Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts with an uneven performance vs. Packers while the D-line struggles

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 34-29 win over the Packers:

Jalen Hurts was at times spectacular and other times mind-boggling bad. He threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns and ran 13 times for 33 yards. But he threw two horrible interceptions — one in the Packers’ end zone — and held the ball much too long at times. But he ultimately led the Eagles to victory and had some tough runs down the stretch, including when he dragged a couple of defenders for a first down.

Hurts got off to an awful start with an awful throw on his second pass, which was intercepted by Packers safety Xavier McKinney. A drive later, he fumbled when center Cam Jurgens’ snap caught him by surprise. But the quarterback settled down and got into a groove with quick tosses. And then he hooked up with running back Saquon Barkley on a beautifully thrown 18-yard touchdown.

Hurts was blitzed early and, as expected, needed to throw hot more than he did last year in a new scheme. He passed a few early tests, although he threw away from a blitzer and took a blindside shot. But he got the ball out quick to pick up a first down.

Barkley was as billed. He led the Eagles with three touchdowns and was a factor on the ground and through the air. He ran for 109 yards on 24 carries. His first carry showed that the field conditions were slippery. Barkley cut and went to the ground for a 5-yard loss. But like Hurts, he rebounded from a rough start. He scooted 11 yards up the middle on the Eagles’ third possession before pulling in the 18-yard score on a wheel route. A drive later, Barkley exploded through the hole for an 11-yard touchdown that put the Eagles back ahead, 14-12, in the second quarter. He had his third touchdown when he muscled into the end zone from 2 yards out in the third. Barkley’s longest gain on the ground — 34 yards — came at the end of the third quarter on a run off the left side.

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Kenneth Gainwell took over on the last drive before the half and had a nice gain when he made a couple defenders miss on a first-down catch out of the backfield. Rookie Will Shipley was on the field with Barkley on a play that resulted in a long reception.

A.J. Brown caught five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. The receiver toasted Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander on the second play of the second half and took one to the house for a 67-yard touchdown. His first catch was on a slant that gave the Eagles their first third-down conversion late in the first quarter. He made a man miss another third down in the second. He broke a tackle at the end of a 13-yard reception just before the half.

DeVonta Smith got the offense cooking with short grabs that resulted in yards after catch. He deked a defender with a quick turn on an early reception. Later in the second, he caught a tough pass in traffic that converted a fourth down. Tight end Dallas Goedert finished with four catches for 31 yards. His 21-yard crossing route converted a third-and-long in the second. He had a false start later in the drive, and the Eagles settled for a field goal.

Jahan Dotson ran a lot of routes as the third receiver, but hardly saw the ball. Britain Covey got more snaps on offense than ever. He ran a lot of pre-snap motion. Johnny Wilson saw one target in his first NFL game. Backup tight end Grant Calcaterra caught an 11-yard pass in the fourth. He had some solid moments as a run blocker but got run over on an early attempt.

The Eagles’ pass protection was solid, for the most part. The same could be said for the O-line’s run blocking. Hurts had all kinds of time in the pocket on Brown’s 67-yard touchdown catch. There was the occasional breakdown, but the majority of the pressure the quarterback faced came because he held the ball too long.

Mekhi Becton held up impressively in his first-ever start at guard. A film review will provide more clarity, but Becton didn’t have any noticeable lapses. Jurgens ably stepped into Jason Kelce’s retired cleats at center. There was the miscommunication with Hurts on the fumbled snap. And the first Tush Push post-Kelce didn’t convert a third-and-1. But Jurgens looked the part.

Lane Johnson was his usual rock-solid self. There was a weird moment when he allowed Packers edge Rashan Gary to rush virtually unblocked in the third. The right tackle wanted a flag for a neutral-zone infraction, but a sack was upheld. Left guard Landon Dickerson had a down block on Barkley’s first long rush. He teamed up with left tackle Jordan Mailata for an impressive push on another decent Barkley gain in the third. Dickerson appeared to injure his left arm late in the game, but he stayed in.

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The D-line had issues all game in both the run and the pass. Jordan Davis got into the backfield to disrupt Packers running back Josh Jacobs’ first carry. But the defensive tackle otherwise was quiet for the rest of the game. He had few disruptions as a rusher. On the Packers’ fourth possession, they rushed four straight times for 70 yards and a touchdown. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was MIA for extended stretches. He took an unnecessary roughness personal foul in the first. In the second half, he did better to get to quarterback Jordan Love. But Carter will have to clean up his technique. Milton Williams shot into the backfield in the third, but the defensive tackle couldn’t bring Jacobs down, and he picked up 9 yards.

Josh Sweat was the only edge rusher to stand out. He drew a holding penalty after beating Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker in the first and had a couple more pressures. Sweat’s starting counterpart, Bryce Huff, mostly was incognito. He finished with an assisted tackle. Brandon Graham had a couple of run supports off the edge. Nolan Smith often looked overmatched. Backup defensive tackles Moro Ojomo and Thomas Booker played their share but were inconsequential. Rookie Jalyx Hunt was inactive despite showing some promise in the summer.

Nakobe Dean started at middle linebacker. Devin White was left home with an ankle injury, but Dean had already been given the nod at mike. He struggled, though, in his first start since suffering a season-ending foot injury last November. The Packers had great success on the ground, particularly on runs up the middle. Dean had a tackle for loss on a Jacobs run. But he missed bringing down the Packers running back a drive later. His most egregious moment came in coverage, though, when he dropped a would-be pick-six in the second. Two plays later, the Packers scored a touchdown.

Love took advantage of Dean and Zack Baun on play-action. Dean bit on a fake in the third and tight end Tucker Kraft was wide open for a 29-yard catch and run. It wasn’t all bad with Dean. He blew up a third-down screen in the third. He had a tackle for loss on a run in the fourth.

Baun made more splash plays and was around the ball more often. He blitzed and had an early sack. But he missed an open-field tackle on a Jayden Reed jet sweep that resulted in a 33-yard touchdown. And in the third, he took a roughing the passer personal foul. He had the game-ending sack on Malik Willis, Love’s backup, though, and finished with a team-high 15 tackles.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Ben VanSumeren, and Oren Burks played mostly on special teams.

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With Isaiah Rodgers out with a hand injury, there was some mystery as to how the Eagles would line up their cornerbacks. To little surprise, rookie Quinyon Mitchell started on the outside in base personnel. To some surprise, when the Eagles went to nickel, Avonte Maddox was in the slot after Mitchell had been there all of training camp. Kelee Ringo could have been the option on the outside. Mitchell played relatively well in his first NFL game. He ran step for step with receiver Christian Watson on an early deep fade. He was sticky in coverage on a number of Love’s drops in the first half. But he was flagged for pass interference in the third quarter, although Baun’s personal foul negated his penalty.

Maddox got beat early for a 19-yard catch. He took a pass interference penalty on third down in the third. And then a play later, Love went right back at him on a Watson slant for a 2-yard touchdown.

Cornerback Darius Slay held down his side of the field for the most part. There was an inside slant he allowed on second-and-long in the first. Rookie Cooper DeJean was the sixth defensive back in dime personnel. He didn’t do much to stand out, good or bad. Ringo came in for Mitchell when he left in the third with an apparent hand injury. But the rookie returned for the next series.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson was inconsistent. He had a couple of strong stops in run support. But the safety appeared to be responsible for the busted coverage on Reed’s 70-yard touchdown catch, and then he whiffed on tackling him in the open field. Gardner-Johnson left for one snap in the third but returned.

Reed Blankenship notched the Eagles’ first defensive interception of the season. The safety made a diving grab of an ill-timed Love pass over the middle in the third.

Jake Elliott made all of his kicks — two field goals and four extra points. Punter Braden Mann handled kickoffs over Elliott. The Eagles took advantage of the new kickoff rule with a nicely placed Mann boot that made the Packers start at their own 16 on their final drive. Mann kicked into the end zone each time. Ringo took an illegal formation penalty on the opening kickoff. The Packers kicked short of the end zone a few times. Gainwell bobbled his first attempt, and the Eagles had poor starting field position in the first. But otherwise, Michael Clay’s special teams did fine. Covey didn’t have any returns in the punt game.

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Nick Sirianni moved to 4-0 in openers. It wasn’t pretty, and the Eagles have a lot to clean up, but they exited Brazil 1-0, and that’s all that matters.

Vic Fangio had a rough first game as defensive coordinator. Packers coach Matt LaFleur found multiple ways to attack his system. He kept fooling with the Eagles’ odd- and even-man fronts and ran holes through Fangio’s Swiss cheese run defense. Green Bay had success through the air, as well, but LaFleur inexplicably got away from the run. As bad as Fangio’s defense performed, and there are definite reasons to be concerned about the future, there were a bunch of red-zone stops from his bend-and-near-break unit.

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore had a much better night. He has superior talent on his side of the ball, of course. But he did well to get Hurts out of his early funk with quick throws. And he dialed up some impressive calls that were executed to perfection.