Eagles-Giants PFF Grades: Philaelphia's offensive line finishes season on a high note

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 victory over the New York Giants.

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

OFFENSE

Best

Lane Johnson +4.9
Jason Peters +3.4
Jason Kelce +2.2
Evan Mathis +1.4
James Casey +1.3
LeSean McCoy +1.1

Analysis:

Philadelphia's offensive line finished the season strong. Lane Johnson led the way with the highest mark he's had all season. He graded out very highly as a run blocker. Jason Peters, meanwhile, struggled in pass protection with one sack and four hurries allowed. His positive grade came from run blocking. Jason Kelce graded out well in pass protection will Evan Mathis graded out well as a run blocker. Tight end James Casey only played 11 snaps but also finished well as a run blocker. All that good run blocking paved the way for LeSean McCoy to finish with 99 yards on 17 carries for an 5.8 average.

Worst

Mark Sanchez -3.7
Jeremy Maclin -1.6
Andrew Gardner -1.1

Penalty:

Mark Sanchez played worse than the stats appeared. What's odd is that a lot of his struggles came when he wasn't even facing pressure; he was just making bad decisions and unnecessarily forcing throws. Sanchez threw a number of near-picks including one that was actually intercepted but called back on a weak pass interference penalty on New York.

Jeremy Maclin was mostly marked down for a penalty he had. Nothing too much to take away from his grade.

Andrew Gardner allowed one sack and one hurry. He also committed a holding penalty.

DEFENSE

Best

Brandon Boykin +3.5
Bennie Logan +3.3
Fletcher Cox +2.8
Nate Allen +2.8
Mychal Kendricks +1.6
Cedric Thornton +1.1
Casey Matthews +1.1
Nolan Carroll II +1.1

Analysis:

Brandon Boykin finished with the highest grade. He was targeted five times but only allowed three catches for 26 yards. He also recorded three passes defensed. Boykin was very solid in coverage against Giants rookie star Odell Beckham Jr. He really deserves a chance to play on the outside.

Big Bennie Logan recorded one hurry, four tackles, and four stops. He was a big part of shutting down the Giants rushing attack. Fletcher Cox and Cedric Thornton also had good games in run defense.

Nate Allen and Nolan Carroll II surprisingly graded out well in coverage. Allen was apparently targeted twice but allowed no receptions. He also had the game-sealing interception. Carroll II allowed four receptions on seven targets for 82 yards. He recorded one pass defensed.

Both inside linebackers graded out well against the run. Mychal Kendricks had five tackles whereas Casey Matthews had three. The latter of the linebackers recorded a quarterback hit as well.

Worst

Jaylen Watkins -3.8
Trent Cole -2.3

Analysis:

Jaylen Watkins saw his first playing time of the season due to Bradley Fletcher's inactive status. Watkins struggled. He missed two tackles and he allowed five receptions on eight targets for 143 yards, which included a long touchdown by Beckham Jr. Watkins simply fell down on the play.

Trent Cole received a bad grade due to a lack of pass rush. He didn't finish with any kind of pressure in 25 pass rush snaps. To Cole's credit, he was playing with a broken hand. Give him credit for going out there (for possibly one last time as an Eagles player) and giving it his all.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Best

James Casey +1.4
Donnie Jones +1.3

Analysis:

James Casey made a ST tackle and also blocked a punt that was recovered by Trey Burton. Casey earns his paycheck.

Donnie Jones punted seven times for 292 yards, which is an average of 41.7. Jones has landed 34 punts inside the 20-yard line this season, setting a personal best and a franchise record.