It wasn't pretty, but it was satisfactory as the Eagles held on to beat the Chicago Bears 22-14 on Sunday.
Sure, the margin of victory probably should've been greater after the Eagles built a 19-0 lead, and at one point in the fourth quarter, the win felt in very real danger of slipping away. But in the end, they took care of business against a team with a very good defense and made the playoffs just a season ago - both details we considered while filling out the Week 9 report card.
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: 26/39, 239 YDS, TD, 4 CAR, 15 YDS
Not a classically great game by any means, but Wentz got the job done against a Chicago defense that entered the week ranked 10th against the pass, fifth overall. Plus, dropped pass hurt his numbers again. Most importantly, Wentz didn't commit any turnovers and completed several clutch conversions during the Eagles' eight-minute, 16-play fourth-quarter drive to essentially seal the victory.
Sports
In partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia
Grade: B+
Running backs
Jordan Howard: 19 CAR, 82 YDS, TD
Didn't look like the Bears wanted to tackle Howard on his 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and can you blame them? The man is a sledgehammer. Some real impressive running by Miles Sanders too (10 CAR, 42 YDS), showing improved vision, setting up block and hitting holes with conviction. The rookie's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield (3 REC, 31 YDS) is becoming a bonus.
Grade: A
Wide receivers and tight ends
Zach Ertz: 9 REC, 103 YDS, TD
Big day for Ertz, but he's the only one who showed up. Alshon Jeffery (4 REC, 36 YDS) dropped almost as many passes as he caught, at least two of which would've extended drives, Nelson Agholor (3 REC, 21 YDS) can neither create separation nor track a pass downfield, and Mack Hollins (0 TAR) might as well be standing still the entire time. Dallas Goedert was second on the team with four catches, 39 yards.
Grade: C
Offensive line
Strong effort up front against a quality defense. Eagles ball carriers averaged 4.2 yards per carry en route to 131 yards rushing - and that was with the lead for the majority of the game. Chicago did manage to register four sacks in 45 dropbacks, but two of those were partially the result of the quarterback scrambling.
Grade: B+
Defensive line
Brandon Graham: 4 TKL, TFL, SK
The Eagles absolutely dominated at the point of attack for two quarters with three sacks in 14 dropbacks, but the pass rush vanished in the second half. Josh Sweat also recorded a sack via a Derek Barnett pressure and a tackle for loss, while Genard Avery split a sack while playing a joker role in his first game with the club. Bears running backs also averaged under 3.0 yards per carry.
Grade: B
Linebackers
Nathan Gerry: 4 TKL
Quiet game from the group, in part because Gerry possibly missed as many tackles as he made. T.J. Edwards had some moments as well, matching Kamu Grugier-Hill with three tackles, but few if any big plays of real consequence.
Grade: B-
Secondary
Malcolm Jenkins: 2 TKL, 0.5 SK
Sure, Chicago only managed to complete 47.6 percent its passes for 125 yards and a 6.0 average, but two busted coverages led to touchdowns. Malcolm Jenkins was nowhere to be found on a 53-yard bomb in the third quarter, and Avonte Maddox didn't appear to know his assignment on a 30-yard completion to open the fourth. Those are the plays that gave the Bears offense life.
Grade: C
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 3/3 FG, 1/2 XP
Duke Riley's fumble recovery sealed the game for the Eagles, Cameron Johnston save a touchdown by making a tackle on a Bears punt return, and Elliott was solid despite the missed extra point. The returners were horrible though, as Miles Sanders was tackled at his own 16-yard line twice and Darren Sproles looked iffy fielding punts.
Grade: C+
Coaching
Eagles' record: 5-4
No, nothing here is "fixed," and if the Eagles play like this after the bye against the New England Patriots, they'll get stomped. But the Bears had nine total yards of offense going into the second half, and the Eagles scored 22 points against a defense that's still one of the better units in the league. It's a good win for the team, even if it showed there's still plenty of corrections to be made.
Grade: B
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
