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Pro Football Focus is a site that grades NFL player performances. Let's take a look at what they had to say about the performances in Philadelphia's 34-20 victory over the Detroit Lions.
PFF offers explanation on their grading system on their website. Read more about that here.
OFFENSE
Best
Jason Peters +4.2
Riley Cooper +2.1
LeSean McCoy +2.1
Evan Mathis +1.8
Lane Johnson +1.7
DeSean Jackson +1.5
Jason Kelce +1.3
Chris Polk +1.2
Worst
Nick Foles -3.5
Todd Herremans -2.2
Analysis: The Eagles offensive line, possibly aided by the snowy conditions, was dominant against the Lions defensive front. The whole line did not allow a single sack or quarterback hit. Only 3 hurries were allowed throughout the whole game. Jason Peters led the way with a great job in both pass protection and run blocking. Evan Mathis was a critical run blocker and so was Jason Kelce. Lane Johnson had one of his best games as a pass protector. Outside of the line, Riley Cooper was the highest graded Eagles offensive player. Cooper caught 3 passes for 74 yards (24.7 avg) and 1 two-point conversion catch. DeSean Jackson pitched in with 4 catches on 6 targets for 59 yards and 1 TD. LeSean McCoy led the way in the ground game. Shady finished with 217 yards on 29 carries (7.5 avg) with 2 TD. 107 of those yards came after contact. McCoy also forced 8 missed tackles on opposing defenders. Chris Polk played in a limited number of snaps but had a big day with 4 carries for 50 yards and 1 TD.
The negative side of the offense started with Nick Foles. Conditions made things difficult. Foles threw his first interception of the season, ending his chance to have thrown the most touchdown passes without throwing an INT. Foles completed 11 of his 22 attempts (50%) for 179 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and a passer rating of 73.9. The other Eagles player in the negative was offensive guard Todd Herremans. Herremans graded poorly as a run blocker but held his own as a pass protector, which is usually the opposite case.
DEFENSE
Best
Fletcher Cox +3.7
Cedric Thornton +3.3
Connor Barwin +2.9
Clifton Geathers +1.9
Vinny Curry +1.5
Patrick Chung +1.2
Trent Cole +1.1
Bennie Logan +1.0
Worst
Nate Allen -1.4
DeMeco Ryans -1.3
Analysis: The Eagles defense graded out well due to a very stout performance against the run. Fletcher Cox led the way with 1 hurry, 1 batted passes, 2 tackles, 1 assisted, and 2 stops. His partner in crime, fellow defensive end Cedric Thornton, was right up there with him having made 4 tackles and 1 stop. Connor Barwin was also key in run defense with 5 tackles and 4 stops. Clifton Geathers, Vinny Curry, Trent Cole, Bennie Logan, and even safety Pat Chung also all graded well in run defense.
The biggest struggles on defense were assigned to two players. Nate Allen recorded 2 missed tackles. DeMeco Ryans missed 3 tackles and also allowed 3 catches for 44 yards. To Ryans' credit, he did have 1 QB hit along with 6 tackles and 3 stops.
