The Panthers rushing attack was stymied in the first half, with QB Cam Newton and WR Curtis Samuel being their top-two rushers by yardage. HB LeGarrette Blount was more effective for the Eagles, but both teams would hit the locker room with 10 points on the scoreboard.
The second half featured a back and fourth battle of scoring, with both teams coming up with multiple scoring drives. HB Christian McCaffrey would catch a touchdown pass to tighten the game up to a one-possession contest late, but the lead generated by two QB Carson Wentz touchdown passes, one each to TE Zach Ertz and WR Nelson Agholor, would hold strong. The Eagles would go on to win 28-23. With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.
Top 5 Grades:
LB Nigel Bradham, 89.7 overall grade
S Rodney McLeod, 86.7 overall grade
QB Carson Wentz, 86.6 overall grade
T Jason Peters, 85.8 overall grade
Edge Brandon Graham, 85.2 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB Carson Wentz, 86.6 overall grade
The missed third down conversion with Nelson Agholor standing uncovered will stick out in fans minds, but Wentz put them in that position in the first place. He was incredibly efficient throwing the ball down the field, going 7-of-10 for 146 yards on passes targeted 10+ yards down the field. And that doesn't even include a perfectly thrown ball that slipped through Alshon Jeffrey's hands with James Bradberry contesting. Wentz suffered from two drops on the night.
G Brandon Brooks, 84.7 overall grade
Brooks was responsible for a handful of the Eagles biggest runs on Thursday, dominating Star Lotuleilei on multiple occasions. He was also good in pass protection, as he was beaten for one lone pressure on 37 pass-blocking snaps.
LB Nigel Bradham, 89.7 overall grade
Bradham was all over the place in coverage, generally in a good way. He was targeted seven times in coverage, and while he did allow one 20-yard first down, only two other passes were completed against him for a combined 10 yards. He broke up two other passes, including one on third-and-one on the Panthers' final drive that otherwise would have been an easy catch on a slant for a first down. In addition to the two pass breakups, he also had a game-high six defensive stops.
DI Fletcher Cox, 85.7 pass-rush grade
After missing the Eagles' past two games, Cox returned and made a sizable impact as a pass-rusher. He had six total pressures on the night, including one sack, and one hit that caused Cam Newton's first interception of the night.
Top 5 Grades:
T Daryl Williams, 81.0 overall grade
S Mike Adams, 79.4 overall grade
LB Thomas Davis, 78.4 overall grade
LB Luke Kuechly, 77.0 overall grade
DI Vernon Butler, 76.5 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB Cam Newton, 45.1 overall grade
Newton had little help from the rest of the offense for most of the game as the Panthers struggled to run the ball, allowed Newton to be pressured on 44 percent of his dropbacks, and also dropped six of his passes. While two of the interceptions weren't his fault, he had one that was a terrible decision that was picked by the safety, only to be nullified by a penalty on the cornerback that had no affect on the quality or decision of the throw. Newton really struggled on the final two drives though, completing just 6-of-14 passes, including an interception, a dropped interception, and an under-thrown ball to Christian McCaffrey on fourth down.
WR Kelvin Benjamin, 76.0 overall grade
Benjamin was targeted 13 times, hauled in nine passes for 99 yards, and forced two missed tackles after the catch. However, he also dropped an easy pass, his second in as many games after not dropping any in the first four weeks of the season.
CB James Bradberry, 74.6 overall grade
Thursday night was a mixed bag for Bradberry, who yielded 43 yards in his coverage, yet took 8 targets to do so. He held his own for the most part when matched up with Alshon Jeffery, yielding one catch on five targets for 14 yards.
DI Star Lotuleilei, 36.5 overall grade
One has to wonder when the Panthers 2013 first-round pick will start ceding snaps to their 2016 first-round pick. Lotulelei was held without a pressure for the third time this season. One could handle 25 empty pass-rushing snaps from a nose tackle if they were affecting the run, but that wasn't the case for Lotulelei. He didn't register a single stop in 17 run snaps.
PFF Game Ball: Nigel Bradham, LB
*Grades are subject to change upon review
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.