Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts is silenced in second half; Jalyx Hunt’s breakout game helps beat the Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 13-12 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday:

Jalen Hurts does what he does best: He wins. It wasn’t a stellar outing by any measure. But Hurts didn’t turn the ball over and he avoided big mistakes. He threw for 110 yards in the first half but didn’t complete a single pass in the second, when a driving rain obviously affected the passing game. It was ugly. But he knows how to win ugly.

Hurts short-hopped a throw to an open DeVonta Smith in the second quarter. But he rebounded a play later and knifed a pass to his receiver through a tight window to convert on third down. He later stepped up in the pocket and hit A.J. Brown for 15 yards on third-and-10. Hurts was great against the blitz in the first half, completing 7 of 8 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, according to Next Gen Stats.

Saquon Barkley was held to 68 yards on 19 carries, a 3.6-yard average. He ran hard, but often into Bills bodies. Barkley should have had more success on the ground against one of the worst run defenses in the league. He did rip off a 16-yard gain when he got skinny through an inside crease before the half.

Tank Bigsby spelled a dinged-up Barkley briefly in the second quarter. He ran two times for 7 yards and caught a pass for 2 yards. Will Shipley had a couple of rushes on coward’s draws.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown was great in the first half, catching 5 of 7 targets for 68 yards. But he, like most of the passing game, was grounded in the second half. Brown eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in the first half. He has accomplished the feat in each of his four seasons in Philly. Brown got open for a 27-yard grab on a corner route in the first quarter. He should have drawn a penalty on a Hurts floater into the end zone before the half, but cornerback Tre’Davious White appeared to get away with pass interference.

DeVonta Smith finished with just two receptions for 25 yards. He nearly made a tremendous grab on a jump ball in the third quarter, but a Bills challenge that he didn’t complete the process overturned the 17-yard gain. The Eagles may have gotten hosed on the replay. Smith got hurt on the play, but he returned. He picked up yards after the catch on a 14-yard reception before the half.

Tight end Dallas Goedert scored his 11th touchdown of the season — tying a franchise mark for tight ends — when he got wide-open on a play-action pass from under center. Goedert had a poor block when Barkley was dropped in the backfield in the fourth quarter.

The run blocking was up and down. There were some nice combo zone blocks that helped spring Barkley into the second level, but there also were too many negative-yard rushes — again. The pass protection was mostly sound, especially in the first half.

But the Eagles kept getting into third-and-long situations in the second half and Hurts was pressured. The O-line, for instance, failed to pick up a four-man simulated pressure that resulted in Hurts having to take a sack in the third quarter.

Fred Johnson filled in for the injured Lane Johnson (foot) for a sixth straight game. His day got off to a rough start when he ran onto the field without his helmet and had to hustle off and back on. Johnson kept Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa from wrecking the game. He also sealed the edge on Barkley’s 8-yard run to the right in the first quarter. Left tackle Jordan Mailata locked down his side in pass protection.

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Right guard Tyler Steen failed to block a blitzing Matt Milano long enough on a fourth-quarter third down, which resulted in another Hurts throwaway. Left guard Landon Dickerson had a vise grip on a Barkley 10-yard pickup in the third quarter. He allowed an early pressure after the Bills ran a stunt.

Cam Jurgens’ struggles on under-center runs continued. In the third quarter, the center got dusted and Barkley was dropped for a loss. Jurgens and Steen opened the hole on Barkley’s 16-yard tote up the middle.

The Eagles kept the NFL’s leading rusher, James Cook, in check. He finished with just 74 yards on 20 carries. The front played a huge role in limiting Cook on the ground, but it was more impressive in harassing quarterback Josh Allen all game. He was sacked five times and did little damage with his legs.

Jalyx Hunt had a breakout performance with two sacks and seven total tackles. He used an inside stunt to get to Allen and sack him on third down on the Bills’ opening drive. Hunt earned his second takedown when he dropped the elusive quarterback for a 19-yard loss in the fourth quarter. Hunt might have saved an Allen house-call run in the second quarter had he not tripped up the quarterback. A few plays later, he drew a holding penalty on a running play.

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Defensive tackle Jalen Carter returned after missing three games and made an impact, despite his ailing shoulders. He completely destroyed Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence with an inside rush before sacking Allen before the half. And Carter blocked another kick when he got a hand on the Bills’ lone extra-point try.

Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips was credited with the sack when Allen lost the ball outside the pocket in the first quarter. Phillips injured his left leg in the second quarter, but he didn’t miss a series. He failed to set the edge on a Cook 10-yard rush in the third quarter.

Defensive tackle Jordan Davis didn’t notch a tackle until the second half, but Davis was a beast vs. the run throughout the game. Moro Ojomo got in on the sack party by getting to Allen in the third quarter. Outside linebacker Nolan Smith had a relatively quiet game.

Jihaad Campbell played in place of the injured Nakobe Dean (hamstring). It was his first start since October. Campbell had tight coverage on Cook on a pass that Allen was forced to throw wide of his target. He chased down Allen’s fumble after Phillips’ strip-sack.

Zack Baun was outstanding. He stopped a scrambling Allen short of the goal line on fourth down in the third quarter and had a number of stops on Cook runs. Baun had the flat covered when Allen was forced to throw the ball away when blitzed in the third quarter.

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Quinyon Mitchell had a couple of tough breaks, but mostly locked down his side of the field. His third-down pass interference on receiver Joshua Palmer gifted the Bills 26 yards in the third quarter. Mitchell missed an early run tackle attempt but did much better the next time the Bills ran in his direction.

Cooper DeJean was excellent and led the Eagles in tackles with nine. He blew up a third-down screen late in the game. DeJean wasn’t fooled by two early backside throws to the flat and made open-field tackles. Adoree’ Jackson had a solid day in coverage, but Khalil Shakir ran over him after a short catch in the fourth quarter.

Aside from one deep breakdown, the Eagles didn’t get beaten downfield much. Reed Blankenship appeared to have vacated the deep middle when Allen hit Brandin Cooks 50 yards downfield in the first quarter. He delivered a textbook tackle after Shakir caught a check-down pass in the second quarter.

Marcus Epps made impressive back-to-back plays in the third quarter, stopping a receiver short of the goal line and tackling Cook in the backfield. Cooks caught a 36-yard pass over Epps late in the game. Epps also had a holding penalty on an early third down.

Kicker Jake Elliott bounced back and made all three of his kicks, including a 47-yard field goal in the rain that split the uprights in the second quarter. Elliott became the second kicker in team history to top 1,000 career points, joining David Akers. He had a good kickoff in the landing zone that rolled into the end zone for a touchback at the 20-yard line.

Punter Braden Mann was the special teams MVP. His seven punts traveled an average of 55.4 yards and 45.4 net yards. Mann somehow got a 50-yard punt off from the back of the end zone in the third quarter. His first punt traveled 54 yards without a return. Mann also boomed a 62-yarder through the heavy rain in the third quarter.

Britain Covey fair caught 4 of 5 punts. He got dinged when the Bills’ Sam Franklin ran into him — drawing a 15-yard penalty — after he signaled for a fair catch in the second quarter.

Shipley averaged 24.5 yards on two kick returns.

Nick Sirianni‘s Eagles escaped Western New York with a nice win over a quality opponent. The second half was a nail-biter, partly because the offense was stagnant. But Sirianni’s defense delivered despite having to keep trudging back onto the field following one three-and-out after the other.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo had a nice first half calling plays. He was too conservative at times. Patullo dialed up a nice drive after Allen’s first-quarter fumble and finished it off with yet another red zone touchdown. The rain obviously affected the play-calling, but a draw to Shipley on an early third down seemed too conservative, as did a third-down screen when the Eagles settled for a field goal before the break.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio helmed another master class. He kept Allen guessing for most of the game and used a ferocious pass rush to hound the quarterback. If the Eagles are to repeat as champions it will likely be on the shoulders of their defense.