Eagles grades vs. Bengals: Offense clicks with Jalen Hurts at his best and Saquon Barkley going over 100 yards

CINCINNATI — Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in a 37-17 win over the Bengals:

Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season and probably since the Week 12 overtime win over the Bills last season. He had a few early hiccups, including a dangerous check-down pass to Kenneth Gainwell that could have been picked off in the second quarter. But Hurts rebounded and was stellar through the air and on the ground the rest of the way.

He completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also scored three rushing touchdowns — two Tush Pushes and a 7-yard run off the zone read in the third quarter. He had several big-time throws — the best a 17-yarder to A.J. Brown that converted a third-and-16 in the second quarter and a perfectly placed 45-yard bomb to DeVonta Smith in the end zone.

Saquon Barkley had some tough early rushes against the Bengals defense that was intent on stopping the run. But he got going in the fourth quarter as the Eagles’ four-minute offense pounded Cincinnati and closed out the game. Barkley went over 100 yards on the ground for the fourth time this season and finished with 108 yards on 22 carries.

Gainwell wasn’t used as much as he was a week ago, and had just two touches. Ben VanSumeren continued to play the occasional fullback. He had a decent lead block on a Barkley 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. Rookie Will Shipley had a touchdown run negated by a Nick Gates hold in the latter moments of the game.

Eagles receivers made the best of their opportunities. After a couple of quiet games, Smith got off the schneid with a 45-yard touchdown catch on a third-quarter jump ball. Earlier, he caught his first positive-yardage pass in some time with a 15-yard third-down grab in the third quarter. He had several over-the-middle grabs in the fourth.

Brown finished with five catches for 84 yards. He caught a 29-yard pass over the middle on the first drive and Grant Calcaterra got his second straight start at tight end with Dallas Goedert still sidelined with a hamstring injury. He had a couple of long catches for 28 and 19 yards and finished with three catches for 58 yards. Jack Stoll caught a 6-yard pass off a bootleg, and got hurt on the play, but he returned.

Ainias Smith, in his first NFL game, got some snaps. He wasn’t targeted, though.

Down two starters, the O-line won the battle up front. Fred Johnson did yeoman’s work against Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. The left tackle, who’s been filling in for the injured Jordan Mailata, didn’t need a lot of help either. Hendrickson finished without a pressure. Tyler Steen held up in place of Mekhi Becton (concussion) at right guard. He had a couple of first-half penalties — a questionable hold and deserved personal foul — but he also had some good blocks as the Eagles shifted into run mode.

Lane Johnson left for one play in the first half. Johnson, left guard Landon Dickerson, and center Cam Jurgens all deserve credit for Hurts not getting sacked.

The Eagles front played a large role in holding Bengals running backs to just 43 yards on 17 carries. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter led the way in the middle of the D-line. Davis played more than he did last week when he was on the field for just 12 snaps, and had a run stuff on the Bengals first series. Carter didn’t get to Joe Burrow for a sack, but he did pressure the Bengals quarterback into a throwaway that hit teammate Nolan Smith in the helmet.

Defensive end Bryce Huff started in the four-man front and got a run stop on the first carry. Burrow’s quick throws made it hard for the D-line to get to him, but Smith continued his run of games with sack when he split a second-quarter takedown of Burrow with defensive tackle Milton Williams.

Defensive end Brandon Graham stuffed running back Zack Moss for no gain on a crucial third-and-1 stop in the third.

Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean led the Eagles with 12 and nine tackles, respectively. They played well for the most part.

Baun made a run tackle near the line on the Bengals’ opening drive. A few plays later, he couldn’t get Chase Brown down before he picked up a third-down conversion. He timed a blitz in the third quarter and had a free run at Burrow, who threw incomplete. He was late to cover Moss out of the backfield on a long gain in the third quarter.

Dean sniffed out an early screen for a tackle for loss.

The Eagles’ cornerbacks deserve their share of praise for holding Ja’Marr Chase to just 54 yards receiving on nine catches. Cooper DeJean continued to flash in the slot. The rookie recorded a huge fourth-down stop when he tackled Chase in the backfield for a loss in the third quarter. He should have caught the Eagles’ third interception of the season, but he dropped a Burrow pass that hit him in the hands. A play later, on third-and-22, DeJean failed to plaster tight end Mike Gesicki during a Burrow scramble that he converted. He wasn’t close to Chase on a 12-yard catch he made out of the slot. DeJean made a good open-field tackle on the next play, though.

Darius Slay left in the third quarter with a groin injury. Before that, he broke up a third-down corner fade to receiver Jermaine Burton into the end zone in the second quarter. Burton got him on a go route a drive later, though, that resulted in a 41-yard gain.

Quinyon Mitchell did a solid job on Chase in the first half when matched up against the star receiver. And he again had an almost-interception. Mitchell caught the ball this time, but was out of bounds. He got penalized for holding on a pass that Chase still caught for 13 yards in the third. Isaiah Rodgers replaced Slay and he broke up a pass to Chase that was deflected to safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for an interception. Avonte Maddox was again the sixth defensive back in dime personnel.

Gardner-Johnson was Johnny on the spot for his fourth quarterback interception — the Eagles’ first forced turnover in four games. He had his ups and downs in coverage, and was out of his gap responsibility on Chase Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Reed Blankenship had some struggles in coverage, specifically with Gesicki. The tight end had a third-down grab vs. him in man coverage on the opening drive. Blankenship did break up a third-down pass to Gesicki in the second quarter. The tight end got him in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard pass play.

Jake Elliott kicked 49- and 47-yard field goals and made all his extra points. Gainwell had a 31-yard return to open the second half. The Bengals never punted, so DeJean never had a chance to return. Eagles’ kick-coverage units were otherwise sound.

Nick Sirianni’s squad had its best overall game of the season on the road against a decent team with an elite quarterback. In game management, the coach had a good challenge on a Bengals dropped pass that was initially ruled complete.

Also, have the Eagles jumped the shark with the Tush Push? There is a time and a place for it, but not every third-and-1 — especially one near midfield — calls for it. It can be too conservative.

Kellen Moore dialed up more under-center plays that helped open up play-action. He did well to mix in Hurts runs against a Bengals defense that had previously struggled against the quarterback plus-one game.

Vic Fangio’s defense got off to slow start and had some lulls, but overall, it kept Burrow in check and forced two turnovers in one game for the first time this season. Fangio did get outschemed when the Bengals got Chase matched up against Nolan Smith in the end zone.