Eagles grades: Defense sound, offense fine, special teams shaky vs. Commanders

LANDOVER, Md. — Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 29-18 win over the Commanders:

Jalen Hurts got it done with his arm, legs and mind and has looked more like the “triple threat” quarterback he once described himself as. In the passing game, Hurts completed 22 of 30 throws for 185 yards and two touchdowns. As a runner, he gained 40 yards on seven carries. And with his mind, he operated the offense efficiently and avoided turnovers.

There were some misses, and moments when he held the ball too long. Hurts overthrew a wide-open A.J. Brown on a 15-yard out in the second quarter. And before halftime, he fumbled in the pocket and took a sack. But he more than got the job done against one of the lesser defenses in the NFL.

Hurts had a beautiful touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert in the third quarter. After the Eagles shot themselves in the foot with multiple penalties after starting at the 1-yard line, the quarterback stepped up on third down and hit his tight end on the move for a 15-yard score. Hurts didn’t have much success on his one designed non-Tush Push run, but he scrambled five times for 40 yards.

Saquon Barkley went over 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth time in his career. It’s been a slog, but he deserves credit for perseverance. Barkley finished with 132 yards on 21 carries. He broke three tackles and carried a defender into the end zone on his 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Barkley had maybe his best run of the season on a 48-yarder that cemented the outcome. But there were again too many rushes that netted little to no yards for various reasons. His blitz pickup was inconsistent, but he got enough of Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner on a third down that Hurts converted with a scramble.

Tank Bigsby scored from 22 yards out in the fourth quarter.

Brown was again Hurts’ favorite target and caught 9 of 12 attempts for 95 yards. In the first half, he matched a career high with eight grabs for 86 yards. Brown picked up yards after the catch on his first two receptions on the Eagles’ opening scoring drive. He also made a fingertip grab over the middle in the second quarter that resulted in a 24-yard pickup.

DeVonta Smith caught 6 of 8 targets for 42 yards and a touchdown. He couldn’t pull in a pass on a fade route in the end zone, but he rebounded later on the same first-quarter drive and scored a 5-yard touchdown on an out route. Smith also dove for a 9-yard grab in the third quarter and drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone in the third quarter.

Goedert didn’t see a pass come his way until the first drive of the second half. Later, he drew an illegal contact penalty on fourth down that negated a Commanders interception. And Goedert capped the drive with his team-high 10th touchdown catch.

The Eagles didn’t lean as much into the run game with the Commanders just as susceptible through the air. It was an up-and-down 60 minutes in terms of O-line run blocking. Right guard Tyler Steen had a good block to the second level on a Barkley 9-yard run to the right in the second quarter. He later tossed Washington defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw to the side when Barkley gained 8 yards up the middle.

Left guard Landon Dickerson led the way on a Barkley 8-yard rush in the fourth quarter. On Barkley’s first carry, which resulted in no gain, it looked like left tackle Jordan Mailata and Goedert messed up their blocking assignments.

Right tackle Fred Johnson continued to fill in for the injured Lane Johnson (foot). He failed to sustain a block when Barkley was dropped for no gain in the third quarter and held on third down in the red zone later in the series. Center Cam Jurgens had a nice win at the point of attack on a Barkley 10-yard bolt up the middle.

The pass protection, as usual, was mostly sound. Dickerson and Barkley were late to pick up the blitzing Wagner, who sacked Hurts in the third quarter. Dickerson and Johnson each had false starts on Tush Push tries near the goal line. It may be RIP time for the play.

Commanders running backs averaged just 2.8 yards on their first 20 carries — some late meaningless runs improved their numbers — and the Eagles’ front had a lot to do with that. Jordan Davis was a monster in the middle and led the Eagles with six run stops. He had several run tackles near the line and almost kept running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt from crossing the goal line from the 1-yard line, until reinforcements helped push him across. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo had a relatively quiet game but got good push up the middle.

Nolan Smith appeared to step on Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota’s right hand, which knocked him out of the game. The Eagles probably would have won anyway, but backup Josh Johnson had no chance vs. the Eagles defense. Jalyx Hunt had a strong second series. He dropped into coverage, defended a swing pass for a minimal gain, and drew a holding penalty while rushing the passer on third down.

Brandon Graham continued to play inside with Jalen Carter still nursing shoulder injuries. He picked up his third sack in two games — thanks to tight coverage on the back end — on a third-down rush late in the first quarter. Defensive tackle Byron Young picked up a late sack.

» READ MORE: Eagles use big second half to overwhelm Commanders, become first repeat NFC East champs since 2004

Nakobe Dean left during the second possession with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Jihaad Campbell. Campbell played solidly in his first extended action in some time. He was targeted on a Deebo Samuel choice route that resulted in a 14-yard catch and run. But he later drew a holding penalty when he blitzed on third down in the third quarter.

Zack Baun led the Eagles with nine tackles. He gets a share of credit for the run defense.

Adoree’ Jackson had a few leaky moments. He got toasted by Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin on the outside for a 40-yard catch. And early in the second half, Treylon Burks caught a 24-yard pass over the middle and in front of Jackson. But once Mariota left, the Commanders had no chance through the air.

Quinyon Mitchell stayed on the boundary side of the field and didn’t trail McLaurin. Mitchell broke up a pass to Samuel in the third quarter.

Cooper DeJean was in coverage when Samuel caught a third-down toss over the middle for 20 yards in the third quarter. But DeJean bounced back as he often does with a stellar play, this time an interception of Johnson. It was his second pick of the season.

While he might have gotten away with pass interference on Mariota’s third-down throw into the end zone on the Commanders’ first drive, DeJean had a breakup on the next series.

Reed Blankenship and Marcus Epps weren’t tested much on deep routes in the middle, but they kept everything in front. They both assisted in stopping the run and finished with a combined five stops. Blankenship missed an open-field tackle on a 13-yard run up the middle in the first quarter.

Kicker Jake Elliott had a brutal first half. The stat sheet will say he missed only two field goal attempts, but Elliott hooked three wide left: from 43, 57, and 52 yards when a Commanders offsides penalty gave him a second chance. He did make all three of his extra points, though.

Elliott has made just 17 of 24 field goal tries this season for a career-low 70.8%.

Punter Braden Mann averaged a solid 43.5 net yards on two punts. Britain Covey had an 11-yard punt return and fair caught three others. Will Shipley fumbled the opening kickoff when Mike Sainristil stripped the ball. The Eagles defense had his back and forced a field goal, thanks in part to 4-10 Dan Quinn’s inexplicable decision to not go for it from the 4-yard line. Shipley had another goof when he hesitated coming out of the end zone, which resulted in a short return.

Coach Nick Sirianni‘s team won back-to-back NFC East titles — the first time that’s been accomplished in 21 years. Despite a topsy-turvy 3½ months, Sirianni’s Eagles prevailed. They’ve made the playoffs in all five of his seasons at the helm.

The Eagles aren’t close to perfect, as a sloppy first half against an inferior opponent indicated. Sirianni again had some questionable game management moments. On the first possession, he tried to get the Commanders to jump on fourth-and-1 at his own 41. The Eagles took a delay and punted instead. Before the half, Sirianni letting the clock drain down and taking another unnecessary timeout after another fake attempt to draw the defense offside was aggressively passive.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo had a solid day. He shifted quickly from run-heavy play-calling and used empty backfields to make the Commanders’ pass coverages more predictable. He never got too far away from the ground attack, and in the end, was rewarded when Barkley broke off big gains.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio‘s unit was stellar once again. It held Washington to a field goal after Shipley’s fumble and the first unit allowed only one touchdown. Mariota’s exit made his job that much easier, but the Eagles mostly dominated.