QB grade: B. A lot of people will want this to be an “A”, but there were too many mistake to go that high. Hurts' accuracy was scattershot, and I counted three passes batted at the line and at least two delay of game penalties. After piling up 256 total yards in the first half he was limited to 77 in the second half. Still, can't complain about the overall productivity, the lack of turnovers, the 38 points or the win. Good enough for now.
RB grade: A. Running backs combined for 126 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and four catches for another 21 yards. Sanders' cut to the left for the late first down was the game's biggest play.
Pass Catcher grade (non AJ Brown division): D. I counted nearly as many drops (3) as catches (4) by this group. Smith was all but invisible. Hard to say if it's a quirk of the game plan, but let's hope it is.
AJ Brown's grade: A+. He did have one ugly early drop, but that's nitpicking when Brown's YAC ability basically accounted for the passing offense today.
OL grade: A. After a series where Detroit looked like they may win the intensity battle in the trenches, this group really controlled things in both run blocking and pass pro. There were a few issues but I was impressed overall. Dickerson crushed their DL on the one touchdown run.
DL grade: D. Got destroyed to the tune of 181 rushing yards and three scores. It started on the very first drive and they never fully recovered. Also only one sack. I know Detroit has a good OL but that performance disappointed me.
LB grade: C-. Most will point to Kyzir White's tipped pass as the highlight, but I think it was his block on the ensuing sudden change return that impressed me more. Edwards proved a sure tackler (no surprise) but was often beaten in coverage. Reddick had some really nice moments as both a rusher and edge-setting run defender. I don't recall hearing Nakobe Dean's name once, and a quick check of the box score confirms that: no stats of any kind.
DB grade: C-. Bradberry and CJGJ had a few nice moments, but overall this unit got lost way too often. Detroit went a remarkable 8 of 11 on third and long (72.7%). Most of these conversions went right through our secondary. Slay had a good game but did drop a pick. I thought Chark pushed off on him on the TD late in the game.
Special Team: B. Probably should have been an “A” considering my concerns going into the season about this unit, but nothing really negative stood out to me. The biggest highlight by far was how ready the team was for Detroit's onside kick. Good work, guys.
Overall grade: B. The game was closer than most thought (although I did call it a toss up earlier), but a win is a win, especially this time of year. We've already seen ugly results from preseason contenders in the Colts, Bengals, Rams, 49ers, Packers and Saints. The Steelers have likely already lost TJ Watt for awhile; these are just the bad results as of 8 PM. In September, there are really only two significant goals in the NFL: don't go 0-4, and don't sustain serious injury. The Eagles checked both of those boxes, so we should feel good about that.
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