Eagles rookie report card from the win over the Packers

The Eagles advanced to 10-1 with an exciting win against the Packers. The game was a full-team effort, with key plays made on offense, defense and special teams. Part of the “all hands on deck” night featured some key contributions by Eagles rookies!

Jordan Davis: Get Well Soon

The Eagles run defense was not nearly what it was against Indianapolis last week, but they also were definitely gearing more towards stopping the pass/pressuring Aaron Rodgers. The Linval Joseph/Ndamukong Suh combo was fine overall, with Suh getting key pressure on a sack of Aaron Rodgers. It will be great to get Jordan Davis back in the mix, but his absence is not a death knell for the unit anymore.

Cam Jurgens: B+

Cam Jurgens actually saw a couple snaps as an extra lineman and the result was great. The Eagles were able to keep the defense off-balanced pre-snap and then run to the weak side, resulting in a big gain and a touchdown. This was a new usage of Jurgens and potentially a nice wrinkle in the offense while Goedert is still out.

Grant Calcaterra: C

Grant Calcaterra has yet to make any net positive impact since his playing time has increased. He caught a single pass that went for a loss and looked fine in limited blocking duty. Obviously it would be great to get more out of the rookie tight end, but the Eagles have found ways to move the ball without using their tight ends at all.

Reed Blankenship: A

The biggest story of the game is Reed Blankenship’s heroics after CJ Gardner Johnson went down with an injury early in the game. The former undrafted free agent made his presence known with a great interception of Aaron Rodgers where he perfectly diagnosed and jumped a route to get a pick. He also had some great moments of run defense. He did get caught flat footed late in the game on a long touchdown by Christian Watson, but luckily that play proved inconsequential.

CJ Gardner Johnson suffered a lacerated kidney and will be out extended time, so hopefully Blankenship can continue to play confidently and make big plays where they can be made.

Britain Covey: Not long for this team

Britain Covey has been relegated solely to punt return duties and he didn’t return a single punt against the Packers. I would not be surprised if the Eagles finish the season with a different primary returner.