The Eagles were able to stop LeSean McCoy and the Buffalo Bills en route to their second consecutive win and provisional lead of the NFC East. But now it’s time to bring out the pen and paper to grade the Eagles in their huge three point win as we get ready to do the same for the Defense later today.
Before we start though, we need to make every single person reading this very aware of one thing.
ED REYNOLDS ENDS TYROD TAYLOR'S 9 GAME INTERCEPTIONLESS STREAK..JUST LIKE WE PREDICTED IN OUR BOLD PREDICTIONS…WE'RE COMING.
— Philly Sports Network (@PhiladelphiaSN) December 13, 2015
NO OTHER PHILADELPHIA SPORTS SITE ON THIS PLANET COMES EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW.. pic.twitter.com/hQtJzpeySx
— Philly Sports Network (@PhiladelphiaSN) December 13, 2015
10 WEEKS OUT OF 13 WE HAVE MADE BOLD PREDICTIONS THAT HAVE COME TRUE. NOT BLEACHER REPORT. NOT ESPN. NOT BGN. NOT NJ. NOT CSN. STOP SLEEPING
— Philly Sports Network (@PhiladelphiaSN) December 13, 2015
Now that’s out of the way, onto the grades!
Quarterback: B+
Sam Bradford started the game strong going 4/6 in what should have been 6/6 if it were not for two drops. But as the hits from Ryan’s Defense the performance faltered slightly. He ended with 247 yards, 1TD, 1INT (that should have been overturned) and a 23/38 record. The confidence and resilience showed only emphasised further just how much he has and still is progressing this season. Bradford played a huge part in todays win and if it wasn’t for a couple of bad decisions..would have probably received an A.
Running backs: B-
Predictably it was Ryan Mathews who led the charge today..but only just. He took 13 carries compared to Murray’s 11. The result was a combined rushing game of over 100 yards but the predictability of plays hurt the Eagles against such a stout Defense. The real shining light here was Darren Sproles who bought the explosiveness that the Eagles Offense needed to sustain drives and convert on tough situations. A touchdown for the Sproles train alongside an impressive 15 yard run was enough to see the running backs graded at a B-. The overall performance was good, but you have to feel like there are more changes coming after another slow (in terms of yards) week.
Wide Receivers: C
A much better performance from the Eagles Wideouts really helped Sam Bradford today. Nelson Agholor caught his first ever career touchdown and was targeted more than any other receiver.
Matthews made some good catches and whilst Huff should have seen more of the ball based on how open he was getting, worked wth what he got. The surprising stand-out was Riley Cooper. What would have been an explosive start to the game resulted in a drop but the Eagles number 14 soon made up for it by jumping out of bounds at the right time and hauling in the passes when it mattered. Overall, the receivers were good…but in contrast to what we saw earlier on the season they looked incredible which is where the deception lies. The Eagles wideouts played well, but will naturally be overhyped due to the sheer difference in performance compared to earlier weeks. The performance was good and should be seen as such.
Tight Ends: B
Zach Ertz had his biggest play of the season and was targeted as many times as Agholor, seeing the new plan that sees Kelly further try and utilise the Tight Ends coming to fruition. Five catches for ninety-eight yards is a big day for Ertz and whilst Celek rarely saw the ball, the presence of the pair was certainly felt on the field…a good day indeed.
Offensive Line: C
It was a tale of two halves for the Eagles Offensive Line. In terms of setting up the run, they were okay. In terms of protecting Bradford..they were great at times and a little shoddy at others which saw pockets collapsing quickly and Bradford taking a LOT of hits after throws. For the most part both Hughes and Williams were contained and the line was never really a huge concern..the loss of Jason peters certainly played a part as Dennis Kelly was hit with two straight penalties but luckily his return saw those errors soon ironed out.
The line played its second good game running, but there is still a long way to go before they are regarded as a “good” Offensive Line.
