Grade the Eagles loss to the Lions

The Eagles lost to the Lions 24-23 in a game that was down, then up, then way down.

Pass Offense: C

Carson Wentz once again looked calm and composed all game long, giving the team and fans another reason to be thrilled with him. His sideline throw to Jordan Matthews was ridiculous. But this game illustrated that Wentz can’t do it all on his own. Jason Kelce struggled with snaps and none of the pass catchers had a strong game, though Jordan Matthews had a couple of nice catches. It wasn’t all the players fault though, Doug Pederson rarely used his tight ends against a defense that has struggled all year defending them. Brent Celek didn’t have a pass thrown his way all game. Unless he got injured early in the game and we didn’t know about, in a close game, there’s no good excuse for that. Pederson should have gone to his TEs early and often until Detroit showed they can stop TEs.

Run Offense: D

Ryan Mathews had a weak game before his inexcusable fumble, making the decision to give neither Kenjon Barner nor Wendell Smallwood a carry a questionable game plan. Both saw a handful of touches in each of the Eagles three wins and looked effective in their limited roles. The Eagles converted only 5 of their 11 third downs, some change of pace in the backfield could have helped. Darren Sproles looked good, but only had 5 carries. Josh Huff getting a carry was nice to see though, as was Wentz’s read option run for a first down. Still, leaning on an inefficient Mathews was another mistake by the coaches, who had options.

Pass Defense: D

The Eagles did a good job containing Marvin Jones, but after giving up no passing touchdowns in the first three games, they gave up three in the first half. All of the five pass catchers for the Lions had a catch of at least 17 yards, which is obviously not good. Once again the defense played much better in the second half, but the hole they dug in the first was too great to overcome. This defense should have been flying coming off the bye, instead they were grounded.

Run Defense: A

Theo Riddick was unstoppable as a receiver in the first half, but as a runner he was not productive. The Lions averaged just 3.0 yards per carry on 27 attempts. The lone bright spot all game on defense.