Jalen Hurts was just good enough for the Philadelphia Eagles to pull out the 21-18 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season.
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Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Hurts averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt, threw a pick and took two sacks on the day. His PFF passing grade will likely finish reviews under 70.0 as a result.
The second-year quarterback attempted just seven passes that went more than 10 yards downfield, completing five of them for 109 yards and a pick. He did pick up two rushing touchdowns and 30 yards on the ground, however.
Running back
The Eagles' run game struggled to get anything going until late in the game. Hurts averaged just 3.3 yards per carry on his nine rushes, and running back Miles Sanders averaged just 2.7 yards per carry before his 18-yard scamper on the team's final drive of the game. Rookie Kenneth Gainwell only earned two rush attempts but did break off gains of six and 12 yards on the two opportunities.
In the passing game, Sanders and Gainwell combined for 14 yards on six receptions. Unfortunately, it simply wasn't a banner day for the Eagles' backfield.
Wide receivers/tight ends
Rookie DeVonta Smith led the team in receiving, with seven receptions for 77 yards but also recorded a drop and forced fumble on the day. His longest reception of the day went for 17 yards, and three of his seven receptions went for first downs. He also caught both of his contested-catch opportunities on the day.
Tight ends Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz combined for just three receptions for 35 scoreless yards from nine total targets. Goedert also dropped a would-be touchdown that Hurts turned into one of his rushing touchdowns on the same drive.
Offensive line
Offensive tackle Andre Dillard was the only Eagles offensive lineman with a PFF grade above 60.0 on first review of the broadcast film. Still, he allowed three total pressures along with most of the rest of the team's front five. Center Jason Kelce was the only player who didn't allow at least three pressures on the day, and rookie Alabama product Landon Dickerson led the team with five pressures allowed.
Defensive line
This was a massive bounce-back week for much of the Eagles' defensive line. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave continued his outstanding start to the season with yet another dominant performance and should finish PFF's reviews as the team's highest-graded defensive lineman.
Josh Sweat, Derek Barnett and Fletcher Cox had a lot of success in the trenches, as well. All four of the aforementioned defensive linemen recorded at least five pressures — Hargrave and Barnett led the way with six apiece.
Linebackers
Alex Singleton played the most of any off-ball linebacker for Philly, and while he did rack up a ton of tackles, he also gave up a lot in coverage and totaled just three defensive stops. Genard Avery was more impressive on a lesser workload, as he also recorded three defensive stops and gave up just 13 yards in coverage.
Secondary
Veteran Darius Slay was the best of the bunch against Carolina. He allowed just 22 total yards and one first down on six targets and recorded two interceptions on the day. He should finish PFF's review process as one of the highest-graded defensive players in all of Week 5.
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
This was the Sam Darnold New York Jets fans know and love. He completed just 21-of-37 passes for 177 yards (4.8 YPA), one touchdown and three picks. He had zero big-time throws and three turnover-worthy plays. He also took three sacks. On throws of 10-plus air yards, Darnold went 4-of-10 for 74 yards and three picks.
Running back
Rookie Chuba Hubbard struggled to find any open rushing lanes all game long. He totaled 101 rushing yards and five first downs on his 24 carries, and 78% of his yards came after contact. He forced three broken tackles on the day, but it wasn't enough to break off any long gains outside of his game-long 26-yarder. Hubbard also caught 5-of-6 targets for 33 yards. Backup Royce Freeman totaled just eight yards on his three touches.
Wide receivers/tight ends
D.J. Moore caught 5-of-7 targets for a team-high 42 yards. Tight end Ian Thomas was right behind him with 40 yards. Neither recorded a drop on the day. The root issue surrounding the Panthers' passing attack wasn't the receiving unit but rather Darnold's poor play under center.
Offensive line
Tackles Brady Christiensen and Taylor Moton were solid in pass protection and should emerge from PFF's review process with 75.0-plus pass-blocking grades, but the rest of the Panthers' offensive line struggled significantly. None of the team's interior offensive linemen earned PFF grades above 55.0 on first review, and veteran guard John Miller, specifically, allowed seven total pressures by himself.
Defensive line
After a surprisingly slow start to the season, second-year Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown turned in a strong Week 5 performance. He got after the passer a lot better against a seemingly hapless interior offensive line and should finish PFF's grading reviews with an 80.0-plus grade.
Brian Burns and Haason Reddick still recorded nine combined pressures on the day, but neither player was particularly dominant on the edge.
Linebackers
Both Panthers off-ball linebackers, Jermaine Carter and Julian Stanford, were impressive against Philly. Neither player recorded a missed tackle on the day, and the duo allowed just two yards from four targets in coverage.
Secondary
Veteran A.J. Bouye was the Panthers' most impressive defensive back on Sunday. He recorded a 75.0-plus PFF coverage grade and one forced incompletion on first review. He also recorded three defensive stops and allowed receptions on 5-of-6 targets for 17 yards and one first down.
