Eagles grades: Nick Sirianni kept the team focused vs. Steelers amid drama, and the passing game thrived

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 27-13 win over the Steelers:

Jalen Hurts was excellent against one of the better defenses in the NFL and answered a lot of questions about his ability to carry the offense on his passing shoulders. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns and had a 125.3 passer rating.

Hurts went to his top receivers early and often and threw into a number of tight windows over the middle to DeVonta Smith and on the outside to A.J. Brown. But Hurts also sprinkled in throws to other ball catchers. He trusted his check downs and running back Kenneth Gainwell was twice able to convert third downs in the first half.

The Steelers entered with one of the best defenses against mobile quarterbacks. Hurts found that out on his first two third-down scrambles — the first netting just 1 yard and the second resulting in a fumble when Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt peanut punched the ball out. It was Hurts’ first turnover in five games. Hurts did have some productive runs, once picking up a first down with a 9-yard scramble in the third quarter and later darting up the middle on a draw play that picked up 23 yards.

Overall, he ran 15 times for 45 yards and a touchdown, but multiple sneaks kept his average down. Hurts’ fourth-quarter Tush Push score gave him 14 rushing touchdowns on the season.

Saquon Barkley was in and out of the blue medical tent a few times over the course of the game. The Eagles never announced an injury, but he appeared to be fighting something. Barkley still had 19 carries and finished with 65 yards and a 3.4-yard average — his lowest numbers since the Browns game in Week 6.

Barkley’s best moment came on a 22-yard scoot in which he stepped out of a would-be tackle in the first quarter. Barkley’s seven first-half carries were his fewest in five games since he had only six before the break at Dallas.

Gainwell had his most touches since October. He finished with seven carries for 20 yards, but he made more of an impact as a receiver, catching three passes for 40 yards. Gainwell spun away from Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson and converted a third down after Hurts dumped a pass to him in the first quarter. Gainwell did almost the same in the third quarter with a 14-yard catch on third-and-9.

With the Eagles emphasizing the passing game, Brown and Smith saw more targets than they have collectively all season. Brown was a baller early on and caught four passes for 48 yards on the Eagles’ first two drives. He ended the second with a 5-yard touchdown. Brown ran to Hurts after his first-quarter touchdown catch and did the Kid ‘n Play dance with his quarterback and longtime friend.

Smith did a lot of the dirty work on underneath and crossing routes vs. the Steelers’ man coverage. He finished with 11 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Tight end Grant Calcaterra continued to start in place of the injured Dallas Goedert. He caught Hurts’ first pass for 22 yards on a seam route.

Receiver Johnny Wilson had a tough time getting to a block on a split-zone Barkley run in the first quarter. Hurts targeted him in the third quarter but his pass sailed wide.

Tight end C.J. Uzomah got the start as the second tight end when Hurts threw to Calcaterra. He helped as a blocker in the run game.

» READ MORE: What A.J. Brown wants, A.J. Brown gets in Eagles’ 27-13 win over the Steelers

It was tough sledding on the ground in the first half. The Steelers did well to contain Barkley, who was also in and out of the lineup. But the Eagles’ O-line got cooking in the fourth quarter as run blockers as the Eagles iced the game. It wasn’t perfect, but they got the job done. Overall, the pass protection was solid against one of the NFL’s best defensive fronts. Hurts had all kinds of time in the fourth quarter on a 22-yard pass over the middle to Smith.

Right tackle Lane Johnson had a difficult assignment vs. Watt. The Steelers outside linebacker finished with two sacks, but Johnson probably wasn’t solely responsible for them. Johnson had a false start on third down just before the half. On the next play, Watt sacked Hurts after he got around Johnson. Calcaterra didn’t help much with his initial chip and Hurts was blindsided. The quarterback somehow held onto the ball despite Watt’s swipe. Johnson left briefly in the second half and was replaced by Fred Johnson, who held up for several plays.

Left tackle Jordan Mailata continued to put the finishing touches on an All-Pro-caliber season. His task in containing Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig was also a tricky one, but he stood his ground. As a run blocker, he had the lead on a Barkley first-down run to the left in the third quarter.

Cam Jurgens had a high snap near the goal line that Hurts was able to tip to himself and secure in the second quarter. But the Eagles center helped keep defensive tackle Cameron Heyward from blowing things up inside. Left guard Landon Dickerson left at the half with a knee injury. He was replaced by Tyler Steen at the half. Steen was called for holding on the Eagles’ opening drive of the third quarter and was up and down.

Right guard Mekhi Becton limped off late in the game and was replaced by Jack Driscoll.

The Eagles’ run defense was excellent. It held Steelers running backs to 35 yards on 12 carries. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis led the way, as usual, whenever the Eagles were in a five-man front. But that wasn’t often as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio leaned on his nickel personnel again.

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was involved in multiple run stops. He dropped Steelers running back Najee Harris after a short rush in the first quarter and Jaylen Warren a quarter later on a run play. As a pass rusher, Carter hurried Russell Wilson several times and he batted a pass in the fourth quarter. He was undisciplined when he swatted a lineman in the helmet for a personal foul on punt coverage.

Wilson got the ball out relatively quick to negate the Eagles’ rush, but edges Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith recorded sacks. Sweat’s eighth of the season — his first in four games — came in the first quarter. Smith dropped Wilson for a sack that momentarily pushed the Steelers out of field-goal range before the half.

Smith had a great first half. He also broke up a third-down pass at the line and later had a quarterback hit in the first quarter. Defensive tackle Milton Williams batted a pass incomplete on the Steelers’ first series.

The Eagles’ off-ball linebacker played a significant role in the run defense. Nakobe Dean led the Eagles with 10 tackles, a lot of them against the run. Dean sliced in from the second level for a couple of early run stops on Harris. He bit on some misdirection when a Ben Skowronek 17-yard catch gave the Steelers their first first down of the game midway through the second quarter. He forced a fumble that Pittsburgh recovered before the break.

Zack Baun was a standout in coverage. He held Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth to a short gain after a first drive catch. Baun did well to recover in coverage on a flea flicker, but Steelers receiver Calvin Austin somehow pulled in a 31-yard reception.

With No. 1 receiver George Pickens out, the Eagles cornerbacks weren’t tested much by the Steelers’ remaining receivers. Wilson had just 128 yards passing with less than three minutes left in the game. Rookie Quinyon Mitchell was hardly thrown at by Wilson.

Darius Slay locked it down on his side. He got into a dustup with Darnell Washington after the Steelers tight end blocked him through the end zone and after the whistle. Slay responded with several haymakers, but only Washington received a personal foul penalty, which negated Pittsburgh advancing to the 4-yard line.

Slay recovered Steelers running back Harris’ unforced fumble in the third quarter.

Slot cornerback Cooper DeJean bounced back from last week’s game vs. the Panthers. The rookie played his keys and kept receiver Van Jefferson to no gain on a play-action pass off a naked bootleg. Isaiah Rodgers filled in for Slay once again when he left for a brief period.

Wilson didn’t throw downfield much, partly because safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship played a lot of shell coverage. But their positioning often contributed to the quarterback being gun-shy.

Gardner-Johnson knifed in and cut down Harris for a tackle for loss in the second quarter. He went for the interception when Wilson threw to Freiermuth in the end zone in the second quarter. The tight end muscled the ball away from the safety, though, for the Steelers’ lone touchdown.

Blankenship was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he hit Justin Fields on a designed quarterback run. Fields slid late, however, and there appeared little Blankenship could have done to avoid contact.

Jake Elliott was perfect on all his kicks — two field goals and three extra points — and answered some questions about his reliability down the stretch. He got to see a 48-yard field goal sail through the uprights in the third quarter, but a Steelers personal foul allowed the offense to retake the field. Alas, the Eagles didn’t reach the end zone and Elliott settled for making a 41-yarder.

Braden Mann had just one punt. DeJean filled in again for the injured Britain Covey (neck) on punt returns. He fumbled on his second return when the Steelers’ Mark Robinson popped the ball out with a big hit. He rebounded with a 22-yard return on his next chance.

Sydney Brown suffered a concussion on the game’s opening kickoff.

Gainwell had a couple of strong kick returns and averaged 31.5 yards on two tries.

Nick Sirianni may have had his best performance considering the drama of the previous week. The head coach kept his team poised and focused on the Steelers. The Eagles also set a franchise record with a 10th straight victory and are tied with the Lions in the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed, although Detroit holds the tiebreaker.

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore had a good plan and had the Eagles offense have its best first quarter of the season, scoring 10 points. Moore favored the pass 18 to 10 on his first-half play-calling as the Eagles turned their air attack fortunes around.

He dialed up a nifty play on Hurts’ first touchdown pass. Brown was the only receiver in route as the Eagles max protected on a run-pass option play. He beat his man on a slant and Hurts hit him for the 5-yard score.

Fangio’s defense was impressive from the get-go. The unit didn’t allow a first down on Pittsburgh’s first five possessions, and they held the Steelers to just three points after back-to-back Eagles fumbles in their own territory.