Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts solid until his game-clinching interception, defensive line struggles vs. Falcons

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night:

Jalen Hurts was solid until he threw the game-ending interception when he didn’t need to force the ball downfield. The quarterback was impressive as a runner — for the first time seemingly in two years. He ran for 85 yards on 13 tries. But he seemed lost as a passer — at times — with his favorite target A.J. Brown out with a hamstring strain. Hurts completed 23-of-30 passes for 183 yards with a touchdown.

But his turnover — after the Eagles survived his three in Week 1 — was a killer. There were others more to blame for the gut-punching loss. Hurts has to be better, though.

Saquon Barkley was again dynamic. He’s had more than 20 carries in his first two games with the Eagles. The former Penn State star finished with 95 yards rushing on 22 totes. He also caught four passes for 21 yards. Barkley didn’t get a touch on the first drive, but he was dazzling on the second, rushing four times for 39 yards. But he was taken out for backup Kenneth Gainwell, and the drive stalled. When Barkley returned and Gainwell exited, the crowd erupted. It was too late, though, and two pass plays resulted in the Eagles turning the ball over on downs.

It was tougher sledding for Barkley the rest of the way, but he had some impressive rushes, even if they were only for short gains. He used his brawn to convert a two-point attempt after the Eagles’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth. Later, he had a third-down drop when a reception might have sealed a win.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni needs Eagles defense to bail him out. Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Carter can’t do it.

DeVonta Smith became the overwhelming No. 1 receiver option with Brown out. He caught a key 18-yard pass on the Eagles’ first scoring drive and had the resulting touchdown. Smith dexterously caught a 7-yard pass in the back of the end zone. He bobbled but caught a 19-yard pass near the sideline in the third. Smith finished with a team-high seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Receiver Jahan Dotson had his first catch of the season and broke a tackle, too, to pick up an early first down. He had a nice lead block on a Barkley catch and run that converted a late third down. Britain Covey logged the most snaps of his career with Brown out. He caught six passes for 23 yards. He had a big third-down catch on a scramble drill in the fourth.

Tight end Dallas Goedert had a quiet first half with only one catch for 9 yards. He didn’t see the ball again until the fourth when he caught a key 16-yard pass. His backup, Grant Calcaterra, was almost as busy with two grabs for 19 yards. His three targets through two games nearly match last season’s total of four. Calcaterra seemed to do fine as a run blocker, but he had a missed block that led to a tackle for loss on a Barkley rush in the second quarter.

Receiver Johnny Wilson was called for holding in the fourth, which brought back a long Barkley run in the red zone. Third tight end E.J. Jenkins looked responsible for a missed block that led to Barkley getting tackled in the backfield in the second.

The Eagles’ blockers opened some gaping holes for Barkley, a lot of them up the middle behind a combination of center Cam Jurgens and either guard — Mekhi Becton or Landon Dickerson. Becton had a nice seal block on Barkley’s first run for 9 yards. After issues with the Tush Push in Week 1, Jurgens and company helped convert a short touchdown by Hurts and a fourth down in the fourth.

In pass protection, Hurts didn’t see a lot of pressure, unless he held the ball for more than three seconds. Becton and right tackle Lane Johnson did allow some pressure on a defensive line switch on the Eagles’ third possession. The former struggled to pick up a stunt in the third that led to a sack.

Left tackle Jordan Mailata and Johnson did well to seal up the edges — for the most part. Dickerson got up slow when Barkley fell back on him in the second, but he played the rest of the way. The O-line took several illegal man downfield penalties, but that seemed more of a play design issue.

» READ MORE: Eagles falter as the Falcons and Kirk Cousins have the last laugh over Jalen Hurts in a stunning 22-21 loss

The Eagles’ D-line didn’t have a great night, especially early on. They struggled to clog run lanes and didn’t pressure the immobile Kirk Cousins much. But they did clamp down in the red zone. Milton Williams had a big third-down sack — the Eagles’ only sack — in the third. Like most of the D-linemen, he didn’t show up much as a run defender and got blocked backward on tailback Tyler Allgeier’s 15-yard run in the second.

Defensive tackle Jordan Davis batted a pass on the Falcons’ opening drive. He had a couple of assists on run stops. Jalen Carter didn’t start or play on the first drive — for whatever reason. The second-year defensive tackle was quiet until he pressured Cousins into a throwaway late in the third. He needs to have more of an impact.

Defensive end Bryce Huff had another rough game vs. both the run and pass. He was out of his lane on an Allgeier first-down run in the second. Running back Bijan Robinson also picked up 19 yards off Huff’s edge to open the second half. Huff finished with zero tackles and no quarterback hits or sacks. Josh Sweat had an early run stop near the line, but later in the second, it looked like he got caught cheating on a Robinson 9-yard run.

Brandon Graham once again had to play more snaps than one would expect for a 36-year old. He had a sack negated by an Eagles penalty. And took one of his own when he grabbed Robinson’s face mask. Nolan Smith had a little more success setting the left edge than Huff. Moro Ojomo got flipped around on a Robinson 15-yard bolt in the second. Rookie edge Jalyx Hunt was active for his first NFL game after Patrick Johnson was released before the game.

Zack Baun followed up his impressive debut with the Eagles with another solid effort. He did well to not get faked by misdirection on a second-quarter run play. He also read a designed pass to receiver Darnell Mooney out the backfield inside the 5-yard line before the half that Cousins threw wide. Nakobe Dean was one of the few Eagles defenders to be around the ball early on, but he appeared to have his issues as the game wore on. His illegal contact penalty negated a Graham sack in the second.

Devin White was a healthy scratch. If he can’t play special teams, he’s not going to be an active reserve.

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With Cousins seemingly unable to throw outside the numbers, the Eagles’ boundary cornerbacks weren’t tested much — until late when it mattered. And they failed. Darius Slay was beat by Drake London for the Falcon’s game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds left. Quinyon Mitchell missed a late tackle after allowing a long reception on the final drive. The rookie got his second straight start on the outside and is likely entrenched there. He had a third-down pass breakup in the first, and nearly had an interception that a cynic might say he should have caught.

Avonte Maddox struggled last week in the slot, but the Eagles stuck with the cornerback — for now. It could be only a matter of time until rookie Cooper DeJean supplants him. But Maddox was sharper than he was in Week 1. He had a pass breakup late in the second and did a solid job of tackling Robinson in the open field later in that drive.

Isaiah Rodgers was back following hand surgery, but the Eagles decided he wasn’t part of their best combination of starting corners. Kelee Ringo played some snaps as the big dime sixth defensive back.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson had the stop of the game when he met and stopped Robinson short of the line for no gain on fourth down late in the game. He made up for the Mooney 41-yard touchdown he helped allow when he got toasted in coverage and couldn’t bring the Falcons receiver down. His lone first-half highlight might have been when he goaded Falcons receiver Ray-Ray McCloud into punching him, which drew a personal foul in the second.

Reed Blankenship got a lot of work with so many Falcons runs into the secondary. He led the Eagles with 10 stops, but also had a couple missed tackles on the night. He was in coverage when Cousins hooked up with McCloud to convert a fourth down in the third. When the quarterback completed passes, a lot of them were in the middle of the field.

Rookie Will Shipley fielded the opening kick and had a decent 28-yard return. He also had a tackle on kickoff. The Eagles’ cover units were, overall, on point. Jake Elliott made all his kicks — two short field goals and an extra point. Punter Braden Mann had a 41-yard net on two punts. Covey had one punt return for 9 yards.

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Nick Sirianni had some dubious game management in the final moments. He burned a timeout and had Hurts throw to Barkley on third down when a run would have bled more of the clock. His early failed fourth-down gamble made statistical sense, but why not run it on third down if he had likely decided he was going for it? As far as the return of illegal man downfield penalties — something that plagued the offense in Sirianni’s first season — how is that still a problem?

That’s ultimately, on the head coach, but offensive coordinator Kellen Moore bears responsibility, as well. He had some curious calls early on. Barkley, Smith, and Goedert didn’t get a touch on the opening drive. A failed third-and-9 draw with no motion at the end of that series might have been something from last season’s offense. A successful draw on third-and-3 later in the fourth made more sense. But Moore had a shaky play-calling night.

Vic Fangio’s bend-but-don’t-break methods worked at times against a subpar Falcons offense. His run defense was leaky again and he seemed to be outmaneuvered whenever he had his nickel personnel on the field. His defense on the Falcons’ game-winning drive was a disaster.