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 Eagles players from Philadelphia's win over the New England Patriots in Week 13. PFF offers explanation on their grading system on their website. Read more about that here.
OFFENSE
Best
Lane Johnson +4.1
Zach Ertz +2.2
Darren Sproles +1.5
Matt Tobin +1.3
Analysis
For those curious: Sam Bradford finished with a +0.6.
Lane Johnson played well in his return to playing full time at right tackle. He didn't allow any pressure and his received a high run blocking grade.
Zach Ertz only caught two passes for nine yards, but one of them was an impressive touchdown grab in the back of the end zone. Ertz also graded out well as a run blocker.
The Eagles made a conscious effort to get Darren Sproles more involved on offense and it paid off. He finished with 15 carries for 66 rush yards and four receptions for 34 receiving yards.
Matt Tobin hadn't finished with a positive grade since Week 9. He graded out well as a run blocker in this game.
Worst
Jason Peters -2.5
Allen Barbre -2.2
Jason Kelce -1.5
Kenjon Barner -1.4
Analysis
Jason Peters committed a whopping five penalties. Two were declined or offsetting. He held up fine as a run blocker but allowed one hit and one hurry in pass protection.
Allen Barbre was below average in pass protection and run blocking and he also committed a costly facemask penalty.
Jason Kelce struggled as a pass blocker, allowing one hit and one hurry.
Kenjon Barner had a decent game running the ball with 39 yards on 9 carries (4.3), but he fumbled late in the game when he should have been protecting the ball at all costs. He almost gave Tom Brady a chance to tie it up.
DEFENSE
Best
Fletcher Cox +6.4
Brandon Graham +5.7
Malcolm Jenkins +3.4
Vinny Curry +1.5
Eric Rowe +1.2
Analysis
Fletcher Cox was a straight up mandog. He didn't notch a sack, but he had 10 hurries and four hits on Brady. Cox has been great all year, but give him credit for showing up especially big in the team's biggest win of the season.
Brandon Graham also gave Brady trouble. The starting outside linebacker had two sacks, one hit, and seven hurries on the Patriots' quarterback. Five of Graham's seven sacks this season have come in the Eagles' last five games. He's on a bit of a hot streak.
Vinny Curry played a lot more snaps than he usually does because the Eagles really wanted to get pressure on Brady. He had one sack, three hits, and two hurries.
Malcolm Jenkins was credit for a hurry and he was obviously awesome in coverage. His pick-six was a huge swing in the game; it took away a Patriots touchdown and gave one to the Eagles. Jenkins was targeted eight times but only allowed three receptions.
Eric Rowe played well in his first NFL start at cornerback. He was targeted 12 times but only allowed four receptions. He has two passes defensed. Brady had a mere 44.4 passer rating when targeting Rowe.
Worst
Ed Reynolds -4.4
Kiko Alonso -4.0
Taylor Hart -2.1
DeMeco Ryans -1.1
Analysis
The Eagles used Ed Reynolds as their primary nickel safety and it didn't work out so great. He was marked down for three missed tackles and he allowed three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Kiko Alonso graded out poorly once again. He simply fell down in coverage on fourth down late in the game to allow a a wide open Patriots conversion. He was targeted nine times and gave up seven receptions for 69 yards. Not so nice.
Taylor Hart and DeMeco Ryans both received negative run defense grades.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Best
Najee Goode +2.0
Darren Sproles +1.5
Chris Maragos +1.0
Trey Burton +1.0
Analysis
Najee Goode recovered the ball for a touchdown after Chris Maragos blocked New England's punt. Very goode job by Goode to scoop and score instead of just diving on it.
Darren Sproles obviously had that huge punt return for a touchdown. He makes it look too easy
Trey Burton had a special teams tackle.
Worst
Caleb Sturgis -2.2
Donnie Jones -2.0
Analysis
Caleb Sturgis only had one touchback on six of his kickoffs. His average distance was 61.2 yards. Not so good.
Donnie Jones didn't have a stellar game. Two of his seven punts went for touchbacks. He didn't really give his return unit a chance to down those ones.