Eagles grade by position after ugly loss to Buccaneers

TAMPA — The Eagles got off to a horrible start Sunday at Raymond James Stadium and never recovered in a 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Under Nick Siriani, the Eagles are now 1-4 against the Buccaneers in 2021.

Here are the position grades from Sunday:

quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 18/30, 158 yards, 1 TD, 85.1 rating; 8 attempts, 20 yards, 1 TD

In his post-game press conference, Hurts said he needed to play better, and he was absolutely right. He struggled Sunday without top receivers AJ Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion). In a game with no room for error, Hurts missed too many throws and fumbled the football in the red zone even as the Eagles were trying to get back into the game. It was his seventh turnover of the season; This is becoming a big problem.

Grade: D+

running back

Saquon Barkley: 10 carries, 84 yards; 2 catches for 32 yards

The Eagles had a few quick three-and-outs to start this game and it's fair to wonder why they didn't work to get Barkley the ball, especially on first downs. After only 8 carries for 22 yards in the first half, he broke off a 59-yarder early in the second half to help give the Eagles some hope. There's no doubt that through four games, Berkeley has been one of the biggest bright spots.

Grade: B

the receiver

Parris Campbell: 4 catches for 17 yards, 1 TD

The Eagles were without Brown and Smith in this game so we're grading on a bit of a curve. The Eagles entered the game with Jahan Dotson, Johnny Wilson, Parris Campbell and John Ross, and Wilson was ultimately left out for evaluation for an injury. Campbell led the way with 17 yards. Dotson has been with the Eagles for just over a month and had just 2 catches for 11 yards in a game without the top two guys. That's not great.

Grade: C-

tight ends

Dallas Goedert: 7 catches on 8 targets for 62 yards

Although Goedert didn't follow up his 170-yard game in New Orleans with another all-time game, he was still productive. But what Goedert didn't catch was a drop early in the game that loomed large. This was when the Eagles couldn't get anything going on offense and it would have been a nice gain. Grant Calcaterra also had a 26-yard catch.

Grade: B-

Offensive line

The Eagles missed Lane Johnson in this game and then lost Cam Jurgens with some cramps. The Eagles got off to a really slow start on the ground before Barkley scored a 59-yard touchdown. Hearts were also dismissed six times in the game. All that is not in line but they could have performed better.

Grade: C+

defensive line

Brandon Graham: 2 tackles, 1 sack

The Eagles haven't been hurt in the run game, but they haven't completely shut it down either. While Baker Mayfield was getting the ball out quickly, they still didn't get much pressure. Two sacks for 13 yards — at least they came from Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat to get the Eagles' edge rushers this season.

Grade: C-

linebacker

Nakobe Dean: 7 tackles, 1 TFL

After a really strong performance in New Orleans, it wasn't a good game for Dean. He missed several tackles and was unable to get into the throwing lane in coverage. Jack Bown also had a quiet day. We're used to him filling up the stat sheet but not coming into this game with six tackles.

Grade: D-

Secondary

Darius Slay: 9 tackles, 1 pass breakup

Mayfield completed 30 of 47 passes for 347 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game, and it wasn't as if the bomb was away. Mayfield was hitting everything downfield and then letting the Eagles miss tackles and turning short gains into long ones. The Eagles failed to pick up an interception in this game.

Grade: D

special team

Braden Mann: 5 punts, 282 yards, 1 touchback

Isaiah Rogers blocked the PAT that was returned by Kelly Ringo for two points, a great play. But before both flubbed plays, Cooper returned the DeJean punt. Rodgers stuck his man on Dejean to force a fumble and ran into Ringo Dejean on the opposite punt. Jake Elliott kicked the only two extra points in the game. Mann was a busy man with five punts.

Grade: C-

Coaching

Record: 2-2

The Eagles didn't seem like a well-coached team on Sunday. They didn't look ready at any stage against the Buccaneers and that fell squarely on the shoulders of Nick Sirianni. Of course, there's plenty of blame to go around after a loss like this, but Syriani has to take the brunt. The Eagles got off to such a horrible start on Sunday that they never recovered. Also, not a promising game from Kellen Moore or Vic Fangio. A rough way to go into a bye week.

Grade: F

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