Making Our Grades

by Paul Domowitch
Posted: September 14, 2009

Here are our grades for the Eagles' 38-10 victory over Carolina.

RUSH OFFENSE

Brian Westbrook, who didn't play a down in the preseason following ankle surgery, rushed for 64 yards, including 45 on seven carries in the first half. DeSean Jackson rushed for 33 yards, 25 of it on an end-around and the other 8 out of the Wildcat.

Grade: A-minus

PASS OFFENSE

Donovan McNabb averaged just 4.4 yards per attempt before he got hurt, but collected a pair of TD passes. He misfired on an early-third-quarter interception when he failed to get a pass to a wide-open Kevin Curtis over the head of middle linebacker Jon Beason.

Grade: C-minus

RUN DEFENSE

The Panthers rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries on their first possession, including an 11-yard cutback run by DeAngelo Williams for a touchdown. But the Eagles shut the door after that, holding Carolina to 31 rushing yards on 20 attempts the rest of the game.

Grade: A

PASS DEFENSE

The Eagles' aggressive pass rush terrorized three Carolina QBs, notched five sacks and helping force five interceptions. They chased starter Jake Delhomme midway through the third quarter after a dreadful 7-for-17, four-interception effort.

Grade: A-plus

SPECIAL TEAMS

DeSean Jackson had an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter that gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead. David Akers had a 51-yard field goal attempt blocked and sent a late-second quarter kickoff out of bounds, and the punt-coverage unit gave up a 26-yard return.

Grade: B-minus

OVERALL

The offense finished with just 267 yards and converted only five of 13 third-down opportunities. But the defense came up big, forcing seven turnovers in Sean McDermott's debut as defensive coordinator.

Grade: B-minus

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