Eagles vs. Packers: Full Report Card Grades for Philadelphia
There aren’t many positives the Philadelphia Eagles can take away from this shellacking at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. The 7-2 Eagles rolled into Lambeau Field—fresh off a 45-21 beatdown of the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football—and were humiliated by the Packers in a game Philadelphia really needed to win.
The Packers were nearly unstoppable on offense, with Aaron Rodgers shredding the secondary, while the Green Bay defense and special teams units added an interception return for a touchdown, a fumble return for a touchdown and a punt return score. When the dust settled, the Packers won this game by a 53-20 score (their second such contest scoring at least 50 points this season).
"Eagles lose by 33 points. Worst loss of Chip Kelly's HC career with Eagles/Oregon. 53 points most he's given up as HC. #Eagles
— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) November 17, 2014"
Meanwhile, the Eagles became the first team since the 2000 St. Louis Rams to allow at least 53 points a week after putting up 45. Philadelphia still owns sole possession of first place in the NFC East over the Dallas Cowboys, but the Eagles and Cowboys still have two head-to-head matchups that will loom large in determining the final playoff picture.
"Eagles Cowboys tied at 7-3 atop NFC East. Thanksgiving showdown. #Eagles
— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) November 17, 2014
"
Today’s game can best be summed up as one of those that the team would like to sweep under the rug. For now, here are the game grades for the brutal loss to the Packers.
Quarterback
1 of 8
Mark Sanchez wasn’t going to win a long-term starting job in Philadelphia based on this game, but he wasn’t going to blow it either. That being said, his struggles against a clear playoff team have to be frustrating, considering the Eagles will likely have to ride out the season with him.
Sanchez’s final numbers actually look pretty reasonable. He completed 26 of his 44 passing attempts for 346 yards and two touchdowns. However, his two interceptions did not help the situation, especially considering one was a perfectly-choreographed pick-six to Julius Peppers.
Sanchez overthrew open receivers too often, particularly Jordan Matthews on a deep play that probably would have been a clear touchdown. He fumbled a snap (and again on a sack), took three sacks in all and had a handful of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. He also managed to gain a 15-yard penalty on the same play in which he threw a pick-six.
"Mark Sanchez hasn't been the main problem for the #Eagles, but he isn't doing much to gain confidence going forward. #picksix
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) November 16, 2014"
There aren’t many positives for the Eagles to take away from Sanchez’s performance, and it’s best for the team to simply hope he’s better next week against the Tennessee Titans. If Sanchez had played even close to as well as Rodgers did, this would have been a much closer outcome.
"Aaron Rodgers: 89.8 QBR Mark Sanchez: 20.1 QBR #PHIvsGB
— Jonathan Kinsley (@LastWordKinsley) November 17, 2014
"
Grade: D
Running Backs
2 of 8
It’s pretty clear 2014 LeSean McCoy is not the same player he was in 2013. He doesn’t hit the hole with the same burst, he rarely runs north-to-south and he doesn’t break the tackles he used to break.
His final numbers (23 carries, 88 yards) were respectable enough, but he wasn’t the dominant force the Philadelphia Eagles needed him to be against a porous run defense. He also lost a fumble early in the third quarter.
Darren Sproles made the most of his limited touches, gaining 21 yards on two rushes and catching two passes for 23 yards. As a team, the Eagles rushed 31 times for 109 yards and no touchdowns.
Grade: C
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
3 of 8
It seemed to be a fairly quiet day for Jeremy Maclin, but a solid performance in the books says otherwise. Maclin caught nine passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, putting him closer to the 1,000-yard mark he’s never before eclipsed in a single season.
Rookie Jordan Matthews continues to be Mark Sanchez’s go-to guy. He hauled in five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown (and Sanchez missed him on a deep one that probably would have been 35 more yards and another score).
Riley Cooper caught four of his six targets for 39 yards. Josh Huff continued his rough rookie season with an easy drop and no catches on his two targets. Zach Ertz had four catches for 55 yards, while Brent Celek caught one for 11 yards.
Grade: B-
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Offensive Line
4 of 8
It wasn’t a make-or-break game for the offensive line, meaning those five weren’t the reason the Philadelphia Eagles lost the game. The unit did allow Mark Sanchez to get sacked three times—although some of those may be on Sanchez.
The Eagles did gain 429 yards and 22 first downs, which are impressive enough totals. There were the usual penalties—one from Evan Mathis that was declined and one from Lane Johnson. The alarming problem was the chemistry, or lack thereof, between center Jason Kelce and Sanchez (it’s not often you see two muffed snaps in one game between the center and quarterback).
#Eagles C Jason Kelce on the QB exchange between him and Mark Sanchez: "It's bad."
— Mike Sielski (@MikeSielski) November 17, 2014
Grade: D+
Defensive Line
5 of 8
This Philadelphia Eagles' pass rush that bothered Cam Newton all last week was nowhere to be found in this game. Vinny Curry got the only sack of the day, and Aaron Rodgers never really seemed to be bothered. He appeared to have enough time to do whatever he wanted in the pocket.
The Eagles' run defense wasn’t really tested, since Rodgers spent most of the game shredding the secondary in the air. But Eddie Lacy did average 6.9 yards per carry, and he scored on one of his 10 carries. Hopefully this was simply a fluke for the Eagles, because they can’t expect to win playoff games performing like that.
Grade: D
Linebackers
6 of 8
It was a complete letdown by the Philadelphia Eagles defense, and the linebackers did their part. Mychal Kendricks and Trent Cole each had a tackle for a loss, and Connor Barwin tackled Aaron Rodgers after a fumbled snap behind the line of scrimmage, but there was very little pressure on the quarterback.
The Eagles entered the day second in the league with 32 sacks and added just one to that total. Casey Matthews had just one tackle. The linebackers struggled to contain tight end Andrew Quarless in the passing game. It was just a bad overall day from the unit, summed up in this series of plays.
"Welp, you saw what happened there. Third and 23, offside Trent Cole, third and 18, 24-yard completion across the middle to the tight end.
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) November 16, 2014
"
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 8
If you thought the secondary would get lit up by Aaron Rodgers, you were right. Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher had no answer for Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb, with Fletcher having the worse day of the pair.
"Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher are who we thought they were.
— Vincent Frank (@VincentFrankNFL) November 16, 2014
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Nelson beat Fletcher deep on the first series of the game. Fletcher later tripped covering Cobb. He officially gave up two touchdowns and also was charged with a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone.
Brandon Boykin made a limited impact, leaving early due to injury (although he did return).
Nate Allen’s day—and perhaps the performance of the Eagles on the whole—can best be summed up on this Allen tackle attempt.
"""Absolutely incredible effort by Nate Allen on Eddie Lacy TD run. Elegant and fluid tackle attempt. Watch here: https://t.co/P2YBm6i0vX
— Michael (PJ) Quinn (@PJbleedsgreen) November 16, 2014
"
Grade: F
Special Teams
8 of 8
The Philadelphia Eagles had an up-and-down day on the special teams units. Surrendering a 75-yard punt return score to Micah Hyde was backbreaking, and the team didn’t recover from it.
But there were a lot of positives. Cody Parkey made his 15th consecutive field goal. The Eagles again recorded a punt block. There was also a blocked extra point. In a close game, those plays really could have made a difference (but, unfortunately, it wasn’t a close game).
Grade: C+
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