Week 16 Eagles grades by position after tight Christmas win over Giants

The Eagles snapped their three-game losing streak with a 33-25 win over the Giants on Christmas Day at the Linc.

But after building a 20-3 lead at halftime, the Eagles weren’t able to put the Giants away and let this game get way too close for comfort in the fourth quarter.

They won the game to improve to 11-4 on the season but this team still has plenty to improve on with just two weeks left in the regular season.

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 24/38, 301 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 8 rushes, 34 yards, 1 TD

While Hurts was much, much better this week than he was last week in Seattle, it was still a mixed bag for the Eagles’ quarterback. He made some great plays like that 3rd-and-20 dart to A.J. Brown to extend a huge second-half scoring drive. But Hurts made what could have been a costly mistake late in the second quarter when he failed to get out of bounds on a run, which would have given the Eagles a chance to get in the end zone. And while it’s unfair to pin that pick-6 on Hurts — Dallas Goedert simply slipped — the play before that was a dangerous throw that very well could have been picked off too. As we expected coming into this game, Wink Martindale tried to heat up Hurts with the blitz. Sometimes, Hurts was able to deal with it but sometimes he wasn’t.

Grade: B

Running back

D’Andre Swift: 20 attempts, 92 yards, 1 TD

Swift had 20 carries for the first time since his monster 175-yard game back in Week 2 and he made the most of them, especially in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were able to drain time off the clock because of how effective Swift was on their final field goal drive. Two plays in particular stood out: On one, Swift hurdled the defender. On the other, Swift reversed field and had the presence of mind to slide in bounds to keep the clock running. While Boston Scott was unable to be the Giant Killer on Monday, Swift played well and so did Kenny Gainwell, who had 79 scrimmage yards on nine touches, which included a 22-yarder in the fourth quarter after fans began to chant “run the ball!”

Grade: A-

Receiver

DeVonta Smith: 4 catches on 5 targets, 79 yards, 1 TD

In addition to Smith’s 79 yards, A.J. Brown contributed 6 catches for 80 yards. And both of the Eagles’ top receivers showed off toughness in this one. Smith missed most of the week of practice with a knee injury but played anyway and had a big game. His best play was a 36-yard slant that he took to the house after gaining a bunch of separation. Smith went over 1,000 yards for the second straight season. And Brown took a big hit in the back but missed just one snap and returned. He even made one of the biggest plays of the game, covering on 3rd-and-20. In addition to the two top wideouts, Julio Jones caught 1 pass for 5 yards (on 4 targets) and Britain Covey got his first NFL catch; it went for 7 yards. While Olamide Zaccheaus didn’t have a catch, he did execute a pancake block on Smith’s touchdown.

Grade: B+

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 7 catches on 9 targets for 71 yards

Goedert’s slip on that pick-6 was a big blunder but it’s hard to fault him for it. Sometimes, football players slip. And he was pretty productive in this game. Even Grant Calcaterra got into the mix. After going all season without a catch, Calcaterra had 2 for 21, which included a catch after Hurts was able to scoop a fumble off the ground and hit him on a scramble drill.

Grade: B

Offensive line

There were some issues with the blitz in this game and sometimes those can be tricky when you’re pinning blame. But some of it probably belongs to the O-line. For the most part, though, the offensive line was able to protect Hurts and played a big role late in the game when the run game got going a little bit. And the Eagles were successful on their QB sneaks, which obviously starts up front. Of course, penalties were an issue for the offensive line in this game and that has to stop going forward.

Grade: B-

Defensive line

Haason Reddick: 2 tackles, 4 QB hits, 1 TFL

The Giants had allowed an NFL-high 76 sacks coming into this one and the Eagles got just one in this game and it didn’t come from their defensive line. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t any pressure; there was. Reddick was the main guy up front pressuring the quarterback and he had a nice game, although he was flagged for roughing the passer in the fourth quarter. Against the run, the Eagles were fine, especially because the Giants offense was mostly based around giving the ball to Saquon Barkley and hoping for the best. Barkley had 23 carries for 80 yards (3.5) and a touchdown.

Grade: B-

Linebacker

Shaq Leonard: 7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, 2 TFL

In a game without the Eagles’ top three linebackers — Zach Cunningham, Nicholas Morrow and Nakobe Dean — this unit surprisingly wasn’t a weak spot on Monday. Leonard showed some real flashes in this game, especially coming downhill and picked up his first sack since the 2020 season. And then rookies Ben VanSumeren and Nolan Smith (who got reps at off-ball linebacker) didn’t look lost either. Now, maybe there was some offensive ineptitude from the Giants but give the Eagles’ linebackers credit because they weren’t picked on.

Grade: B+

Secondary

Kelee Ringo: 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU

It’s important to remember the Eagles played a Giants team that benched quarterback Tommy DeVito at halftime so it’s not like they were facing some offensive juggernaut. But still, they held their own. The one bad play was a 69-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton, who ran past Reed Blankenship on what looked like a blown coverage. With injuries at linebacker, Blankenship had the green dot on defense. The young guys are giving this secondary some juice but Sydney Brown finally got his first unnecessary roughness penalty, which felt like it was only a matter of time.

Grade: B

Special teams

Britain Covey: 3 returns, 66 yards, long of 54

Some ups and downs for the unit that has been very consistent all season. Covey started off the game with a huge 54-yard punt return that set up the Eagles’ first touchdown. And even though he muffed a punt return, he continues to be one of the best return men in the NFL. But we can’t overlook the kick return fumble to start the second half when Zaccheaus was pushed back and ended up knocking the ball out of Scott’s hands. That was a huge play that helped make this game way too close for comfort. Jake Elliott just doesn’t miss either. And even long snapper Rick Lovato made a play when he forced a fumble on a punt return.

Grade: B-

Coaching

Record: 11-4

The Eagles have 11 wins, are already in the playoffs and still have a shot at one of the top seeds in the NFC. But that was a sloppy game full of mistakes. The Eagles turned the ball over, they committed nine penalties and they played down to an inferior opponent instead of taking care of business. While the coaches aren’t on the field, those are the types of issues that in Week 16 have to be placed at the feet of the coaching staff. The Eagles talk every week about how they didn’t play to their standard and the coaching staff isn’t getting enough out of its talent.

Grade: C

Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts: 
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Simplecast | RSS | Watch on YouTube