For the second time this season, the Eagles fell to a 17-defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, but there is no questioning which loss hurt more. As upsetting as this defeat was to take, the Eagles made a strong account of themselves. How well did they play? For the penultimate time this year (season report-card pending), it’s time to get out your whiteboards and markers.
Quarterback
Heartbreakingly, this grade isn’t about Carson Wentz, but rather 40-year old Josh McCown who played in his first-ever playoff game on Sunday. The 17-year veteran stepped up in relief of the stricken Carson Wentz and completed 18/24 passes for 174 yards.
McCown wasn’t perfect. Far from it, in fact. But he made some big-time throws and showed confidence in his receivers. That confidence stretched as far as Shelton Gibson, whose PI draw was his biggest contribution as an Eagle yet…and he was a draft pick who was cut a few years after.
Could McCown have been a little smarter at times? Maybe. Did he try to do too much? Definitely. Can you blame him? Absolutely not. It was an incredibly admirable showing from a quarterback who left it all out on the field in a very difficult spot.
Grade: B-
Running back
The Eagles didn’t have a lot of success running the ball on the surface, but maybe that’s because of drives being stifled by penalties and missed opportunities elsewhere. Miles Sanders averaged 4.9 yards per carry, while Boston Scott tallied 48 total scrimmage yards.
The screen-game disappeared toward the end of the game, but it’s hard to ask anything more from the Eagles running backs than what they did on Sunday.
Bonus points for Miles Sanders and his matrix-like reception.
Grade: B+
Offensive line
Penalties, penalties, penalties. The Eagles were without Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks, but there were just a few too many inconsistencies this time around. A miscommunication on that second fourth-down attempt caused pressure to fly into the face of Josh McCown, who was running for his life all night long, taking six sacks in the process. Definitely not their best night.
Grade: C-
Tight End
Zach Ertz played through two rib fractures, a rib cartilage fracture AND a separate kidney injury, and still had 44 receiving yards on the night. Dallas Goedert led the team in receiving, setting a career-high in postseason receptions and was manhandling the Seahawks as a run-blocker. There was one play where he literally moved two defenders at once down the field. Unreal.
Grade: B+
Wide receiver
When Shelton Gibson makes the biggest play of the day on a drawn PI, that says a lot. Greg Ward Jr and Deontay Burnett were the only other Eagles wideouts to make a catch in a game where Seattle played a lot of man-to-man in an attempt to really exploit their lack of prowess at the position. Credit where it’s due, they gave it all they had…but a breakout just wasn’t on the cards.
Grade: D
Defensive grades on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
