Eagles grades vs. Panthers: Offense remains disjointed, run defense and special teams struggle in 25-14 loss

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 25-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday:

With Jalen Hurts sidelined indefinitely with a blood clot in his calf, Tanner McKee got his third career start, but first with actual meaning. He did better than expected considering all the issues on offense — from scheme to play-calling to injuries. Still, it wasn’t enough. McKee completed 26 of 45 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. He avoided turnovers.

His day started ugly. McKee was sacked when two pass rushers were unblocked and then he nearly tossed an interception when his errant pass to Makai Lemon caromed off the receiver and hit a Panthers defender on the first drive. The second drive wasn’t much better behind a porous offensive line. McKee was hit and hurried on three drops, the best result a check down that resulted in a loss.

McKee had some good moments late in the first half and in a fourth-quarter comeback that wasn’t to be. He did well to convert a third-and-6 in the first quarter by flushing outside and hitting Dontayvion Wicks just inside the boundary. He strung a 16-yarder over the middle off play-action to DeVonta Smith in the second quarter. McKee did well to avoid a free rusher and stepped up and hit Dallas Goedert for 18 yards. His 19-yard fade to Smith in the end zone was a thing of beauty.

Rookie Cole Payton was McKee’s backup. Joe Milton III, who was signed off the Cowboys practice squad last week, was the inactive emergency quarterback.

The position group was dealt yet another blow when Will Shipley suffered a foot injury not long after he got his first NFL start last week in London. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve along with regular backup Tank Bigsby (core muscle surgery).

Starter Saquon Barkley (hamstring) didn’t practice all week and missed his second straight game. The hits kept coming when Carson Steele, who was signed off the practice squad last week, dinged his right shoulder after a short catch out of the backfield. He tried to play through the injury, but eventually left for good.

Dameon Pierce got the starting nod as a result. He didn’t get a carry until the third possession. Pierce had back-to-back 9-yard totes on his first two touches, but he also dropped a pass on the drive. He later struggled to pick up a third-down blitz and McKee was pressured.

Pierce broke a tackle on a 6-yard run off the right edge to convert third-and-1 and later scored from two yards out before the half. But there was often little room for the tailback to maneuver and he finished with just 35 yards on 12 carries.

Smith returned after missing two games with a hamstring injury. He appeared to be on a pitch count, but on his first target, he drew a defensive pass interference on a go route. Smith got cooking in the fourth quarter when he caught three passes on a drive including a 19-yard touchdown. He led the Eagles in receiving with seven catches on 14 targets for 75 yards.

Goedert caught six passes for 61 yards. He had a couple grabs for a first down late in the first quarter and later added a 16-yard reception before the half. He also drew a pass interference penalty when he was nearly pantsed in the second quarter. Goedert could have hauled in a strike from McKee near the sideline at one point.

Wicks converted a fourth quarter third-and-5 with a 17-yard grab. He got injured on the play and didn’t return. Lemon wasn’t much of a factor until late in the game, and finished with three catches for 19 yards. Tight end Johnny Mundt’s holding penalty brought back a McKee to Darius Cooper 19-yard hookup in the second quarter.

Receiver Elijah Moore dressed ahead of Hollywood Brown, who was the Eagles’ lone healthy scratch. Tight end Zach Ertz wasn’t elevated off the practice squad after getting promoted for the three previous games.

The O-line had the same starting configuration for the second straight week with center Drew Kendall still nursing a knee injury. Kendall was active, but Jake Majors got the start at center.

Blitz pickup continued to be a problem, although it wasn’t entirely an O-line problem. McKee was sacked twice when blitzers were left unblocked. Pass protection was up and down. On the ground, it was déjà vu all over again with little movement up front.

Majors allowed Panthers defensive tackle Lee Hunter to get inside pressure and eventually hit McKee as he threw in the first quarter. He picked a bad time to roll a snap to McKee that resulted in a 12-yard loss in the fourth quarter. Left guard Willie Lampkin held up despite his smaller stature. He also got pushed back a bunch.

Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith walks off the field after the loss to the Panthers.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

Markel Bell got a bit of a break when the Panthers’ best edge rusher, former Eagle Jaelan Phillips, reaggravated a hamstring injury in the second quarter. But the rookie right tackle was still inconsistent. He had a holding penalty declined on a third-down incomplete pass. But he also had some strong vertical sets in the fourth quarter. Right guard Tyler Steen struggled to hold his block on an early run that resulted in a 3-yard loss. But Steen led the way on Pierce’s 2-yard touchdown.

The defensive line was down to 2½ healthy edges after Nolan Smith Jr. left the game after suffering a concussion in the second quarter. Still, they were part of a defense that allowed running back Chuba Hubbard to run for over 100 yards. The four-man rush wasn’t effective enough and Carolina quarterback Bryce Young threw for 281 yards.

Smith stood out before the injury. He did well to contain Young and sack him in the first quarter. Earlier, he made the tackle for no gain when he was unblocked off the edge on an early third-down run stop. Jonathan Greenard was active for just his third game with the Eagles, but he played sparingly. He did well to split a double team and blew up a third quarter run. Arnold Ebiketie led the Eagles with nine tackles, but he didn’t get much pressure off as a pass rusher.

Jalen Carter wasn’t as dominant as he was a week ago, which was disappointing considering the Panthers’ suspect O-line. He batted a third-down pass incomplete in the first quarter. He made a run stop after an impressive swim move just before the break. Carter’s pressure forced Young outside and to throw the ball away on third down in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Davis’ roughing the passer penalty came on the Panthers’ first touchdown-scoring drive. He left late with an ankle injury. Moro Ojomo took another costly presnap penalty with encroachment on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. He did something similar late in the Bears game. He got banged up in the second half and was limited.

Jalyx Hunt missed his first NFL game due to injury. The edge suffered knee and ankle injuries that could keep him out for a few more weeks. With Hunt and A.J. Epenesa (back) out, rookie Keyshawn James-Newby was called up off the practice squad. He was pressed into duty considering the low numbers.

Zack Baun had a number of “A-gap” blitzes that gave the Panthers protection issues. He tipped a pass incomplete in the fourth quarter. He got burned by receiver Jalen Coker in coverage — a tough ask for a linebacker.

Jihaad Campbell got the start and played the majority of the first half despite the expectation that he would split time with Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Campbell struggled to get off vs. a tight end on a Hubbard 11-yard run on the Panthers’ first play from scrimmage. He appeared to bite the cheese on tight end Tommy Tremble’s 12-yard touchdown catch, although it was a perfectly executed play by the Panthers. Campbell was held in the second quarter when he diagnosed a run play early.

Trotter didn’t play until the third series. Young went right at him over the middle and hit Coker for 19 yards. He was used more in the second half and appeared to guess wrong on Hubbard’s 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Young completed only slightly more than 50% of his passes, but he teamed up with his receivers for some big plays downfield. Outside cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen allowed several of those grabs. Mitchell got caught playing too soft on third-and-15 when Tetairoa McMillan pulled in a 21-yarder before the half. He later had tight coverage on the receiver on a pass into the end zone.

Woolen broke up a deep third-down pass to Carolina tight end Darren Waller in the first quarter. Woolen was flagged for illegal contact in the third quarter, but had good coverage on the ensuing throw that came his way. Earlier, Young hit a wide-open Coker for 19 yards over Woolen and in front of Cooper DeJean, who was at safety.

It’s official: DeJean is having a rough third season, especially as a tackler. He did a poor job of wrapping up on a short pass that was converted into a first down on yards after the catch. A series later, his illegal contact penalty negated a third-down stop. DeJean also couldn’t bring Hubbard down on a fourth-down run that went for 19 yards. He did have a tackle for loss on a second- quarter run.

Andrew Mukuba was as much a part of the Panthers’ offensive success as any defender. He appeared to get too deep in his coverage on an early 15-yard pass to McMillan. A drive later, Mukuba got too aggressive again and was beat for a 21-yard completion. He failed to make a second-level tackle on a Hubbard 11-yard rush in the third quarter.

Marcus Epps was back after missing two games with a groin injury, but Kenny Moore II was Mukuba’s partner in nickel packages with Michael Carter II (abdomen) injured. Moore didn’t seem to be as much of a liability as Mukuba. Rookie Cole Wisniewski was promoted off the practice squad for his first NFL game.

A week after a Jaguars kick return led to an unfathomable late-game loss, Michael Clay’s unit wasn’t sharp. There was a blocked punt in the fourth quarter along with poor returns and costly penalties. Panthers kicker Ryan Fitzpatrick’s “dirty ball” kickoffs gave Eagles returners problems. Britain Covey muffed a couple first-half attempts that resulted in short returns. With all the injuries, Darius Cooper was back to return kickoffs for the first time this season. He averaged 19 yards on two returns.

Smael Mondon’s holding penalty brought back one of Covey’s few good kick returns — a 35-yarder in the third quarter. Kicker Jake Elliott made both his extra points while punter Braden Mann had a 65-yard boot.

Coach Nick Sirianni still managed to get great effort from his team despite losing Hurts and so many players. But effort can only take you so far. You need players and plays and he’s responsible for the latter and they just haven’t been there, especially on offense.

There were some positives with McKee under center, and the Eagles showed some signs of life late, but mistakes hindered the squad once again.

Offensive coordinator Sean Mannion could have used the new face at quarterback to throw the Panthers a curve. He tried by having McKee drop way more than hand off. But he just can’t seem to figure out how to get the under-center, play-action game going and keep defenses from blitzing effectively.

His unit finally showed some life late in the second quarter. Mannion mixed up his calls on the 10-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Pierce’s 2-yarder into the end zone. But the offense went three-and-out to open the second half for a sixth straight week and, despite one successful fourth- quarter drive, never really threatened a below-par defense.

Vic Fangio’s defense was solid until it wasn’t. Offense and special teams put his group in a bind, but it couldn’t get a stop late when it mattered most. Fangio blitzed more than he normally does, likely because he wasn’t at full strength on the edges. It often worked and forced Young to hurry his throws. Fangio dialed up a third-down man blitz that forced Young to miss his target in the second quarter. But he left Baun in a bind on third-and-8 in the third quarter and Coker went 32 yards after a catch over the middle.