Eagles grades: Backups don’t exactly inspire confidence in loss to Commanders

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 24-17 loss to the Washington Commanders:

Tanner McKee made his second career start with Jalen Hurts and most Eagles starters resting. He played solidly, if not as well as some had hoped. He was efficient in the drop-back passing game when he threw in rhythm. McKee had a few out-of-structure moments but struggled when pressured and often had to throw the ball away. He completed 21 of 40 throws for 241 yards and a touchdown.

McKee threw a bad interception before the half. He might not have been on the same page as his intended target, Jahan Dotson, but it’s a throw he shouldn’t have attempted. Safety Jeremy Reaves made the easy pick at the Washington 1-yard line.

McKee threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Grant Calcaterra to open the scoring. The seam route was the perfect call vs. a quarters zone. He might have flushed himself into pressure on the fourth-down attempt from the Washington 6 late in the second quarter. He missed an open receiver on fourth down late in the game.

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Tank Bigsby got the start with Saquon Barkley resting. He popped off several decent gains, ran aggressively, and made defenders miss. Bigsby finished with 75 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

His most explosive moment came as a receiver when he made a crazy move in the open field. Bigsby changed directions after a short pass and picked up 31 yards. As a runner, he made a defender miss on a 13-yard carry to open the game.

Will Shipley had a pass sail through his hands in the second quarter, but he caught a 12-yard swing pass in the fourth. AJ Dillon played a little and caught a 3-yard pass.

Wide receiver DeVonta Smith was the lone skill position starter to play in an attempt to get him to 1,000 yards receiving. He accomplished the feat when he pulled in a 27-yard pass late in the first quarter. Smith promptly was pulled from the game after catching 3 of 4 targets for 52 yards. He finished the season with 77 catches for 1,008 yards.

Receiver A.J. Brown, who eclipsed 1,000 yards last week, and tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) didn’t play. Jahan Dotson and Darius Cooper logged most of the time at receiver. Dotson finished with three receptions for 40 yards. He caught a 15-yard pass over the middle on McKee’s first attempt after Smith left. Cooper caught three passes for 33 yards. He won a contested pass for a 17-yard gain but was flagged for taunting after the catch.

Tight end Grant Calcaterra scored the Eagles’ first touchdown when he snagged a 15-yard pass. He squared up Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu on Bigsby’s 11-yard outside run in the third quarter. Calcaterra left in the third quarter with ankle and knee injuries when he was dragged down by Reaves.

Kylen Granson became the lead tight end when Calcaterra vacated. He caught four passes for 30 yards. Tight end/fullback Cameron Latu had the lead block on Bigsby’s 2-yard touchdown in the third. He did poorly to lead the way on a Bigsby third-and-1 rush in the third quarter. Britain Covey was the third receiver and converted third-and-long with a 9-yard catch in the third quarter. He also had a 12-yard gain on a screen pass.

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The Eagles’ starting unit, from left to right, was Fred Johnson, Brett Toth, Drew Kendall, Tyler Steen, and Matt Pryor. Starters right tackle Lane Johnson (foot), left guard Landon Dickerson (calf), center Cam Jurgens and left tackle Jordan Mailata didn’t play. The latter two dressed.

The O-line did fine against Washington’s starting defense. It opened some holes on the ground but didn’t hold up enough in pass protection. McKee had to escape the pocket a bunch of times.

Steen played just the first two series but had to return when Toth left with a concussion. Rookie Cameron Williams came in at right tackle, and Pryor moved to right guard. He appeared to leave Daron Payne unblocked when he was at tackle on the Eagles’ first drive. The presnap call might have failed to slide protection to Pryor’s side, though, and McKee was sacked.

Fred Johnson appeared to fare the best of the second-teamers and mostly kept McKee’s blind side clean. Toth also had a decent game. Kendall looks like the real deal, or at least someone the Eagles can further develop next season. Williams, who spent most of his first season on injured reserve, may have a future as well. He had a number of good blocks and displayed a nasty streak when he stood up to Payne after the whistle.

With the Eagles lacking in numbers because of their rotation, regulars Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, Jalyx Hunt, and Nolan Smith started and played throughout. Starters Jalen Carter (hip) and Jaelan Phillips (ankle) were inactive. The D-line was stout vs. the run but struggled to pressure 39-year-old quarterback Josh Johnson.

Davis read an early third-down screen and jumped in on a stop short of the sticks. Ojomo had a tackle for no gain on a goal-line run in the fourth quarter. Hunt picked up his third interception of the season when he dropped into coverage and dove for an errant pass. Outside linebacker Joshua Uche hurried Johnson on the throw. Hunt did well to string out Deebo Samuel on an end around that picked up just a yard. He recovered Johnson’s muffed snap in the third quarter.

Defensive tackle Byron Young registered a tackle for loss on a goal-line run attempt in the fourth quarter. He failed to bring down Chris Rodriguez on a third-down run just before the half. Ty Robinson took a poor angle on Rodriguez’s 9-yard carry in the third quarter and later failed to wrap up the running back near the line.

Veteran Brandon Graham continued to play only a handful of snaps.

Zack Baun was a healthy scratch. Nakobe Dean (hamstring) was not and was inactive. Jihaad Campbell started alongside Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The former made several plays, but the latter was all over the field. Trotter led the Eagles with 12 tackles and Campbell had 10.

Trotter notched a tackle of loss on a goal-line run in the first quarter. Trotter was first to arrive to keep a play-action bootleg pass to just a 1-yard gain. In the third quarter, he blitzed and forced Johnson to throw a dirt ball.

Campbell blitzed on Washington’s first possession and whiffed on the side-stepping Johnson. He deflected a second-quarter pass over the middle that was nearly intercepted. He might have been the guilty party in coverage on tight end John Bates’ fourth-quarter touchdown catch.

Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett started on the outside with Quinyon Mitchell and Adoree’ Jackson getting a break. Ringo and Bennett committed multiple penalties in coverage.

Ringo had tight coverage over the top on an overthrown pass into the end zone. Receiver Terry McLaurin caught a 14-yard pass over him on the drive that set up Washington’s 56-yard field goal before the half. Ringo was flagged for holding and pass interference in the second half. He inexplicably let Johnson waltz into the end zone for the game-winning score.

Bennett committed two first-half penalties: an early hold on McLaurin and pass interference vs. receiver Treylon Burks on a third-down toss into the end zone. Washington scored a touchdown two plays after the second flag. Bennett had another pass interference against McLaurin on a fade into the end zone.

Michael Carter started in the slot with Cooper DeJean getting the day off. He moved to safety when Brandon Johnson got hurt in the second quarter. Carter was solid in run support and logged nine stops.

Mac McWilliams jumped into the slot when Carter was forced to move to safety. It was the rookie’s first extended action on defense. He committed pass interference on an underthrown pass to Samuel in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Sydney Brown and Brandon Johnson started in place of the resting Reed Blankenship and the injured Marcus Epps (concussion). Brown made a stop after a short pass into the flat in the second quarter. A play later, he appeared to get too deep on a 25-yard third-down completion to McLaurin.

Johnson bit on a screen fake and a slanting McLaurin caught a 13-yard pass early on, and he failed to wrap up Josh Johnson on a 13-yard draw play later in the drive. He left with an ankle injury and was replaced by Carter.

Kicker Jake Elliott made both extra points and a 39-yard field goal. Punter Braden Mann had an uncharacteristic meh day. He averaged 38 net yards on three boots. Ringo had a strong tackle that kept a return to just 2 yards after a low Mann punt in the third quarter.

Shipley averaged 27.5 yards on two kick returns. Covey had two returns for a 10-yard average. He allowed a punt to sail over his head that was downed at the 9-yard line in the third quarter.

Nick Sirianni will be criticized for his decision to rest his starters, especially after the Bears lost. But what the coach gained — giving his players physical and mental breaks — can’t yet be quantified. We’ll see how the playoffs pan out. For now, the No. 3-seed Eagles know their opponent: the No. 6-seed 49ers. The rest will play out accordingly.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo didn’t exactly open the playbook with McKee, but he unveiled some new concepts. The results were mixed. Some of his decisions were questionable. The pass on third-and-2 at the Washington 6 made less sense when the Eagles elected to go for it on fourth down before the half.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had more starters than Patullo. His guys up front mostly answered the bell. A secondary full of backups struggled.