Grading the Eagles' 27-20 Loss in Washington

How sharply reviews of the Eagles have turned, and in such a short time too.

The first three weeks of the season, the Eagles were about as close to perfect as an NFL team could be in just about every phase. More recently, they've look average at best in back-to-back losses on the road, and are going to grade out closer to mediocre at nearly every position following a 27-20 defeat at the hands of Washington.

Frankly, the flow of the game wasn't even as close as the score indicates. Were it not for an interception and a kick return for touchdown, the Eagles may not have even had a chance to win in the end. This is against an NFC East rival too, so you can kiss any idea of being the favorites to win the division goodbye.

The Eagles have a lot to get fixed based off these past two games, and Sunday's loss in particular. It was that ugly.

Quarterback

It's hard to blame Carson Wentz, who spent most of the game under siege, particularly the first half. However, taking consecutive sacks on the Eagles' final possession were killers, and both plays where he had time to either get rid of the football or escape the pocket. Sure, there probably wasn't anybody open, but even throwing it away is better than the end result, as the offense couldn't even justify going for it on 4th-and-24 with 1:44 to play at that point. By the way, Wentz finished with 11 completion on 22 attempts for 179 yards.

Grade: C

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Running backs

Yes, the Eagles were trailing all day, and there was about 19 straight minutes of game time where the Eagles went without a meaningful possession offense. Still, why the running backs only had 19 carries is beyond me when those plays resulted in 92 yards — a 4.8 average — is beyond me. Ryan Mathews alone had 60 yards on just nine attempts. The backs did fine, they simply didn't get the opportunities.

Grade: B

Wide receivers

Hard to grade when the quarterback is constantly under duress and is erratic as Wentz was. Jordan Matthews led the way once again with three receptions for 75 yards, but his day could've been much bigger. He failed to get both feet in bounds on one difficult grab by the sideline, and couldn't finish what would have been a sensational one-handed snare on an errant overthrow. Those are tough plays, and Matthews shouldn't be penalized, but when the rest of the receivers combine to make four catches for 57 yards, the unit needs more from its best player.

Grade: C

Tight ends

There isn't a whole heck of a lot to go on here, as the trio was targeted just four times. Three of those went to Zach Ertz though, who finished with one reception for 22 yards and dropped a pass that would've given him a shot to fight for a touchdown. No doubt, they spent a good portion of their day helping a rookie right tackle in protection, although that didn't go so hot either, so not a memorable performance all around.

Grade: C-

Offensive line

Miserable day up front for the Eagles, which starts with Halapoulivaati Vaitai making his first start at right tackle. No need to kill a fifth-round rookie for his brutal debut, as it's just as much of a coaching/front office issue that put Vaitai in that position in the first place. Center Jason Kelce was also nailed by officials for a couple of costly holding calls as well. The unit was better in the second half and did a good job in the ground attack, but the protection issues paved the way for Wentz's rough start, while the penalties were drive killers.

Grade: C-

Defensive line

Two quarterback hits. Two! And both of those were credited to Fletcher Cox, who was penalized twice, including a roughing the passer call that extended an eventual touchdown drive. Once again, the pass-rush heated up in the second half and was able to make Kirk Cousins escape the pocket, but it was too little, too late. Oh, and Washington also managed to run for 230 yards, and that starts up front. The unit took a hit when Bennie Logan left the game with a groin injury, but this just isn't going to get it gone.

Grade: C-

Linebackers

Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks combined to make 18 tackles, but the numbers ring a little hollow when they were often caught chasing down ballcarriers down from behind after getting out of their gaps. And Mychal Kendricks' tackling is just abysmal. Even when he caught Jamison Crowder in the backfield on a reverse for a nine-yard loss, Kendricks was bailed out by an early whistle, as the receiver never went to the ground. 

Grade: D

Defensive backs

Malcolm Jenkins' 64-yard interception for touchdown is one of the only reasons the Eagles were even in the game. Otherwise, the Pro Bowl safety did not have his best day, missing a bunch tackles and getting beaten for big gains in man-to-man coverage on several occasions, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder. Cornerbacks Nolan Carroll and Jalen Mills clamped down in coverage in the second half, but were unspectacular. And Rodney McLeod made 13 tackles, but most of those lacked impact, coming way down the field.

Grade: C

Special teams

Fine job on Wendell Smallwood's 86-yard kickoff return for touchdown, as the running back went untouched on the play. Smallwood was escorted to the end zone by Josh Huff, who didn't even have to throw a block. Caleb Sturgis was perfect on two field goals and two extra points, Donnie Jones pinned three of six punts inside Washington's 20-yard line and the coverage units were outstanding. This was the lone bright spot for the Eagles.

Grade: A

Coaching

With a fifth-round rookie making his first career start at right tackle and facing the NFL's 30th-ranked run defense, Doug Pederson's offense came out throwing the football. The result: three sacks in the first half and an inefficient passing attack that saw the quarterback getting knocked around. This was reminiscent of an Andy Reid game plan, airing the ball out while ignoring obvious advantages and disadvantages based on the matchups.

This was Pederson's worst-coached game by far, and arguably the biggest reason the Eagles lost, as the offense brought nothing to the table until the second half. By then, Washington had done just about all it needed to win.

Grade: F

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