Eagles dominate Raiders in all phases, end losing streak in first shutout since 2018

“Get-well game” might be an understatement.

The Eagles clobbered the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, 31-0, on a cold, windy Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. Vic Fangio’s defense dominated, posting the Eagles’ first shutout since Dec. 30, 2018 (a 24-0 victory over Washington). The unit limited the Raiders to 75 yards of offense, a new single-game franchise low for the Eagles and the fewest allowed by any defense this season.

At long last, the Eagles played clean, complementary football. Jalen Hurts rebounded from his five-turnover performance last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, going 12-for-15 for 175 yards and three touchdowns for a near-perfect 154.9 passer rating.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ Week 15 win that brought their three-game losing streak to a halt:

Don’t look now, but the Eagles might be starting to establish an identity.

Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo leaned into under-center runs and run-pass option plays from shotgun to great success, allowing the offense to sustain drives and go three-and-out only once. The Eagles also set up some play-action passes off their under-center looks.

Hurts even kept the ball on some of those option plays, adding 39 yards on seven carries (most of which were designed). He got shaken up on a zone-read keeper at the end of the third quarter when he got hit by former Eagles linebacker Devin White, but he immediately returned to action.

In the passing game, Hurts got all of his favorite targets involved. Dallas Goedert took a 4-yard pitch on a run-pass option for a touchdown in the first quarter that made it 7-0. The 30-year-old tight end scored on another shovel pass in the third quarter, putting the Eagles up 24-0.

Goedert nearly had another touchdown catch in the second quarter, but he dropped the pass, ultimately leading to the Eagles settling for a 27-yard field goal to go up 10-0. He finished the afternoon with six receptions for a team-high 70 yards and the two touchdowns.

Hurts also got his staple deep ball going. Late in the first quarter, he connected with DeVonta Smith on a play-action pass down the left sideline for 44 yards. Fred Johnson (and Saquon Barkley) helped keep Maxx Crosby away from Hurts in the pocket, although Johnson arguably got a bit grabby against the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

The fifth-year starting quarterback hit A.J. Brown, aligned in the slot, with a 27-yard touchdown pass deep over the middle of the field on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Eagles went up 31-0, further solidifying their biggest lead of the season.

Brown made other critical plays on third down, drawing a pass interference call against Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes on the opening series to help keep the drive alive. He also caught a 14-yard pass on a slant on third-and-8 in the third quarter that ultimately helped set up Goedert’s second touchdown.

“I think it was just a step today,” Hurts said of the offense building its identity. “We’ve got to treat every game individually and treat every day individually in pursuit of our best self.”

Given the windy conditions at the Linc, the Eagles leaned heavily into the running game, executing a season-high 47 carries. Barkley accounted for 22 of them, racking up 78 yards (3.5 yards per carry) and a touchdown.

Like last week against Chargers, Barkley got going on the ground on under-center runs. He followed a pulling Landon Dickerson on a 17-yard under-center run in the third quarter that led to Brown’s touchdown. Barkley’s touchdown carry in the second quarter, though, came on a shotgun handoff up the middle, putting the Eagles up by 17.

With Jalen Carter missing time due to shoulder injuries, 37-year-old Brandon Graham has been spending more time lining up at defensive tackle.

He was dominant in the role on Sunday. Graham posted two sacks, his first since coming out of retirement in late October, on just seven pass rushes. He beat right guard Caleb Rogers on both plays to get to ex-Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett. One of those sacks was essentially wiped off the board when Cooper DeJean incurred an unnecessary roughness call after the whistle on the same play in the first quarter.

But Graham made up for it in the second quarter with his second sack, forcing the Raiders to go three-and-out for a second time. The Raiders would ultimately go three-and-out five times. Just six games into his un-retirement tour, Graham is 1½ sacks away from tying his 2024 total.

“I feel like my training camp is over with now and I’m just trying to contribute, if it’s on the field or off the field, whatever it is,” Graham said. “We’re having some fun right now and I’m happy we got back in the win column.”

Graham’s performance was just one part of the defense’s commanding effort over the Raiders. Pickett was sacked four times, once by Moro Ojomo, and once by Nolan Smith in addition to Graham’s two.

Even the edge rushers who didn’t earn sacks made noise. Jaelan Phillips batted a pass at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-7 on the Raiders’ opening drive, causing Pickett to throw an incomplete pass and turning the ball over on downs. Phillips, whom the Eagles acquired from the Miami Dolphins at the trade deadline, has three pass deflections in the last three weeks.

In the second quarter on third-and-7, Jalyx Hunt breezed past the left side of the Raiders offensive line on a stunt and hit Pickett. The Raiders quarterback threw an incomplete pass intended for running back Ashton Jeanty, leading Las Vegas to punt.

The back seven took advantage of the Eagles’ disruption up front. With the left side of the Raiders offensive line getting pushed back, Pickett threw an interception to Zack Baun on a pass intended for Raiders tight end Brock Bowers in the third quarter.

“We know we’re a good defense,” Baun said. “A great defense. And we’ve just kind of been ramping it up all season. To have a game like that really showed where we’re at.”

Tight end Cam Latu went to the tent late in the fourth quarter with an apparent arm injury.