Eagles PFF Grades: Philadelphia needs upgrades in the secondary

Pro Football Focus is everyone's favorite site that grades NFL player performances. Let's take a look at what they had to say about the performances from the Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Washington Redskins.

PFF offers explanation on their grading system on their website. Read more about that here.

OFFENSE

Best

Evan Mathis +3.0
Jason Peters +2.5
Andrew Gardner +2.5
Zach Ertz +1.9
Mark Sanchez +1.8
Lane Johnson +1.5
Jason Kelce +1.0

Analysis:

The offensive line graded out better than I thought it would have. Peters, Mathis, and Gardner all finished with good pass protection grades while Johnson and Kelce struggled in that area but excelled as run blockers. Johnson faced a tough matchup with Ryan Kerrigan; he allowed one sack, five hurrries, and was called for two penalties.

Ertz's positive grade won't surprise anyone. He caught 15 catches for 115 yards. Only three of the 18 passes thrown his way ended up incomplete.

Sanchez finished with a positive grade despite throwing a costly interception at the end of the game and fumbling away the opening possession. Sanchez finished with good stats when he wasn't under pressure: 41 drop backs, 290 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 0 sack, 114.3 rating.

Worst

N/A

Analysis:

Believe it or not, none of the Eagles offensive players finished in the red. The lowest graded player was Riley Cooper. He was probably graded down for the drop he had.

DEFENSE

Best

Mychal Kendricks +5.6
Brandon Graham +3.7
Malcolm Jenkins +1.9

Analysis:

Mychal Kendricks was a stud in all three phrases: rushing the passer, dropping into coverage, and playing run defense. He finished with one sack, one quarterback hit, one quarterback hurry, six tackles, two assists, and six stops.

Brandon Graham played well while filling in for Trent Cole. It was his first start since 2012. Graham didn't record a sack but he did record three hits, four hurries, and two tackles. Graham's grade would be even higher if it weren't for a weak roughing the passer penalty called against him.

The Eagles secondary is bad, but Jenkins continues to be the best of a bad unit. Jenkins was targeted three times but didn't allow a reception. He recorded one pass defensed. Jenkins also rushed the passer five times and ended up with one hurry.

Worst

Bradley Fletcher -3.6
Cary Williams -3.5
Vinny Curry -2.6
Fletcher Cox -2.2
Bennie Logan -1.7

Analysis:

No surprise to see Philadelphia's cornerbacks on the list. Fletcher and Williams each both missed two tackles, but their biggest struggles came in coverage. Fletcher was targeted 10 times. He allowed eight receptions for 164 yards. It could have been even worse if he wasn't benched during the game in favor of Nolan Carroll II. Williams wasn't as bad; he was "only" targeted four times and allowed three receptions for 42 yards. The Eagles clearly need an upgrade at these positions.

Curry was most marked down for his two roughing the passer penalties. He clearly hit his hand on Robert Griffin's helmet on the second one, but the first one was a weak call.

Not a lot of love for Fletcher Cox here. The penalty he committed didn't help. Not really sure why he deserved to be marked down so much.

Bennie Logan also received a negative grade as a pass rusher and a run defender. Not sure I agree with what PFF saw.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Best

Malcolm Jenkins +1.5

Analysis:

Jenkins recorded a tackle and a forced fumble. Jenkins has quietly played a big role on Philadelphia's top-ranked special teams unit. Not only does he contribute on defense but he has helped in this area as well.

Worst

Cody Parkey -2.4

Analysis:

The rookie kicker missed two kicks: one from 34 and one from 46. His attempt from 22 was good. He only managed to kick one touchback on five attempts.