By Chip Keagy, AATSN Co-Host
Watch Chips and Dish every Monday at 9pm
Well that was NOT the game I was expecting to see today. An Eagles win which was nice. But for it to be an all around superb effort on all aspects of the game??? That was the surprise. The gradebook is IN from the Eagles 30-13 beating of the Broncos!
Coaching Staff: A-
Nick Sirianni called a GREAT game today. It was a balanced attack. It was executed well. It was the right attack. It relied on who had the hot hand and showed trust in his play makers. At no point today did I say "WHAT IS HE DOING?". This improvement is noteworthy!
On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles slowed down a Denver attack that had a multitude of weapons. Gannon called a really good defensive game. Yes the rushing attack from Denver had success. Yes the penalties have to get in check again (that's where the "minus" comes from) but this team did not miss a beat today.
Quarterback: A
Ok, WOW. We talked in the pregame about how Jalen Hurts hadn't done anything yet to convince anybody that he was the guy. Jalen Hurts today against Denver shut all of us up. Hurts was accurate, aggressive you name it. His INT was bad. No denying it. But Jalen Hurts today led this team to a victory like a true QB1 does.
His accuracy deserves its own separate paragraph today. The two throws to Devonta Smith were incredible. His throw to Quez in the endzone was his best pass of his career. Hurts keeps silencing the critics. He just needs to continue on this trajectory.
Running Backs: A
The stud RB today was Boston Scott. Yes Jordan Howard had more rushing yards and they were tougher to get for sure. Yes Jalen Hurts had HUGE rushes. But Boston Scott was a weapon today. His rushes came at key times and were unstoppable. It's a shame no running backs got TDs (icing on the cake) but this was a GREAT game. They rushed for 214 yards against the #7 rush defense in the NFL. THIS is their identity. Keep it up!
Wide Receivers: A-
Devonta Smith had two INCREDIBLE catches for TDs. The first one was an absolute things of beauty and belongs in textbooks for WRs. Quez dropping a picture perfect TD was not great. Jalen Reagor having 1 catch is par for the course. The top 2 WRs on this team made Jalen look really good today.
Tight Ends: C-
When Dallas Goedert went down (from an illegal hit), this group became obsolete. Goedert was locked in today. You could tell. Losing him changed the blocking and the productivity of this group. Not his fault, just is the way it was.
Offensive Line: A
They rushed for over 200 yards. Jalen Hurts was only sacked once. They had to deal with the ole fashioned switcharoo when Dickerson went down for a play and then Kelce went down. But those guys came back in and it was all good in the world.
Defensive Line: C
This group had a bad game last week. This week wasn't that. Bridgewater was sacked once but he was forced to hold onto the ball (thanks to the secondary). DEREK BARNETT is going to have to get pulled at some point if he can't stop committing penalties. It could be game changing penalties every single week. Has to stop. Rushing game for Denver had a decent amount of success today. With backup offensive linemen all over the place, the Eagles should've feasted. They did not.
Linebackers: B+
Davion Taylor had the most important punch out of the season in the middle of that pileup. TJ Edwards had a ton of tackles too. This group played really well and it helps. Another week with TEs finding success though (top 2 receivers for Denver today were both TEs). That's the biggest thing that has to improve.
Secondary: A-
DARIUS SLAY. He shut down the guy in front of him all day, then recovers a fumble and rushes 82 yards for a TD that solidified the outcome of this game. Anthony Harris led the team in tackles today (which isn't ideal but it happens). Avonte Maddox got called for a taunting penalty but had a ton of tackles. The secondary was much improved this week compared to last.
Special Teams: A-
K'Von Wallace blocked a field goal and Singleton fell on the ball. Jake Elliot smashed a 50+ yard field goal plus 2 other ones. Siposs averaged over 50 yards a punt. Kickers were great! They allowed one big return which brings down the game a bit. Special teams played very well today!
OVERALL GRADE: A
Denver is a good football team. The Eagles dominated in all facets of the game. They seem to FINALLY be figuring out who they are as a team. It makes for enjoyable football. The Eagles have a very winnable slate of games coming up and could be in legitimate contention for....the playoffs. Here we go again..