Week 15 Eagles grades by position after crushing loss to Seahawks

SEATTLE — The Eagles are in a free fall.

They made a defensive coordinator switch during the week and then went to Seattle to lose a game to a backup quarterback and a team that had lost four straight games. The Eagles fell 20-17, losing their third straight game. They’re now 10-4.

The defense was strong early but fell apart at a crucial moment. And the Eagles’ offense failed to score 20 points for the third consecutive week.

Let’s get to the grades:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 17/31, 143 yards, 2 INT; 13 rushes, 82 yards, 2 touchdowns

Give credit to Jalen Hurts for playing through illness in this game. He was questionable coming in and fought through it. He started the game off hot on the first drive but then the offense really sputtered the rest of the way. He did some nice things with his legs but didn’t have a good game through the air against the NFL’s No. 26-ranked passing defense. His passer rating of 40.1 is the third-worst of his career. He really seemed to lose steam late in this game as he played through his flu-like symptoms.

Grade: D

Running back

D’Andre Swift: 18 carries, 74 yards

The Eagles found some success running the football, especially early. Swift finished with 74 yards and an average of 4.1. That’s an improvement over his last two games but still probably not as good as we expected against the Seahawks, who were giving up 4.4 yards per pop entering this game. Kenny Gainwell chipped in 6 carries for 21 yards and neither back did much out of the backfield as receivers.

Grade: C+

Receiver 

A.J. Brown: 10 targets, 5 receptions, 56 yards

Brown caught 5 for 56 and DeVonta Smith caught 5 for 50. Not bad. But the Eagles still aren’t getting contributions from any of their other receivers aside from a 6-yard Julio Jones catch to move the sticks. Hurts attempted a deep ball for Quez Watkins that was picked off. Watkins didn’t do much to try to come back to the football. Good things just don’t seem to happen when the Eagles target Watkins.

Grade: C-

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 9 targets, 4 catches, 30 yards

Hurts really made the evening difficult for Goedert, throwing plenty of passes that led to Goedert taking some big shots. He ended up catching less that 50% of the balls targeted for him. The other tight ends didn’t play all that much, although Jack Stoll saw some snaps as a blocker in 12 personnel.

Grade: C

Offensive line

The Eagles at least protected Hurts well in this one. This was the first game all season Hurts didn’t get sacked and it still didn’t seem to matter much. The offensive line also led the way in the run game that seemed to work pretty well early in the game. Sua Opeta filled in for Cam Jurgens at right guard and there didn’t seem to be any significant issues. Lane Johnson got rolled up on and had to leave the game but missed just one snap before returning.

Grade: B

Defensive line

Jalen Carter: 1 sack

The Eagles got a couple of sacks and got some decent individual contributions but the pass rush hasn’t been able to take over games the way the Eagles need it to. This is a group that has premium talent and they just haven’t consistently been getting great pressure. And after really stuffing the run early in the game, running backs were able to get to the second level in the second half.

Grade: C-

Linebacker

Nicholas Morrow: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU

The Eagles entered this game without Zach Cunningham, who was out with a knee injury. In his place, Shaq Leonard started and had a few noticeably rough moments. Nicholas Morrow made a few plays, including a big pass breakup. But there were some missed opportunities from linebackers in this game too. Getting Cunningham back next week would really help.

Grade: C- 

Secondary

Sydney Brown: 6 tackles

The Eagles lucked out because Geno Smith was inactive with a groin injury. But then they let Drew Lock get a win on them with a 92-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Without Darius Slay, the Eagles couldn’t stop DK Metcalf on that final drive. James Bradberry had a great season in 2022 but he’s been a liability this season; that really showed up in this game. After a good first half, Sydney Brown missed some tackles in the second half. Saw some good signs from Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, though.

Grade: D

Special teams

Braden Mann: 5 punts, 248 yards, long of 61, 3 inside 20

The Eagles’ special teams unit continues to be the strength of this team. Mann’s punt late in the fourth quarter to pin the Seahawks at the 8-yard line was really clutch but the Eagles’ defense couldn’t get a stop. Britain Covey had a long punt return of 16 yards and the Eagles were great covering punts. Jake Elliott made his only field goal attempt.

Grade: A

Coaching

Record: 10-4

The Eagles are in a bit of a free fall right now and their coaching issues go deeper than scheme. Nick Sirianni decided to make a move at defensive coordinator this week and after it looked like it might work out on Monday night, the defense gave up a back-breaking touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. On offense, the Eagles are completely out of whack. While Brian Johnson has been the focal point of fans’ frustration, Sirianni deserves just as much blame. This is his offense and it stinks right now. And this is his team that has lost three games in a row and seems to just not have answers. This is the most adversity Sirianni has faced in his time as Eagles head coach.

Grade: F

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