Eagles grades: The Birds’ lines dominate the Dolphins on both sides of the ball

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 31-17 win over the Dolphins:

Jalen Hurts had two bad turnovers — a fumble that led to a Dolphins field goal and a pick-six that knotted the score at 17 in the third quarter. But the quarterback bounced back, playing on what appeared to be an injured knee, and finished strong. Overall, he completed 23 of 31 passes for 279 yards and tossed two touchdowns. Hurts also tied Randall Cunningham (32, 1985-95) for the most rushing TDs by a QB in team history.

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The Dolphins did well to keep the Eagles’ run game in check, but D’Andre Swift gained 62 tough yards on 15 carries. He also had a couple of knee-breaking moves as a receiver in the open field. Kenneth Gainwell didn’t have much room to run on certain carries. He hasn’t given the running game much juice, but he had a tackle-breaking, 3-yard touchdown run to ice the game.

A.J. Brown left briefly in the second quarter with an unknown ding, but he returned and caught a 32-yard pass. The receiver had a clutch 42-yard grab late in the game and exceeded 100 yards for the fifth straight week. Dallas Goedert was the Eagles’ most productive receiver in the first half, catching 4 of 4 targets for 67 yards and a 19-yard screen that he took into the end zone. In the second half, the tight end was targeted only once, but converted a third down. DeVonta Smith couldn’t hang onto an early pass a week after he had two drops — but he caught the next four for 49 yards. Julio Jones suited up for his first game with the Eagles and had just one reception.

With Lane Johnson back at right tackle, the offensive line gave Hurts a workable pocket for most of the evening. The quarterback was sacked early in the second half, and it’s possible Johnson is charged with surrendering his first sack in nearly three years. But otherwise he was his lockdown self. Sua Opeta has settled into the right guard spot. Jordan Mailata had a nice downfield block on Goedert’s screen-pass touchdown. Landon Dickerson was a stud at left guard upon first glance. Jason Kelce anchored the O-line on four successful Brotherly Shoves, the second of which was another Hurts rushing score.

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Josh Sweat was arguably the best player on the field not named Tyreek Hill. The defensive end thwarted an early third down with a pressure and had a Dolphins touchdown negated when he drew a hold off a stunt. Jalen Carter deserved an assist on the play. Earlier, he knocked left guard Isaiah Wynn out of the game with a bull rush and Wynn’s replacement, Lester Cotton, took the ensuing penalty. In the second half, Sweat notched two sacks and recorded another tackle for loss on a double pass trick play that was one pass short of execution. Haason Reddick had a couple of early tackles for losses in run defense. The Eagles’ run defense, spearheaded by Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox, Milton Williams, and Carter, stuffed the Dolphins’ potent ground attack. Raheem Mostert had a couple of burst after the break, but the Eagles’ interior won that war of attrition.

Nakobe Dean got the start at middle linebacker, but he split time with Nicholas Morrow. They clogged the gaps the D-line couldn’t fill and kept the Dolphins’ zone blocking schemes from opening up running lanes. Zach Cunningham didn’t exactly stand out, but that can be a good thing when talking about Eagles linebackers.

Darius Slay had a shaky first half. He benefited from the Cotton holding flag as he was the nearest defender on Hill’s would-be touchdown. He was also in coverage when receiver Cedrick Wilson caught a 30-yard pass on third-and-18. Miami would go on to score their first touchdown on the same drive. But Slay had a game-changing interception in the fourth quarter when Tua Tagovailoa tossed one up for grabs just shy of the goal line. James Bradberry struggled to keep pace with the Dolphins’ speedsters in space, but he didn’t get beaten deep. Eli Ricks and Josiah Scott split time in the slot and kept Jaylen Waddle from going off. Scott helped force a Hill 9-yard loss on a short pass in the first half.

With regulars Reed Blankenship and Justin Evans sidelined, Terrell Edmunds and rookie Sydney Brown got the start. Converted cornerback Mekhi Garner spelled Brown on occasion. Edmunds and Brown had rough moments, but they hung in there and ultimately prevailed. It’s unclear who was ultimately culpable for Miami’s first touchdown — a Hill’s 27-yarder. But one of the safeties was responsible for giving a pressing Bradberry help. There were other such chunk passes that came at their expense. But the Eagles’ pass defense kept the No. 1 offense well below its season averages.

It was a quiet night for Michael Clay’s special teams. Jake Elliott kicked an early short field goal, but wasn’t needed beyond booting extra points and kickoffs the rest of the night. Clay elected to have Elliott kick short on kickoffs and the plan worked for the most part. Punter Braden Mann booted a 57-yarder. Boston Scott had one nice kick return.

Sean Desai was the coaching star of the game. The defensive coordinator somehow held the NFL’s most explosive offense to just 10 points, even though the Birds were depleted in the secondary. Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson had a shaky sequence on the Eagles’ first red-zone appearance, but his play calls improved as the night progressed. Nick Sirianni has the Eagles 6-1 and he avoided back-to-back losses. He listened to his players and went for it on fourth-and-1 late in the game and was rewarded with another Brotherly Shove conversion.