Week 8 Eagles grades by position after crushing Steelers

The Eagles came back from the bye week and looked even better than the undefeated team we saw before.

They crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13 on Sunday at the Linc to improve to 7-0 as they turn their attention to Thursday Night Football in Houston.

Let’s get to the grades:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 19/28, 285 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT

Early in this game, Hurts threw a couple passes that didn’t seem like they had enough mustard, but eventually he found his touch and put together an impressive performance. His pass on A.J. Brown’s second touchdown is as good a ball as we’ve seen from Hurts in his three-year career. And then he did it again on the third TD to Brown. He put together his first career game with four passing touchdowns and the first from any Eagle since Nick Foles in 2018. All four of Hurts’ touchdown passes were long ones — 39 yards, 27 yards, 29 yards, 34 yards.

Grade: A+

Running back

Miles Sanders: 9 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD

The Eagles didn’t run a ton in this game but that was because they realized they were better off airing it out against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. Still, Sanders averaged 8.7 yards per carry and got in the end zone fifth time in seven games. Boston Scott added 21 yards on 7 carries late in the game and Kenny Gainwell had 11 yards from scrimmage. For what they were asked to do, the Eagles’ running backs were very good on Sunday.

Grade: A

Receiver

A.J. Brown: 6 catches on 11 targets, 156 yards, 3 TDs

Brown is just so incredibly good. He had three touchdowns in this game and he could have had more. He’s one of the best receivers in the NFL and it’s been a long time since the Eagles have had a player of his caliber. The Eagles didn’t need much offense outside of Brown but DeVonta Smith contributed 5 catches for 23 yards and Zach Pascal had 2 for 57, including a 34-yard touchdown catch. Sure, the Eagles’ receivers dropped a couple passes in this one, but hard to argue with the production.

Grade: A+

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 6 catches on 6 targets, 64 yards

Another big game from Goedert, who caught every pass thrown his way, including three that moved the chains. He had a spectacular 7-yard catch on third down in the third quarter. He’s also so fun to watch after the catch because he’s always running through contact.

Grade: A

Offensive line

Hurts doesn’t throw four touchdown passes if the offensive line isn’t protecting. Sure, he was sacked three times but it didn’t feel like those were on the OL. And while the big guys up front would always love to run the ball more, they did their job in pass protection in this one as Hurts aired it out.

Grade: A

Defensive line

Javon Hargrave: 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, 1 TFL

The Eagles sacked Kenny Pickett six times on Sunday and five of those sacks came from the defensive line. Hargrave led the way with two, while Haason Reddick, Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu each had one. And even when they weren’t bringing Pickett down, they were making him plenty uncomfortable.

Grade: A

Linebacker

T.J. Edwards: 13 tackles, 1 QB hits, 2 PBUs

Edwards had that big deflection at the line that led to the C.J. Gardner-Johnson interception. For the most part, the Eagles’ linebacker played well in this one — Edwards particularly had a nice day. The team’s run defense needs to improve some but that feels nit-picky in a game where they just gave up 13 points in a dominant win.

Grade: A

Secondary

C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hits, 1 INT, 1 TFL, 1 PBU

Pickett threw one interception but the Eagles had opportunities for more, including one that might have gone for a touchdown that Darius Slay couldn’t pull in. The Eagles’ secondary held George Pickens without a catch and Diontae Johnson had just 5 for 35. Chase Claypool had 4 for 45 but no one really hurt this secondary. Sneaky good game for Avonte Maddox, who was making plays all over the field.

Grade: A

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 5/5 on PATs

Special teams is still the weak link on this team and it makes you wonder if it’s going to really hurt them at some point. The Eagles gave up a first down on a fake punt for the second time in three games. They didn’t get much going in the return game either. And Brandon Graham had a costly (and weird) penalty on a field goal attempt that led to the Steelers going for it on 4th down and getting into the end zone.

The bright spots were Elliott’s perfect day kicking extra points and Zech McPhearson’s outstanding play as a gunner, diving across the goal line and batting the ball back in play to pin the Steelers deep.

Grade: C+

Coaching

Record: 7-0

The Eagles coached a great game on both sides of the football in this one. On offense, they were aggressive all game and that led to the starters getting most of the fourth quarter off. And on defense, they gave up some yards but kept the game in front of them and dialed up pressure at the right times.

Grade: A

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