grade: A+

Linebacker

Nakobe Dean: 3 tackles, 2 sack, 2 QB hits

The pair of Zack Baun and Dean are playing at an elite level again just like it’s 2024. While Jahmyr Gibbs did force a couple of missed tackles, the Eagles’ linebackers were great for most of the game. Baun led the team in tackles with 7 and had a TFL. Dean was all over the field. He had a sack on a blitz, was covering Gibbs and Jameson Williams. And if you’ve been watching the Eagles, it’s just so easy to see how much juice Dean has brought back to the defense. He has been great.

Grade: A

Secondary

Cooper DeJean: 3 tackles, 2 PBUs, 1 INT

As good as the Eagles’ front was in this game, it worked in conjunction with excellent coverage. Sure, Jameson Williams was able to bust free on a 40-yard catch-and-run but that was pretty much it for the Lions’ offense. Jared Goff came into the game completing a league-high 74% of his passes but against the Eagles completed just 37.8% for 255 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Quinyon Mitchell was targeted six times and didn’t give up a catch. Cooper DeJean had his first regular season interception. Even Adoree’ Jackson had a huge 3rd-down pass breakup.

Grade: A

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 3/3 on FGs, 1/1 on PATs

In a game with strong wind gusts, Elliott was perfect on his field goals and made a long from 49 yards, which was not a gimme in those conditions. Braden Mann had 7 punts with an average of 41.3 and downed 4 inside the 20. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had a couple penalties on special teams but the Eagles gave up almost nothing in the return game. Even long snapper Cal Adomitis had a couple special teams tackles.

Grade: A

Coaching

Record: 8-2

On one hand, the offense still looks completely lost and disjointed. But Vic Fangio held a master class on Sunday night at the Linc. It was one of the most impressive defensive games you’ll see and Fangio called it. But it’s not just Fangio; his position coaches on that side of the ball deserve credit too. Nick Sirianni had some questionable decisions, like the Tush Push in their own territory with 3 minutes left in the game. But all Sirianni does is win. It’s remarkable.

Grade: B+