Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Full Report Card Grades for Eagles
Wow. Just wow.
The Philadelphia Eagles crushed the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers 34-3 on Sunday afternoon. The battle of I-76 was never close, as the Eagles led wire-to-wire and controlled both sides of the ball. Quarterback Carson Wentz had his best game to date, and his first career 300-yard outing.
Jim Schwartz's defense shut down a potent Pittsburgh attack. The Steelers were held to just 251 yards and three points. The defensive line yet again led the way with four sacks and a forced fumble.
After two wins against lowly opponents, the Eagles proved they are for real with this rout. The Eagles are 3-0 and atop the NFC East.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Carson Wentz had the best game of his young NFL career. Wentz was 23-of-31 for 301 yards and two touchdowns. He made every kind of throw imaginable. Every week you expect the rookie to start to struggle and show his age. So far, though, he has not. Wentz continues to get better every week.
The first play that stood out was a third-down completion to Dorial Green-Beckham. The wideout had dropped a ball on the previous play, and it was 3rd-and-long. It would have been easy for Wentz to go elsewhere. Instead he fired a laser to Green-Beckham for an 18-yard completion on a dig route. That's a rookie quarterback keeping his teammates involved and showing his trust in them.
The second play that boggles the mind was the 73-yard touchdown to Darren Sproles. Wentz was pressured and scrambled to his right. He had green in front of him and could have possibly run for a first down. Instead Wentz kept his eyes down the field and found Sproles wide open behind the Steelers defense.
Grade: A+
Running Back
2 of 10
After two weeks of struggling to consistently run the football, the Philadelphia Eagles run game got on track. Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner were the bell cow runners; both scored touchdowns and finished with 79 yards and 42 yards, respectively. Smallwood in particular built on his impressive cameo in Week 2.
Sproles and Ryan Mathews were both ineffective on the ground. Sproles was the leading receiver, however, with six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. Mathews did not appear after the first couple of drives. It seems the ankle injury that was bothering him last week has flared back up.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Seven different Philadelphia Eagles players caught at least two passes. While Sproles may have been the leading receiver, the tight ends and wideouts certainly did their part as well.
Old man Brent Celek had a great game. He was stout blocking at the point of attack and had several quintessential Celek catches over the middle of the field. Having players like Celek and Trey Burton is clearly a boon to Wentz's confidence.
But it was another game with a few too many drops. One Green-Beckham drop was such a beautifully placed ball that it should have been a touchdown. Still, when you smash the Steelers by 31 points, it's hard to be overly critical. Everyone chipped in today.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line finally showed up. The Eagles ran for 125 yards, threw for 301 and gave up no sacks. That's a good day at the office for any offensive line. Jason Kelce had a bad snap but otherwise looked largely improved from the first two weeks.
The biggest positive was the offensive line finally being able to consistently open holes in the run game. The Steelers have a stout run defense and had only allowed 101 yards rushing in the first two games combined.
It is a shame that after finally gelling, this unit will be reshuffled. Lane Johnson will be suspended after the Eagles return from the bye. Hopefully, the offensive line can work through those adjustments and pick up where they left off.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Philadelphia Eagles defensive line is very good. It may be the best defensive line in the entire league.
In the leadup to this game I noted that Fletcher Cox had been a bit quiet statistically the first two weeks and would have a tough matchup against David DeCastro. But Cox came to play; he had two sacks and a tackle for loss. He was generally a terror all day.
Brandon Graham continued his excellent start to the season with another sack. Bennie Logan got his first sack of the year. The defensive line as a unit was a key factor to rattling Ben Roethlisberger and shutting down the Steelers offense.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Eagles linebackers shut down the Steelers running game. DeAngelo Willaims was the leading rusher in the NFL entering Week 3. The Steelers only managed 29 yards on 10 carries.
Jordan Hicks continues to thrive. He made several key tackles early in the game. Nigel Bradham is looking like a steal.
While the Steelers' game plan primarily revolved around short passes to the wideouts and deep shots down the field, the linebackers did their part in the big win.
Grade: A-
Secondary
7 of 10
For the second week in a row a star receiver for the opposing team had a big statistical night. For the second week in a row it did not matter.
Antonio Brown finished with 12 catches for 140 yards, but they were largely hollow stats.
The Eagles corners again battled. They aren't the most talented in the league, but they are incredibly resilient. The corners gave up short completions but tackled well and did a good job forcing incomplete passes deeper down the field.
The Eagles may have the best safety tandem in the NFL. Rodney McLeod's interception was simply a matter of him wanting the ball more. He was beaten on the play but recovered, got his head around and ripped the ball away from the receiver. Malcolm Jenkins was his typical self; he was all over the field.
If the Eagles secondary can start coming down with a higher percentage of the balls they get their hands on, watch out.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Not much to report on the special teams front. Caleb Sturgis connected on both of his field-goal attempts. It's good to see the issues last week were just cramps. Donnie Jones had another solid night punting the ball.
The one mistake was Chris Maragos running into the punter. The Eagles didn't need a block, and it gave the Steelers a chance to get back into the game. Fortunately for Maragos the defense got a big stop.
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
So how about this Doug Pederson guy? He's pretty good. Another masterful game plan by Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich. They managed to unlock the running game and found creative ways to ease Wentz into the passing game.
The only downside of this game is defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Not because he was poor—quite the opposite, in fact. Shutting down the Steelers offense and holding them to only three points was a masterclass in defensive execution. The downside is Schwartz is sure to be a hot head-coaching candidate. He may not be with the Eagles next year.
Grade: A+
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A+ |
| RB | A |
| WR/TE | A- |
| OL | A |
| DL | A+ |
| LB | A- |
| Secondary | A |
| ST | B+ |
| Coaching | A+ |
Cumulative Grade: A
The Philadelphia Eagles walloped the Pittsburgh Steelers in the battle for Pennsylvania. This was the worst loss for the Steelers in 27 years. This Eagles team looks to be the real deal. They now lead the division and have a fairly easy schedule after the bye week.
Carson Wentz outperformed Ben Roethlisberger. I don't think many rational people expected that outcome. The offense seems to finally be finding a more consistent rhythm now that the running game is on track.
The Eagles defense was always going to be better than last year. So far, though, they look like they may be one of the top units in the NFL.
The Eagles will now have the bye week to enjoy the monster win. There will be adjustments to make, but so far so good with the 2016 Philadelphia Eagles.
Tyler Aston is a Bleacher Report Eagles Team Stream Contributor. You can follow him on twitter @Astonia67
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