Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks: Full Report Card Grades for Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles lost 26-15 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The Eagles made a late push to make the score more respectable, but they were dominated on the day. They were going to have to play a near-perfect game on the road against one of the best teams in the NFL. Instead, they were ineffective for long stretches.
Injuries played a big role in the game for both teams. The Eagles lost running backs Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles before halftime, as well as Leodis McKelvin and Halapoulivaati Vaitai in the second half.
The Eagles offense managed only 308 yards, with a good chunk of them coming after the game was out of reach. Carson Wentz struggled against a talented Seahawks defense, throwing two interceptions and missing several open receivers. Nelson Agholor cost the Eagles a crucial touchdown with an illegal formation penalty.
The Eagles defense were culpable, too. Their pass rush was invisible for large portions of the game, and Russell Wilson was able to pick them apart. The run defense was not much better including giving up a 72-yard touchdown run.
The Eagles had their chances to make this a close game, but in the end they were unable to generate enough big plays. The Seahawks are a vastly more talented team and it showed.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Carson Wentz did not play well. The rookie finished 23-of-45 for 218 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions; he was also sacked twice. The 23-year-old missed open receivers throughout the day and was never able to establish a rhythm.
While Wentz wasn't good, the lack of weapons around him makes evaluating him a difficult task. The Eagles lack wide receivers, a top running back, and their offensive line continues to be in a state of flux.
The future is still bright for Wentz, but Sunday was a tough learning experience.
Grade: C-
Running Back
2 of 10
Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews both exited the game before halftime, and the Eagles offense missed their talents as they struggled to establish much of anything for most of the second half. The two combined for 46 yards on nine carries before they left.
While Wendell Smallwood had a nice run for 18 yards, his other 12 carries only managed 30 yards. The 22-year-old was able to contribute four catches for 31 yards.
Kenjon Barner chipped in 17 yards on three carries.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Nelson Agholor killed the Eagles on Sunday. Between negating a 57-yard Zach Ertz touchdown and dropping a long pass with no defender within 10 yards of him, the 23-year-old probably cost the Eagles nearly 100 yards and a touchdown.
Dorial Green-Beckham and Jordan Matthews combined for 10 catches, 113 yards and a touchdown. The two were largely invisible until late in the fourth quarter. The Eagles need these two to step up and assert themselves in the offense. Matthews had his seventh drop of the season.
The tight ends were the Eagles' best receiving options for much of the day. Ertz will be frustrated with Agholor for cancelling out his excellent long touchdown. The tight ends combined for eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Grade: D+
Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Eagles offensive line continues to deal with constant shuffling.
Allen Barbre returned to the lineup at left guard, but Jason Peters then got dinged, meaning Barbre had to move to left tackle and Stefen Wisniewski came in at left guard. Peters came back, and they returned to their original lineup.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai then injured his ankle late in the game, and Barbre had to shift to right tackle while Wisniewski returned.
The offensive line was still able to perform at an acceptable level given all the reshuffling. They helped the Eagles rush for 100 yards, and much of the pressure on Carson Wentz came from the quarterback holding the ball too long.
The Eagles will likely have a different starting five offensive linemen next week if Vaitai's injury is as serious as it looked.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Eagles defensive line had a clunker. The Seahawks have one of the worst offensive lines in the league, yet the Eagles were unable to generate consistent pressure. They finished the game with just one sack, a shared effort from Vinny Curry and Marcus Smith.
Fletcher Cox is one of the highest-paid players in the league, but he has not recorded a sack since October 9 against the Detroit Lions. The Eagles need him to get back on track in a big way.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham both tied for second on the team with six tackles, while Mychal Kendricks had three.
While the Seahawks ran for 152 yards, almost half came on one run and that play was the fault of corner Jalen Mills, not the linebackers.
The linebackers will be frustrated with their inability to stay disciplined against Russell Wilson's scrambling. Several times the Seahawk's quarterback threatened to take off and run only for the linebackers to abandon coverage and have the ball thrown over their heads.
Stephen Tulloch continues to be active, although I do not recall him making a play in almost two months.
Grade: B-
Secondary
7 of 10
The Eagles secondary were under duress for much of the game. With a pass rush unable to get home and Russell Wilson scrambling to extend plays, they were not put in a position to succeed.
The Eagles defensive backs battled, but like the rest of the defense, they gave up too many plays and did not make any of their own.
Jalen Mills had a bad game. Teams are starting to exploit his lack of speed, attacking him on vertical and crossing routes where he isn't able keep up with faster receivers.
The worst play for Mills was C.J. Prosise's 72-yard touchdown run. The rookie corner is normally a sure tackler, but he completely whiffed on the play and gave up a long touchdown as a result.
Nolan Carroll had a strong game in both coverage and run defense. Jaylen Watkins continues to increase his workload; he was in good coverage on Jimmy Graham's 35-yard touchdown catch and run, but he couldn't break up the pass or bring down the big tight end. Overall he was solid.
Malcolm Jenkins gave up a deep pass, but he was the team's leading tackler and helped contain the Seahawks players when they broke free. Rodney McLeod was surprisingly quiet.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
The Eagles continue to be excellent on punt and kick coverage. They do an excellent job at containing returners, and their impact on forcing opposing offenses to drive the entire field is an important aspect of the overall game plan.
Bennie Logan got his second blocked kick of the year when he got a hand on Steven Hauschka's first extra point attempt.
The Eagles sorely missed Darren Sproles on punt-return duty after his injury. Kenjon Barner let several punts bounce that he should have called for a fair catch, including one that caused the Eagles to have to start a drive at their own 2-yard line.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
The Eagles coaching was not the issue. Overall the game plan was strong enough to put them in a position to steal a tough win on the road; the Philadelphia players were just unable to make enough plays.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz got his unit to hold the Seahawks to only 26 points, despite lackluster performances from most of the players. The defense was constantly put in tough situations as the offense was unable to get on track but continued to battle.
Head coach Doug Pederson and wide receivers coach Greg Lewis both seemed exasperated with Nelson Agholor after his illegal formation penalty. Reporting to the line judge is such a basic task, and Agholor failed to do even that―high school players know to do that. If Agholor lines up properly, this is a much closer game.
While coaching wizardry would be nice, the Eagles coaches are doing a solid job overall; the team is simply lacking dynamic talent.
Grade: B-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position | Grade |
| QB | C- |
| RB | C |
| WR & TE | D+ |
| OL | C+ |
| DL | D |
| LB | B- |
| Secondary | C+ |
| ST | B |
| Coaching | B- |
Cumulative Grade: C
The Philadelphia Eagles were always going to be facing an uphill battle on the road against the Seahawks.
The Eagles are not in the same class as the opponents in terms of talent, and CenturyLink Field is one of the toughest venues in the NFL for opposing teams. The visitors simply weren't able to make many positive plays and had too many self-inflicted wounds.
The Eagles will have a chance to redeem themselves at home against the Green Bay Packers next Monday night. They are a much better home team, and with four of their remaining six games at Lincoln Financial Field, they remain in the playoff hunt.
They will need a much better collective performance down the stretch if they want to remain relevant.
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