Eagles Report Card: Eagles-49ers

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Another week for the Eagles, another win.

Yes, this was the 0-7 San Francisco 49ers. Yes, this one was nowhere near as dramatic and energizing as, say, wins over the Panthers and Redskins in primetime in the previous weeks. But it is a win, and considering the performance, it's the exact type of win the Eagles needed.

Here are this week's grades.

Pass Offense – B-

This was probably Carson Wentz's worst performance of the season. But the thing about that is that Wentz's worst performance of the season was still plenty good enough to win the game.

Wentz was 18-for-32 passing for 211 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He was pressured constantly. There were drops, which were a result of both passes behind receivers and the weather. And the Eagles survived it.

Related: Constructive on Carson: Wentz helps Eagles to sixth straight win

Ultimately, the telling thing about this game for Wentz was his ability to come up with a key play at a key moment. The Eagles struggled to get things going in the first half, but down to the two-minute warning and in the redzone, Wentz took advantage of a pass interference penalty on the Niners with a floated touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. After the Niners got back in the game with a touchdown to make it a 20-7 game, a score that came off Wentz's interception, he placed a pass for Alshon Jeffery and Jeffery did the work to score the touchdown.

That was the ballgame. And despite a few things being off in Wentz's game, he had done enough to that point to put the Eagles in position to win. That's all you can ask.

The receivers did a solid job, but the offensive line was a concern. Wentz never really got into a rhythm because the Niners pass rush was in his face for much of the game. It wasn't all on Jason Peters' replacement Halapoulivaati Vaitai either. Collectively, the line struggled, especially Lane Johnson, who really needs to lock down the right side of the line. He started to late in the game.

Run Offense – B-

With the line struggling, the Eagles didn't get much going in the running game early. But when they needed big-yard plays, they got them at the right time.

Corey Clement led the team with 54 yards on 10 carries, including a 22-yard run that preceded the touchdown pass to Jeffery. LeGarrette Blount also had 48 yards on 16 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run that iced the game.

Averaging 3.6 yards per carry isn't great, but finishing the game with 112 rushing yards after a slow start offensively is very good.

Pass Defense – A

The 49ers had a couple decent passing plays, but there probably wasn't anybody jealous of C.J. Beathard in this one. He was pressured all game and took hits right up until the end.

The Eagles finished with four sacks — technically five if not for a timely San Francisco timeout — and threw two interceptions as a result.

Fletcher Cox had a strong game. Mychal Kendricks return to the lineup was a good one. Vinny Curry had a good game. Jalen Mills was tremendous, returning an interception for a touchdown. From top to bottom, the Eagles were strong in defending the pass.

Run Defense – A

San Francisco got two 12-yard runs during the game. But when your average yardage per carry is 3.9 and that includes 40 yards by the quarterback just scrambling for yards, it's another statement on how strong the Eagles run defense is.

In total, the Eagles run defense allowed 54 yards on 18 carries by running backs. They are a force in this department, no question about it.

Special Teams – B

There were a couple of punts that Donnie Jones would like back and Jake Elliott missed two extra points in the game, so this wasn't a perfect game for this group.

But the plays that made a difference were a couple of good field goals by Elliott from 51 yards and 40 yards and a blocked field goal by Derek Barnett that led to the 62-yard drive for Blount's touchdown. Dave Fipp's reaction to that one was tremendous.

Overall – B

The Eagles have certainly embraced the impact of winning in Carolina on the road on Thursday night with three home games ahead of them. The Eagles have won six games in a row, but it's the last three that really have shown how far this team has come.

The win in Carolina was a statement win on a short week in primetime. The win on Monday night against Washington came after an extended break against a division rival.

Sunday's game was primed for a letdown. The weather was bad. The Eagles were on a short week. The 49ers were winless coming in. It wouldn't have been surprising if this was a battle. And for 28 minutes, it was. The Eagles were only up 3-0 for much of the first half. In the final two minutes, Wentz found Ertz for a touchdown and Jalen Mills returned an interception for a touchdown. The 14-point swing changed the game.

What makes this win significant is that it was far from the Eagles best game, but they were still able to win by a more than comfortable margin. At 7-1, the team is cruising.

It's Denver next at home for this team, and then the bye week is finally upon us.

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