Jaguars vs. Eagles: Full Report Card Grades for Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Eagles bounced back from a brutal first-half performance to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 34-17 score. To say Chip Kelly's Birds started off rocky would be an understatement; the Eagles were down 17-0 at halftime, and quarterback Nick Foles looked like anything but the Pro Bowl quarterback he was in 2013.
And then everything fell into place in the third quarter, starting with Darren Sproles' 49-yard touchdown run on a key fourth-down conversion near midfield. The Eagles scored 34 unanswered points to put the Jaguars away, pulling off a historic accomplishment.
"Eagles are ONLY the 2nd team in NFL history to trail by 17 points or more at the half & WIN by 17 points or more
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) September 7, 2014 "
In reference to the above tweet, the Eagles are the first team to pull off that accomplishment after having been shut out in the first half.
It wasn't quite the way Kelly drew it up, especially given the early passing connection between Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne and undrafted receiver Allen Hurns. But the Eagles responded in tremendous fashion, and they enter a Monday Night Football matchup with the Indianapolis Colts at 1-0.
It's almost as if the Eagles were a tale of two teams Sunday; the group of players that were beat up in the first half found a way to turn it around in the second half. Game grades will evaluate the positional groups for their total performance for the day, beginning with the showing of Foles under center.
Quarterbacks
1 of 8
What can you say about Nick Foles Sunday? After a nightmarish first-half performance, Foles turned his game around and led the Philadelphia Eagles offense to 27 second-half points.
Foles' first possession ended with a turnover (sack fumble), as did his second (another sack fumble). He nearly fumbled it away in his third possession as well, and the boos rained down loud and clear in Lincoln Financial Field. At one point, Foles appeared to hurt his leg, and the camera showed backup Mark Sanchez warming up in the background.
"Nick Foles first time with 2 fumbles in game. Had 2 fumbles and 2 INTs all last year #Eaglestalk
— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) September 7, 2014"
But then Foles turned it around.
Foles didn't have much time to throw in the first half, as he was sacked five times, but he also missed a handful of wide-open receivers (including Jordan Matthews twice). With more protection in the second half, Foles got the offense on the board when Darren Sproles took a handoff 49 yards for a score.
Foles then found tight end Zach Ertz for a 26-yard touchdown, and when the dust settled, Foles had completed 60 percent of his passes for 322 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. A 68-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jeremy Maclin midway through the fourth quarter gave the Eagles the lead, and a Cody Parkey field goal minutes later iced the game.
The sheer numbers for Foles were probably better than he played. He did fumble the ball away twice, but he also led the offense to 27 points for the day. The skittish Foles from the first half was replaced by a more confident quarterback who found his open receivers, and the bottom line is that Philly is 1-0.
"Chip Kelly said the #Eagles never considered going to Mark Sanchez over Nick Foles at the half.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 7, 2014"
Grade: C-
Running Backs
2 of 8
Despite the success of Nick Foles last year, the Philadelphia Eagles remain a running team. The offense is largely driven by the ability of LeSean McCoy to move the football on the ground. Thus, when McCoy struggled early Sunday, the offense couldn't muster any points.
The turning point of the game actually came when newly acquired multidimensional running back Darren Sproles took a handoff up the middle for a 49-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Sproles, playing his first game in Philadelphia, rushed 11 times for 71 yards and a touchdown, caught four passes for 14 yards and added 62 yards on four punt returns.
That's 147 all-purpose yards for Sproles, and the 11 rushing attempts were his most since the 2011 season.
""The thing I've said since we first set our eyes on him: he's a really good runner." Chip on Darren Sproles.
— Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) September 7, 2014 "
McCoy didn't break any big plays, but he still finished with 74 rushing yards and 41 receiving yards, giving him 115 yards from scrimmage.
The Eagles improve to 10-1 under Chip Kelly when the offense accumulates at least 32 rushing attempts.
Grade: B+
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
3 of 8
The big question for the 2013 Philadelphia Eagles was whether the offense could continue to thrive without deep-threat receiver DeSean Jackson drawing safety help. For the first half of the game, the Eagles struggled to move the football, but that was more due to the poor play from Nick Foles as a passer and the offensive line's struggles in pass protection.
Jeremy Maclin's 68-yard touchdown catch to seal the game in the fourth quarter was reminiscent of the kind of play the Eagles grew to expect from Jackson a year ago; Maclin simply ran past every Jacksonville defender on what clearly was blown coverage. Maclin finished with four catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Second-year tight end Zach Ertz is a popular breakout candidate, and he came up big with a leaping 26-yard touchdown reception up the seams.
"All 3 of Zach Ertz's receptions were 25+ yards. Field stretcher.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) September 7, 2014 "
Ertz's size causes mismatch problems for opposing defenses, and Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will enjoy finding ways to exploit linebackers and safeties assigned to cover Ertz. Ertz finished with three catches for 77 yards and a score.
"""In other news Zach Ertz came as advertised. Found holes all game, ran clean, crisp routes. Blocked well at times too.
— Michael (PJ) Quinn (@PJbleedsgreen) September 7, 2014"
Rookie second-round pick Jordan Matthews was unspectacular but solid, catching two passes for 37 yards. On two separate occasions, Foles missed Matthews on fairly deep throws.
Grade: B+
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Offensive Line
4 of 8
It was an interesting day for the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line.
Left to right, the team returned what should have been one of the more dominant units in the league. Jason Peters and Evan Mathis are Pro Bowl linemen, Jason Kelce is a top-five center and Todd Herremans is a veteran guard with the capability of playing offensive tackle too. Allen Barbre made the start at right tackle given 2013 first-round pick Lane Johnson's four-game suspension.
This unit allowed five sacks in the first half, giving Nick Foles almost no time to throw. And it's not as if the Jacksonville Jaguars were a fearsome pass-rushing team a year ago; the '13 club ranked dead-last in the NFL with 31 sacks.
The game seemed to take a turn for the worse when Mathis left with what appears to be an MCL injury, and Barbre suffered an ankle injury of his own.
"Evan Mathis done for day with knee injury. Allen Barbre left ankle injury, questionable. No o lineman left #EaglesTalk
— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) September 7, 2014"
Fortunately, the backup linemen played very well. David Molk took over for Mathis at left guard, Herremans shifted to right tackle and Andrew Gardner played right guard for Herremans.
Remarkably, the line didn't allow a single sack with the reserve players in the game, and the running game was much more efficient as well. Jason Kelce came up with a huge block on a 49-yard run of Darren Sproles.
"LG David Molk and RT Andrew Gardner have both really performed well here in the second half in place of Mathis and Barbre.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobCSN) September 7, 2014"
Monday's MRI will reveal the severity of Mathis' injury. The Eagles did get strong performances from their backups, and Matt Tobin should be healthy in a week or two as well, but losing Mathis would be a devastating blow.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
5 of 8
The Philadelphia Eagles defensive line may have been the one unit that really played well all day, even in the first half when Chad Henne was picking apart the secondary. There were no sacks from the line, but then again, the 3-4 defense normally allows for the outside linebackers to pick up the sacks.
Fletcher Cox was the unit's MVP, as the Eagles' 2012 first-round pick recovered a late sack fumble and rumbled 17 yards for a touchdown. Cox also led the team with six tackles, and while he was called for a horse-collar penalty, it really didn't look like a horse collar to anyone but the referees.
As a unit, the Eagles stifled Toby Gerhart; Gerhart carried the football 18 times for 42 yards and no touchdowns. He averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. As a receiver out of the backfield, Gerhart was a non-factor, finishing with two catches for 15 yards, and he missed part of the game due to injury.
Grade: A
Linebackers
6 of 8
The Philadelphia Eagles linebackers played a good, strong game Sunday. Third-year player Mychal Kendricks registered six tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss. Veteran pass-rusher Trent Cole got the sack of Chad Henne late in the game, with Fletcher Cox recovering the fumble and scoring a touchdown.
Connor Barwin had just two tackles, although he did have a key pass defense reminiscent of the one he had in Week 17 against Dallas last year. DeMeco Ryans picked up five tackles, and he stuffed Toby Gerhart on 3rd-and-1 on the Jacksonville opening possession.
On a side note, it's disappointing that first-round pick Marcus Smith played zero snaps. In fact, it sounds as if Smith wouldn't have even been active if running back Chris Polk had been healthy.
"#Eagles top pick Marcus Smith didn't play despite suiting up, according to score sheet. May not have dressed if Chris Polk was healthy.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 7, 2014"
Grade: B-
Secondary
7 of 8
Breaking down game film will not be fun for the members of this Philadelphia Eagles secondary. Much like the Week 3 game in 2011 when Victor Cruz burst onto the national scene against Nnamdi Asomugha, the Eagles allowed an undrafted rookie wide receiver to dominate their defensive backs.
Camp sensation Allen Hurns caught a long touchdown pass in the first quarter, then another one, and then a 46-yarder up the left sideline. Hurns trailed off in the second half, but still, he made a name for himself.
".@Jaguars Allen Hurns became 1st player in NFL history with 2 receiving TD in the first quarter in his NFL debut (via @eliassports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 7, 2014 "
Chad Henne picked apart the Eagles in a way that shouldn't have happened; Henne stalled in the second half but still finished with 266 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He did all this without top receivers Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts or slot receiver Ace Sanders; this means Henne was throwing to three rookies in Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson and Hurns.
Considering the way Cary Williams talked before the game, his performance (he was victimized on Hurns' first touchdown) was very disappointing.
"""#Jaguars top 3 WRs all rookies. Said Cary Williams: "We're definitely going to test those guys. We're going to see what they're made of."
— Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) September 6, 2014 "
Fifth-year safety Nate Allen turned in a strong performance at safety, coming up with a big play when it mattered the most.
"""""Nate Allen had one sack and FF all of last year. Equaled it on one play. Coaches had said he's coming into his own.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherCSN) September 7, 2014 "
Malcolm Jenkins, playing in his first game as an Eagle, registered four tackles, including a devastating blow to Toby Gerhart in the backfield.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 8
Chip Kelly's gamble to go with undrafted rookie kicker Cody Parkey paid off, at least for Sunday's game. Parkey nailed his first NFL field goal, a 51-yarder in the third quarter that tied the score. Parkey later added a 28-yarder, and he showed extremely impressive leg strength on kickoffs (four touchbacks).
""I've felt good about him since he won the starting kicking job. I love his attitude, I love his demeanor." Chip on K Cody Parkey.
— Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) September 7, 2014"
Punter Donnie Jones was his usual stellar self, knocking five of his punts inside the 20 and one to the 1-yard line.
Returner Darren Sproles averaged 15.5 yards on his four punt returns, running back two of them for 22 yards apiece. Gunner Brandon Boykin downed a punt at the 1-yard line, and defensive lineman Brandon Bair blocked a field goal.
Grade: A
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