Eagles grades by position after close win over Titans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was closer than it should have been.

The Eagles were clearly the more talented team on Sunday and still needed a 2-minute touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to complete a 24-20 win over the Titans in Week 2. But they got it done.

They’ll enter Monday Night Football against the Bears next week with a 2-0 record.

Let’s get to the grades from Sunday:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 26/37, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 85.9 passer rating

For the second straight week, Jalen Hurts was the reason the Eagles won. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect game from Hurts, who threw a couple of interceptions. The first one was a killer because the Eagles were on the doorstep and it led to a Titans touchdown. But when the game was on the line, Hurts came through in the clutch. On that final drive, he completed 6 of 8 passing attempts for 61 yards and a touchdown; he also rushed for 4 yards and was able to avoid a sack for one of those incompletions. This was a signature game for Hurts, who willed his team to win within the final 2 minutes.

NFL

Grade: A-

Running back

Tank Bigsby: 13 carries, 33 yards, TD

Saquon Barkley suffered a stinger on his first carry of the game and even though he returned in the second half, he just wasn’t himself. Barkley kept trying to stretch out his neck and fought to return to the game, but even when he did, there wasn’t much room for him. Both Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley (7 carries for 24 yards) helped spell Barkley but it wasn’t a good rushing day for the offense. That is likely more about the offensive line. Bigsby at one point had a beastly run and carried some Titans with him.

Grade: B-

Receiver

DeVonta Smith: 10 catches on 13 targets, 117 yards, 1 TD

This was a game where DeVonta Smith showed everyone why he was ready to be this team’s WR1. He had a great first half and then was spectacular on the game’s final drive and likely would have capped it with a touchdown had he not slipped. But because of that slip, Darius Cooper was able to make a leaping game-winning touchdown catch. He finished with 2 for 26. Dontayvion Wicks had another big game with 5 catches for 74 yards. And even Makai Lemon had a big 14-yard catch on third down. Hollywood Brown had a 9-yard run on an end-around.

Grade: A

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 1 catch on 2 targets for 4 yards

During this game, Dallas Goedert suffered a knee injury and was not able to return. This revealed a weakness on the roster. The Eagles do not have very good tight end depth and that showed up in this one after Goedert left the field. Their other tight ends are Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins. As a blocking tight end, Mundt offers ability but he’s just not much of a pass catcher. In this game, Mundt had 2 catches for 8 yards.

Grade: B-

Offensive line

With a solid final drive, the offensive line pulled itself out of D territory but it was not a good line for the front. The Eagles elected to shuffle the line by putting Cam Jurgens at left guard and Drew Kendall at center. Jurgens seemed to struggle in his first-ever game at left guard. But it wasn’t just Jurgens. The whole line struggled throughout this game with run blocking, pass protection and penalties. The Eagles’ ceiling is dependent on their offensive line and there are serious concerns going forward.

Grade: C-

Defensive line

Nolan Smith: 3 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs

The Eagles’ run defense wasn’t great in this game and that started up front; Jordan Davis didn’t dominate the run like we’re used to seeing. At times, those guys looked gassed in the heat. But Jalen Carter had enough left in the tank to get a big sack in the fourth quarter that led to the field goal. Nolan Smith got the D-line on the board with his first sack of the 2026 season. Moro Ojomo had incredible plays on back-to-back reps in the fourth quarter; he drew a holding call and followed it up with a TFL.

Grade: B-

Linebacker

Jihaad Campbell: 10 tackles, 1 forced fumble

While linebacker is one of the biggest strengths of this team, it wasn’t a great performance from Zack Baun and Jihaad Campell in this game. Baun had a rare missed tackle on a short pass that ended up going for a big gain and Campbell was beaten in coverage at some point too. Campbell did force a fumble but the Eagles were not able to recover.

Grade: C+

Secondary

Quinyon Mitchell: 6 tackles

The Eagles held Cam Ward to 183 passing yards in this game but they gave up chunks at inopportune times. Marcus Epps got caught flat-footed on a big gain in the fourth quarter. While Riq Woolen was good in coverage, he wasn’t able to pick off a pass that he over-ran when the ball hit him in the hands. The Eagles still don’t have a takeaway yet this season.

Grade: B-

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 58-yard field goal, 3/3 on PATs

It was another good special teams day. Jake Elliott drilled a 58-yard attempt after going 4 for 8 from 50+ in 2025. Braden Mann punted just two times but averaged 55.0 yards per punt and downed both inside the 20. Britain Covey had 2 punt returns for 31 yards with a long of 23. He seems to get crushed every week and just keeps popping back up.

Grade: A

Coaching

Record: 2-0

It wasn’t perfect but the Eagles deserve credit for persevering in a game like this, especially given the conditions. Give Nick Sirianni credit for aggressively using his timeouts before the 2-minute warning and playing for the win in regulation instead of trying to kick a field goal. That aggressive mindset is good. Vic Fangio’s defense held the Titans to 20 points. Sean Mannion should rip out the pages of the playbook with those short-area Makai Lemon targets and light them on fire. But it has been encouraging to see the offense get multiple receivers involved.

Grade: B

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