Eagles grades: Receivers (finally) get going but winning streak ends with a loss to the Broncos

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 21-17 loss to the Denver Broncos:

Jalen Hurts had yet another Jekyll and Hyde outing. He was sharp in the first half and the first drive of the second half. He could little right in the final 25-plus minutes. Hurts completed 16 of 24 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns on the Eagles’ first seven possessions. He was just 7 of 14 for 68 yards in the final five. Overall, he took six sacks, several on third down when throwaways were possible.

Hurts had his longest completion since the season opener when he teardropped a 52-yard bomb to receiver DeVonta Smith on third-and-17. He had another explosive play when he floated a 47-yard strike to Saquon Barkley on a wheel route in the third quarter.

Hurts picked up a third-down blitz with an 11-yard completion to a slanting A.J. Brown in the second quarter. Later in the drive, he passed up a throw to an open Kylen Granson on a scramble drill and took a loss when he ran out of bounds.

With the Eagles emphasizing the pass, Saquon Barkley never got going on the ground. He finished with just six carries for 30 yards. He picked up 17 yards on a toss around the left end in the first quarter. It was his longest rush of the season to that point.

Barkley did more damage as a receiver, catching a 47-yard touchdown on a wheel route to open the second half. Barkley blew past former Eagles linebacker Alex Singleton.

His illegal shift penalty took a fourth-down conversion to Smith off the board late in the fourth quarter. Barkley had been struggling vs. the blitz but picked up an edge pressure in the second quarter.

AJ Dillon had two rushes for 12 yards, including an early 9-yard carry up the middle. Will Shipley got some time in the backfield in the second quarter and was dropped for no gain on his lone carry.

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It had to be their fluorescent shoes. The Eagles finally unlocked their top two receivers and got solid outputs from DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, but it wasn’t enough. Smith led the team with eight catches for 114 yards.

His 52-yard reception was an over-the-shoulder grab. He got behind Denver corner Riley Moss on a go route. A drive later, Moss interfered with Smith on a crossing route and was penalized. He also pulled in a 21-yard catch on a slant route to open the second half.

Brown finished with five catches for 43 yards, but he had only one catch in the second half. Brown had the offense’s first first down with an 8-yard grab. He drew a pass-interference penalty by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain at the 2-yard line in the second quarter. But Brown eased up on a deep route that caused Hurts to overthrow him late in the third quarter.

Tight end Dallas Goedert caught his team-high fourth touchdown of the season on an out route in the second quarter. A run-pass option with Goedert as the first read failed on the first two tries, but it was successful on the next two.

Receiver Jahan Dotson appeared to catch a deep ball down the sideline that Nick Sirianni challenged when it was ruled incomplete. Replays confirmed a slight bobble, even though Dotson got both feet inbounds. John Metchie had an early run-blocking responsibility inside the tackles and struggled to maintain it.

Tight ends Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson have struggled as blockers, but they executed their roles on Barkley’s 17-yard tote in the first quarter. Calcaterra had two catches on the Eagles’ first scoring drive but suffered an oblique injury on the second and eventually left the game.

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The Eagles’ pass protection mostly was excellent, despite Hurts getting sacked six times. Tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata had tough assignments vs. Broncos edge rushers Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper, and they more than held up. Bonitto had 2½ sacks, but not because he beat either tackle. Mailata had a false start in the second quarter.

Left guard Landon Dickerson limped off early in the first quarter. He got his left ankle taped, but Brett Toth took his spot and never left. Toth seemed to do fine considering the circumstances. He had a costly holding penalty in the fourth quarter, though.

The Eagles didn’t run much, but there was a huge hole opened on Barkley’s 17-yard run. Right guard Tyler Steen and center Cam Jurgens were decent in pass protection but had a couple of costly errors. Steen was the illegal man downfield that negated first-down catch by Smith. Jurgens got blown up on a fourth-quarter run by Barkley that resulted in no gain.

It takes all 11 to defend the run, but the Eagles’ front wasn’t consistent enough in limiting Broncos runners on the ground. Jordan Davis often was the nose in the five-man front and at D-tackle in the four-man vs. the run. He struggled to get off his block on a J.K. Dobbins 13-yard rush up the middle in the fourth quarter.

The front was up and down in the pass rush. Za’Darius Smith notched his first full sack with the Eagles in the second quarter. He got to quarterback Bo Nix on a stunt and the 13-yard loss pushed the Broncos out of field-goal range. Smith had an earlier hit on Nix. Outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt set the edge and made the run stop on the Broncos’ first possession. He forced Nix to throw the ball away late in the game.

Azeez Ojulari was active for the first time after Ogbo Okoronkwo’s season-ending triceps injury. He flashed several times in the first half. He had a run tackle for loss and hurried Nix into an errant throw on third down when he beat Broncos Pro Bowl left tackle Garett Bolles. Joshua Uche had a hit in the second quarter.

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter‘s hurry forced a 3-yard loss after a check-down pass in the second quarter. He might have been held by Broncos tackle, and local product, Mike McGlinchey (Penn Charter) rushing off the edge. Carter had early run stop near the line. A few plays later, he gifted the Broncos a first down with a fourth-and-3 encroachment.

Moro Ojomo had a run tackle near the line in the second quarter. Byron Young appeared to get blocked out of his gap responsibility on a Dobbins 10-yard run up the middle in the second quarter.

Zack Baun led the Eagles with 12 tackles. Jihaad Campbell was just behind him with 11.

Baun, overall, had one of his lesser performances. His personal foul for a late hit — however questionable — essentially iced the game for the Broncos. He had his usual good moments on defense. His blitz up the “B” forced Nix into taking a grounding penalty in the third quarter.

Baun was closest in coverage on a Trent Sherfield 15-yard catch and run in the second quarter. He took a poor angle on Nix’s 15-yard scramble in the third quarter.

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Campbell dropped Dobbins in the backfield in the third quarter. The Broncos went at him on the next play with a short pass to running back RJ Harvey that picked up 11 yards. He looked way out of his gap on Dobbins’ 17-yard bolt up the middle later on.

Kelee Ringo got the nod ahead of the healthy Adoree’ Jackson. He got beaten by receiver Marvin Mims Jr. to the pylon on the sprint out two-point conversion that gave the Broncos the lead, 18-17. Receiver Troy Franklin caught a 20-yard pass in front of Ringo in the first quarter. He locked up Mims on a deep third-down heave just before the break. The Broncos had some success running at Ringo. He missed a tackle in the second quarter.

Cooper DeJean had a strip-sack overturned in the first quarter. He blitzed from the slot and jarred the ball loose from Nix’s hand. Replays weren’t conclusive, but the call on the field was reversed. Cooper set the edge on Campbell’s run tackle for loss. He tackled well, as usual, but missed an open-field chance in the second quarter.

Quinyon Mitchell locked down Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton, who had just two catches for 11 yards in the first 30 minutes. But Sutton had more success in the second half. He drew a holding penalty by the handsy Mitchell in the end zone, and caught several passes, including a 34-yard pass that set up the Broncos’ go-ahead touchdown.

Drew Mukuba played every snap after recently becoming the every-down safety ahead of Sydney Brown. He spent most of his day in the post and kept Nix from completing many throws downfield. Franklin caught a 10-yard pass in front of Mukuba in the red zone on the Broncos’ first touchdown drive, though.

Reed Blankenship was next to Mukuba on a lot of the Eagles’ two-high shells. He made a saving tackle on a successful screen pass in the second quarter.

Punter Braden Mann averaged 39.6 yards on seven punts. He boomed his first punt 68 yards, but outkicked his coverage, and Mims had a 22-yard return. Cameron Latu’s open-field tackle resulted in a loss by Mims on a fourth-quarter punt.

Dotson fair caught his first four punt return tries. The Eagles likely have told him to be conservative in his returns, but yards were left on the table and the offense often had long fields. Dotson did have a 16-yard return on his fifth attempt.

Shipley’s 37-yard kick return in the fourth quarter gave the offense good field position. He had another for 23 yards. Tank Bigsby and Shipley miscommunicated on their first kick return. Bigsby fielded the ball just in the end zone and had just an 18-yard return. He had another return for 25 yards.

Kicker Jake Elliott connected on a 31-yard field goal and both extra points.

Nick Sirianni took his first loss in 11 games, including the playoffs. It was a great run, but the Eagles have been living on a prayer this season. They finally relented and again look like a team still in search of an offensive identity. There wasn’t anything egregious in Sirianni’s game management, although he did waste a challenge on Dotson’s bobble.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo had a solid first half and tiled the play-calling heavily in favor of the pass. It worked for the most part and jump-started the Eagles’ dormant air attack. Patullo may have gotten too aggressive in the second half when the Eagles went a three-series stretch with just one net yard.

His offense ended its perfect red zone rate — 11 of 11 — and settled for a field goal in the first quarter. But Patullo’s unit effectively used tempo to move the ball.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio delivered a master class against his former team through three quarters. But his unit got leaky once the Eagles offense failed to sustain drives. The biggest problem was stopping the run — again — and covering on underneath routes.