Eagles Week 9 PFF Grades: Dallas Goedert dominates Houston; Javon Hargrave continues his hot streak
For the first time in franchise history, the Philadelphia Eagles moved to 8-0 after defeating the Houston Texans 29-17 Thursday night.
Offensively, Philadelphia was effective on the ground and through the air. Jalen Hurts completed 77 percent of his passes on 27 attempts while notching two touchdowns with his arm. Miles Sanders led the way in the running game, racking up 93 yards on 17 carries.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jonathan Gannon’s group did what they do best – generate pressure and force turnovers. The Eagles defense snagged two interceptions off Houston QB Davis Mills and managed to tally three sacks on the night.
Let’s take a look at how Pro Football Focus graded the Eagles performance from Thursday night.
Dallas Goedert, Jason Kelce, and Zach Pascal lead the way offensively
TE Dallas Goedert led the Eagles offense in PFF’s grading system Thursday night, posting a 90.6 offensive grade and a 93.0 receiving grade for his efforts.
Goedert hauled in eight of his nine targets for 100 yards and a score against Houston, while also moving the chains on seven of those receptions. It was Goedert’s best single-game outing of the year, statistically and in PFF’s eyes.
On the season, Goedert has the fourth-highest PFF grade among 70 qualifying tight ends, posting a 79.8 mark through nine weeks.
All-Pro center Jason Kelce came in right behind Goedert in PFF’s grading system, ending the night with a 75.5 offensive grade along with 74.9 and 70.1 marks in run blocking and pass blocking respectively.
On 35 pass blocking reps, Kelce didn’t surrender a single pressure, hurry, QB hit, or sack against Houston. The future Hall of Famer continues to prove he’s one of the best centers playing today. His 79.4 offensive grade through nine weeks ranks third out of 37 qualifying centers.
Rounding out the top-three for the Eagles offense is WR Zach Pascal, who put together his second solid performance in a row Thursday night. He wasn’t a huge factor in the passing game, recording just one reception for eight yards. But, he was great in every other facet of the game, posting the highest run blocking grade of anyone on the team with a 77.0 mark.
Pascal rarely makes an impact on the stat sheet, but his willingness to mix things up in the ground game and block down field is invaluable for this Eagles offense.
Jordan Mailata posts his worst PFF grades in years
Eagles LT Jordan Mailata struggled immensely Thursday night, specifically when he was asked to block pass rusher Jerry Hughes. He ended the night with the worst overall grade on the Eagles offense, posting a 48.2 mark. It’s the worst offensive grade Mailata has earned in a game since 2020.
Mailata surrendered a team-high four pressures on Hurts, while giving up two sacks and two hurries a piece.
As it stands, Mailata has a 65.5 offensive grade for the year, 47th out of 78 qualifying tackles. He hasn’t been as dominant as some fans expected in 2022, but there’s still no reason to panic over Mailata. He’s still the left tackle of the present and the future. Once he cleans up some of his footwork issues, the Eagles LT should be just fine.
PFF grades for the entire Eagles offense:
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TJ Edwards, Haason Reddick, and Javon Hargrave lead the way defensively
TJ Edwards has been a godsend for this Eagles defense. For years, the linebacker position was the bane of this team’s existence. Thanks to Edwards, it’s now one of the many strengths of Gannon’s unit.
Edwards finished the night as the highest graded defensive player for the Eagles, earning an overall mark of 77.0 while posting an 80.9 tackling grade. On a night where Houston RB Dameon Pierce was breaking multiple tackles every time he touched the ball, Edwards didn’t miss one tackle and finished with a team-high seven combined tackles.
For the first time in a long time, the Eagles have a great linebacker running their defense.
Coming in behind Edwards was Haason Reddick. The Camden native finished the game with a 76.9 defensive grade while recording two pressures, one quarterback hit, and one hurry.
Out of 117 qualifying edge rushers, Reddick currently ranks 17th in PFF’s grade book, earning an overall mark of 80.1 this season.
Javon Hargrave found himself atop the grade sheet for the Eagles defense once again this week, earning a 74.2 defensive mark for his efforts. He was unstoppable rushing the passer Thursday night, racking up six total pressure and three sacks on Mills. Hargrave finished the night with the highest pass rushing grade of any Eagles defender, earning a 91.7 mark in that category.
He’s been on an absolute tear over the past two weeks, racking up five sacks and four tackles for loss during that time. With Jordan Davis out for the foreseeable future, Hargrave will need to continue his dominance.
Fletcher Cox continues to struggle
During the early portion of the 2022 season, it looked like Fletcher Cox had rebounded from his subpar 2021 campaign. Recently, it’s become clear that he’s simply not what he used to be.
He posted the worst defensive grade of anyone on Gannon’s unit Thursday night, finishing the game with a 40.0 overall mark and a dreadful 26.7 tackling grade.
Since Week 5, Cox has posted a single-game grade higher than 60 just once. Through nine weeks, he’s the 74th-best defensive tackle in PFF’s grading system with a 56.0 defensive grade.
Cox’s play has been on a downward slope for years now. Without Davis in the lineup, it’s imperative that Cox finds some youthful energy to rejuvenate the Eagles defensive line when they need it.
PFF grades for the entire Eagles defense:
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