Eagles Report Card: Defense Wins Again for Eagles

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

In need of a response to two straight losses, the Eagles attacked an old friend early and often.

As a result, the Minnesota Vikings did not look like the dominant team that was off to a roaring 5-0 start and the Eagles looked back to the form that led them to a 3-0 start just three weeks earlier.

Claiming a 21-10 win over the Vikings was a step back in the right direction for the Eagles, who got much better performances across the board. Here are this week's grades.

Pass Offense – B-

This was kind of a reverse performance from last week. Carson Wentz struggled and definitely was forcing things early in the game. But this was a much better performance from the offensive line. Wentz was never sacked by a dangerous defense, which says a lot for the offensive line's improvement from one week to the next.

Wentz eventually settled in as well, and did connect with Dorial Green-Beckham for a touchdown pass in the third quarter. By then, with the Eagles up 18-3, the two interceptions in the first quarter were a distant memory. What we are learning from Wentz is that for the mistakes that will come with a rookie starter, he sure bounces back quickly and moves to the next play. In that case, it's about how you finish, and Wentz finished strong considering a very shaky start.

Run Offense – B-

Nothing flashy from the run game again, but they proved to be effective throughout the game, gaining 101 yards on the day. The two turnovers, one on an exchange between Wentz and Darren Sproles and another fumble by Ryan Mathews, are problems that need to be addressed. 

Pass Defense – A-

After having essentially no pass rush over the last two weeks, the Eagles defensive line, and several additional players, were all over the place when it came to attacking Sam Bradford. Bradford was never really comfortable and actually added 56 yards to his passing total in the final two minutes of the game when the Eagles took some pressure off.

Otherwise, Bradford was hit too many times to count, the final total was 19, and they had six sacks, one each for Jordan Hicks, Rodney McLeod, Nigel Bradham, Connor Barwin, Brandon Graham and Steven Means. Four of them forced fumbles. Two of them were recovered by the Eagles.

McLeod also came up big with an interception in the endzone to nullify a chance at the early lead for the Vikings.

An all-around good game from the pass defense, who attacked Bradford early and often.

Run Defense – A-

Matt Asiata gained 29 yards on one play. That was essentially it for the Vikings running game, which gained a total of 93 yards on the ground. The Eagles run defense looked back to form, limiting yardage and plugging the holes in the line to force Minnesota to try to get it done in the air. This was the defense that held the dangerous Pittsburgh Steelers to three points and it was a welcome sight to see them get back to the dominant form they had a few weeks earlier.

Special Teams – A

Another week, another return. This time, Josh Huff got in on the fun. The Eagles always seem to come up with a big play on special teams every week. This week, it put them in front for good.

Overall – B+ 

The Eagles clearly did their homework from one week to the next. The game in Washington, though close on the scoreboard, lacked any sort of rhythm. Players were on the same page this week. The game plan was much better and more efficient. 

The Eagles were the more motivated team on Sunday, and they will need to be in the weeks to come to remain on track after a hot start had them looking like potential NFC East favorites.

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