Mediocre grades despite lopsided victory over Jets

PHILADELPHIA – Here’s how the Philadelphia Eagles graded out in their 31-6 triumph over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Offensive line: B

Protected quarterback Carson Wentz and cleared the path for an effective running game, even though the Eagles averaged just 2.9 yards per attempt. Excessive penalties bring the grade down a notch.

“The penalties just put us in too many long situations today, second-and-long, third-and-long,” coach Doug Pederson said.

“We could have played a lot better offensively, especially up front and in the run game,” center Jason Kelce added.

Quarterback: C

Wentz didn’t turn the ball over and made some good decisions to check out of potential trouble at the line of scrimmage. However, he misfired more than usual (17 for 29) and continued to put himself at an elevated risk by scrambling on some plays when he just should have thrown it away. After five games, there is just about no chance of him making it through all 16 in the regular season (and whatever might come after it) if he continues down this path.

“You always want to make a play for your team, especially on third down,” Wentz said. “That fighter mentality, that I’m not going to go down and I’m going to make a play, is something that I am always trying to juggle and balance.”

Wide receivers: C

This is just a guess because of how little they were involved in the offense on this day. Alshon Jeffery was targeted eight times (with six catches), Nelson Agholor three times (one catch) and Mack Hollins once (no catch) — and that was it. J.J. ArcegaWhiteside played a total of just two offensive snaps and none on special teams. So why exactly was he dressed?

Tight ends: B

Zach Erz (five catches, 57 yards) caught his first TD pass of the season. Dallas Goedert had two drops but continues to do the job in the running game.

Running backs: C

Jordan Howard has established himself at the very top of the pecking order and had another nice game (13 carries, 62 yards). Rookie Miles Sanders is still trying to balance the downhill approach vs. bouncing outside and sometimes gets caught in the middle with indecisiveness. Darren Sproles is injured. Again. What a surprise.

Defensive line: A+

Let’s see, this group was primarily responsible for stuffing Le’Veon Bell (15 carries, 43 yards) and pressuring the quarterback. Eight of the Eagles’ 10 sacks came from this group, and Brandon Graham finished with a career-best three. Keep in mind, too, that defensive tackles Malik Jackson (out for the season) and Timmy Jernigan (reportedly out 4-6 weeks) as well are out of the picture.

“They have a great running back who is very patient and balanced,” defensive end Derek Barnett said. “He usually makes the first guy miss, so we had to rally to the ball a lot. After we were able to do that, we were able to get our chances to rush a little bit.”

Linebackers: B

Nate Gerry’s 51-yard interception return for a touchdown punctuated the day for this group. Nigel Bradham is rarely out of position. Kamu Grugier-Hill is still finding his way back, though one of his three tackles was behind the line of scrimmage.

Defensive backs: B

Many of the sacks, including the strip that cornerback Orlando Scandrick returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, were the result of blanket coverage on the back end. Safety Rodney McLeod (interception, team-high six tackles) is quietly having himself one hell of a bounce-back season after a knee injury wiped out most of 2018.

“I told Malcolm [Jenkins] during the week that safeties need to get on the board some way, one of us, and I was glad to do that,” McLeod said.

Special teams: B

Cameron Johnston’s 44.4-yard net average included three punts that pinned the hapless Jets inside their 20. Sproles added a 16-yard punt return. Jake Elliott remained perfect on field goals and extra points. But what in the world was Corey Clement, a third-year veteran who should know better, thinking on the muffed punt that cost the Eagles a chance at a shutout?

He originally made the choice to get away from it, then decided to try to field the bouncing ball in traffic, thinking it might have bounced off teammate Ryan Lewis. It didn’t.

Coaching: B

The preparation, game plan and play-calling all were on point offensively. Head coach Doug Pederson couldn’t help it that Wentz wasn’t his best and was victimized by drops on top of his misfires. He also didn’t have anything to do with all the penalties that set his squad back.

The defense was burned on a trick play (reverse) immediately following a turnover after the winner had been decided. For that, coordinator Jim Schwartz gets a mulligan.

Overall: C+

Pederson said in a TV interview after the game that they wouldn’t have been able to beat a playoff-caliber opponent with the game they played on Sunday.

Agreed.