Eagles Report Card: Eagles-Broncos

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Just when you think they can't perform any better, the Eagles do something that leaves you in awe.

That's what happened on Sunday afternoon, as the Eagles roared out to an early lead after scoring a touchdown on their first offensive drive and never looked back, hanging 51 points on the NFL's No. 1 defense, the Denver Broncos.

Here are this week's grades.

Pass Offense – A

Last Sunday against San Francisco, Carson Wentz was just a little off. He picked a good game to not have his best performance.

So how did he respond? How about completing 15 of 27 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns.

Related: Constructive on Carson: Wentz dominant in blowout win

From start to finish, Wentz was on his game. Playing without his typical primary target in Zach Ertz, Wentz turned to anyone and everyone. His touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery in the first quarter was as precise as they come. The little screen pass to Corey Clement was a heads-up play. The pass to Trey Burton to the corner of the endzone was even better than his first touchdown pass of the day.

And at the end, Wentz's final pass of the day was yet another touchdown.

Wentz is up to 23 passing touchdowns on the season. In nine games. The Eagles single-season franchise record is 32. Wentz's isn't on pace to break the record. He's on pace to shatter it.

But give the rest of the offense a ton of credit in the passing game. The Eagles protected Wentz well. Seven different receivers had catches. Jeffery turned in his finest game as an Eagle so far with six catches for 84 yards, including two touchdowns. Brent Celek was targeted four times and came up with three catches. 

Even Nick Foles managed to float a perfect pass to Nelson Agholor. If there was any blemish, it was Foles fumble on a sack. The lone turnover for the Eagles was returned for a touchdown.

In all aspects, the passing game performed tremendously, and capped off a first half to remember with Wentz leading the charge.

Run Offense – A+

Have a day, Corey Clement.

Clement led the team in carries with 12 and picked up 51 yards on the ground, but also had two rushing touchdowns to go along with his receiving touchdown from the first half. A three-touchdown game for the undrafted rookie is a statement.

And how about the rest of the running back crew? LeGarrette Blount picked up 37 yards on nine carries. Wendell Smallwood carried the ball five times for 25 yards, but his only carry of impact was a 26-yard run late in the game.

And as for Jay Ajayi, what a welcome. Ajayi was limited in carries with just eight, but broke loose on one for a 46-yard touchdown that had Lincoln Financial Field rocking.

Against the NFL's No. 2 rushing defense — Denver entered the game second behind the Eagles — the Eagles running backs tallied 197 rushing yards on 37 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Pass Defense – A

Brock Osweiler wasn't hit as often as you would think — the Eagles had three sacks — but he was hardly comfortable. The Eagles managed two interceptions and held Denver to 191 passing yards in the game.

Considering that the Broncos only offensive touchdown of the game came in garbage time, the Eagles did their job defensively.

This is a unit that continues to improve week by week. The coverages are getting better, the line continues to get pressure on the quarterback and it all just seems to come into place for the Eagles. Sunday's performance was no different.

Run Defense – A+

By trailing for most of the game, the Broncos didn't have much of a run game. They attempted just 19 carries in the game and finished with 35 yards, averaging just 1.8 yards per carry. The longest run of the day was a nine-yard gain.

The Eagles run defense will not only continue their reign at the top of the NFL, but proved just how elite they are.

Special Teams – A-

Jake Elliott hit the only field goal he attempted from 45 yards and was 6-for-7 on extra points. I guess when the offense scores seven touchdowns in the game, you might miss one of those 33-yard extra points.

Otherwise, the special teams game was as usual, with the exception of a 44-yard punt return by Isaiah McKenzie that put the Broncos in good field position.

Overall – A+

It almost seems like given the longing for some form of success in Philadelphia, this is foreign territory. The Eagles cemented their place as the NFL's best team in the league to this point in the season with this win on Sunday.

Every week, it seems like this team does something to out-do what they have done all season. To score 51 points on the NFL's top-ranked defense and dominate like that is a huge statement going into the bye week.

Everything around the bye week really couldn't come at a better time. The Eagles go into the week off with one of their best games of the season. They also go in needing some time to rest and recover ahead of the final seven games of the regular season.

You have to give Doug Pederson a ton of credit. Not only does he have the Eagles believing they can be a contender when so many had overlooked them entering the season, but he has completely instilled a week-by-week approach. The schedule ahead following the bye week is tough. Who cares? Focus on this week. Focus on the Denver Broncos. Or the Redskins. Or the Panthers. No matter what the situation has been — a primetime game, a short week, a difficult road matchup — the focus has always remained on the task in front of them.

That is how you go 8-1 in the first nine games. Sure, it helps to have an elite quarterback with a lot of weapons and one of the league's best defenses, but the calm demeanor that Pederson carries is something that rubs off on the players, and that keeps the Eagles in every game and in most cases lately, running away with games.

Following the bye, things will be tougher. The target on your back grows with each win. The Eagles have to play a primetime road game against the Dallas Cowboys out of the bye week. That will be tough. They will have a pair of games on the West coast against Seattle and another in Los Angeles against the upstart Rams and Jared Goff. Those will be tough as well.

But this is a special team, as Pederson has noted. For now, this is a time to enjoy the success of the first half and recover. We'll find out just how special this team is in late November and December as they look to finish what they have started in the regular season.

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