Eagles move up by position after narrow win over Browns – NBC Sports Philadelphia

It wasn’t as easy as it probably should have been.

But after being booed before halftime, the Eagles managed a 20-16 win over the struggling Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.

Let’s get to the position grades:

quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 16/25, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 126.1 rating; 14 attempts, 33 yards

Hurts had a really tough start to this game, but managed to pull himself together in the end and make some nice plays. The Eagles’ offense is still too disjointed and desperately needs to get off to a better start, but Hurts had some really good moments in this game and finally had a turnover-free game for the first time this season. Having his two big weapons back clearly helped – Hurts hit DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown for touchdowns in this game.

Grade: B+

Run back

Saquon Barkley: 18 carries, 47 yards

Through the first four games of this season, Barkley has been the Eagles’ best player. He still made some tough runs against the Browns on Sunday, as it was clear the Eagles wanted to reign supreme against Cleveland. But Barkley also made two big mistakes. He failed to get a first down late in the second half and then failed to make a block to sack Hurts before the blocked field goal was returned for a touchdown. Kenny Gainwell had a 19-yard run and finished 3 for 23.

Grade: C+

Recipient

AJ Brown: 6 catches on 9 targets, 116 yards, 1 touchdown

The Eagles got Brown and Smith back in this game and both played well. Brown has 11 catches for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns in two games this season. He had little distance on his 22-yard touchdown catch, but was able to beat man coverage and bring the pass down. And his 40-yarder in the fourth quarter iced the game. Smith had a 45-yard touchdown catch on a mesh route. Jahan Dotson only had one official catch, but there was a beauty on the sideline moving sticks for 10 yards in the fourth quarter before Brown hit the kill shot.

Grade: A

Tight end

Grant Calcaterra: 4 catches, 67 yards

Dallas Goedert left the game early with a hamstring injury, allowing both Calcaterra and Jack Stoll to move up the rankings. Calcaterra had a 34-yard catch and a 20-yard catch in that game. He had more yards in this game than he had all of last season. And even though Stoll didn’t have a catch, he helped create separation for the long 45-yard touchdown to Smith. He made sure not to make any contact on the friction track in order to get a penalty.

Grade: B+

Offensive line

While the run game was difficult to slide at times, Hurts was only sacked once in this game and the Eagles were able to mostly neutralize Myles Garrett as a pass rusher, which isn’t easy when you’re going up against the reigning defensive player of the year. Jordan Mailata left that game with a hamstring injury and was seen using crutches after the game. Obviously there’s something to keep an eye on going forward, but Big Fred Johnson seemed to play well in his absence. Unfortunately, the Eagles didn’t get much pressure in the run game, which hurt the offense.

Grade: B-

Defensive line

Jalen Carter: 1 sacks, 3 QB hits, 1 TFL

Sure, the Browns had given up more sacks than any other team in the NFL over the last five weeks, so that’s something to keep in mind. But the Eagles are targeting Deshaun Watson in this game. They received solid contributions from Carter, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Bryce Huff, Moro Ojomo, Nolan Smith and others. Graham’s TFL was a huge success in his 200th career game. And it looked like Huff had finally turned things around. The Eagles sacked Watson five times in this game and 4 1/2 of those sacks came from the D-line.

Grade: A

Linebackers

Nakobe Dean: 12 tackles (7 solo)

Even though Dean wasn’t perfect and missed a few tackles, he led the team with 12 tackles and made some great plays. Zack Baun had eight tackles in the game, but incurred a late hit penalty on Watson in a situation where there was no way for the Browns to gain 15 yards on offense. An interesting note: When the Eagles switched to their dime defense, Baun remained on the field in place of Dean.

Grade: A-

Secondary

CJ Gardner-Johnson: 6 tackles, 2 PBUs

The Eagles ended up switching from Avonte Maddox to Cooper DeJean at nickel cornerback and it really seemed to pay off. In his first extended defensive effort, DeJean looked exactly like that. The Eagles missed an interception opportunity when Gardner-Johnson and Quinyon Mitchell collided on the football, but at least they were both there. Even when Darius Slay left with a knee injury, Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo played well in his place.

Grade: A-

Special teams

Cooper DeJean: 4 punt returns, 41 yards (12.8)

The blocked field goal was such a huge play, but it was actually just Myles Garrett making a big play. He jumped the line, kept his stride, and blocked a field goal in the second quarter that Rodney McLeod collected and scored. So that wasn’t good. But DeJean appeared to fill the role as punt returner in place of the injured Britain Covey. He had some juice.

Grade: C

Coaching

Record: 3-2

In this game, too, the Eagles were unable to score in the first quarter and started the game with another quick three-and-out. That has to change. Kellen Moore obviously benefited from the returns of Brown and Smith and made some good plays in this game despite the sometimes static offense. The mesh concept worked again for a big touchdown. And in defense, Vic Fangio had a good game. While the Browns offense is terrible, Fangio put his guys in position to make plays. Nick Sirianni’s antics will be a big topic in the future. During the game, he chatted with some Browns players and then yelled at the fans. While the Eagles may want Sirianni to be himself, we know that Jeff Lurie sometimes wants Sirianni to tone it down a bit.

Grade: C

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