Eagles first-half report card: Let’s just forget about September

September was tough for the Philadelphia Eagles. They won in Weeks 1 and 3 and lost (horribly) in Weeks 2 and 4. October though? October was different.

The bye week came at the perfect time and it seems like the team took pretty good advantage of it. The Eagles played four inconsistent games before the bye and since then they’ve really come alive and tightened things up. 

In the Eagles' three October games, it sure looked a lot like the acclimation period was coming to a close and ending. They beat the Browns, stomped the Giants, then publicly executed the Bengals. It was awesome.

Eagles October grades and awards:

Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) is one of the better ways to look at how a team is doing. In short, it compares each team’s success on offense, defense, and offense and defense based on down and distance based on how good the opponent is and some other factors. FTN, previously known as Football Outsiders, came up with this system, and it’s pretty cool if you ignore the math stuff that goes into it.

Any time you get to ignore a percentage that you don’t understand and actually see how that number compares to other teams, it’s a good thing. The Eagles' overall DVOA is +9.5%, but that percentage is arbitrary. The important thing to know is that they are ranked 12th in overall DVOA. 

Offensive grade:

While October has given us some pretty awesome offensive games, they haven’t always been great. The Eagles did score on their first drive against the Bengals, but those points happened in the second quarter, so they still haven’t scored in the first quarter of a game since Week 18 of the 2023 season. 

That whole thing really puts a damper on everything when you’re looking at this offense. Sure, they’ve been absolutely nails in pretty much every other drive after their first two of each game, but a team can’t expect sustainable success when they literally and figuratively punt for the entirety of a quarter of the game.

That being said, in the first four games, the Eagles averaged 21.6 points per game in their first four games. In October, they averaged 28.3. In games with A.J. Brown, the Eagles are scoring 29.7 points per game. In the three games without him, they averaged 17.7 points.

They’re averaging almost a full touchdown more per game since they’ve come out of the bye week, and 12 more points when A.J. is playing. That’s incredible.

Overall, the Eagles offense is ranked 11th in offensive DVOA, and before Week 8, they were ranked 18th. So when you look at the season as a whole, the offense deserves somewhere between a C+ and a B-.

For October, it’s different. Jalen Hurts has cleaned up his act and big time. In September, he had a completion percentage of 68.2% and an average passer rating of 85.7. In October, he had a completion percentage of 71.2% and an average passer rating of 125.9. Those are HUGE jumps.

However, the biggest difference between the two months isn’t his lack of turnovers, it’s the absence of his turnovers. He went from throwing four interceptions and losing three fumbles in September to three straight games of absolutely nothing in October. If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, you need to check your pulse. 

The Eagles' offensive grade in October is a B. They’ve been able to put up points and seal games away. Unfortunately, none of that has come in the first quarter. If they can correct that while keeping up this same pace next month, we’ll be looking at a top-three offense and an A+ in November. 

Defensive Grade:

The Eagles defense is a whole different beast. In September, they had one good game, but it was a really really good game against the Saints. Unfortunately, that was followed up by one of the most abysmal performances of any NFL team all season against the Buccaneers. 

It stinks that those games have to be put into consideration with the October games for a season-long grade because, in the three games since the Tampa Bay game, the Eagles defense has only allowed only two touchdowns. Were two of those games against bottom-tier quarterbacks on bottom-tier offenses? Yes, but that’s pretty good. Weird things happen in football and touchdowns can be scored from pretty much anywhere on the field. Also, you play who you play, it’s not their fault two quarterbacks were Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones.

The Eagles' defense gets a season-long grade of a B. They’ve had a total of four really good games, one better-than-okay game in Week 1, one worse-than-okay game in Week 3, and one absolutely pathetic game in Week 4.

Their October grade is an A+. In Weeks 5 through 8, the Eagles have allowed a league-low, 12 points per game. That number includes the Browns’ blocked field goal, so it’s actually 9.3 points per game allowed by the defense. 

On top of that, they’ve also had 14 of their 20 sacks and held teams to just two of five in the red zone in October as well. It’s looking like the acclimation period to Fangio’s scheme is over. 

October Offensive MVP:

The September MVP was Saquon Barkley because he rocks. He’s not going to be the October MVP even though he has every right to be. He’s had 331 yards in the past three games which is incredible. 

The Eagles’ October offensive MVP is A.J. Brown. He’s had 16 catches for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers aren’t spectacular compared to what he’s done as an Eagle, but again, it’s what he adds to the offense’s ceiling and scoring potential. He was missed in September and the offense has operated relatively phenomenally since he’s come back from his hamstring injury.

October Defensive MVP:

The September defensive MVP was Brandon Graham and it wasn’t super close. This month is much closer. You could argue that it’s still Grahm based on Merit, but it could also be Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Nakobe Dean, Josh Sweat, or Zack Baun. 

The Eagles' October defensive MVP is Zack Baun. He’s leading the team in tackles that result in negative EPA and he’s also been Vic Fangio’s ace-in-the-hole. He’s been able to line up as a traditional inside linebacker, but he’s also been able to line up on the interior of the defensive line and as an edge rusher. 

Nakobe Dean has been playing really well over the past three games, but when it comes to being valuable, you also have to think about what the player means to the team. If Dean went out, the Eagles have a few linebackers who would be able to come in for him and play the position. 

If Baun went out, there’s no one else on the roster who can play his position and do everything that he does. Also, it helps that he’s just the most plain-looking person in the world and he’s really fun to watch.

October Rookie of the Month:

So, Quinyon Mitchell has been objectively awesome, and his performance against the Bengals has earned him a lot more respect for pretty much everyone. Hell, in that game, Darius Slay went out with an injury and Isaiah Rodgers came in as his replacement. Joe Burrow decided to target Rodgers over Mitchell (it almost immediately resulted in an interception).

What makes this tricky is Cooper DeJean’s addition to the starting roster. Cooper isn’t as good a Q, but he’s still awesome. Cooper’s case for this award is how much of an upgrade he is at the Nickel Corner position over Avonte Maddox. We saw him personally siphon the life out of Paycour stadium when he tackled Ja’Marr Chase behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs.

Now, compare that to a very similar play that Avone Maddox had against the Buccaneers, who have significantly worse talent at wide receiver. The difference between the two is huge.

That being said, the Eagles' Defensive Rookie of the Month is Quinyon Mitchell. He’s on the field more and his ability to be a certifiable lockdown corner as a rookie is dumbfounding. For posterity’s sake, both Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are in the top 15 odds-wise for Defensive Rookie of the Year on DraftKings as of Wednesday AM (October 30, 2024). Q has the third-best odds (+600) and DeJean has the 14th-best odds (+2500). They’re both good, but what Quinyon is doing is more special.

Best Mic’d up of October: 

There are only two options for this award: Brandon Graham against the Browns and DeVonta Smith after he scored against the Bengals.

There’s a small chance that DeVonta might have had some pent-up energy after his touchdown. Our guy has a mouth on him.

There is unedited audio of that clip and it needs to be released ASAP. Just out of curiosity’s sake. How creative was he being with his cuss words? Was he dropping S and F-bombs? Or was he just simply shouting every obscenity known to man?

Brandon Graham’s mic'd up was different, but the same. He played the hits; he talked trash to everyone he could see.

The best mic’d up of October goes to Brandon Graham, because he went straight down the entirety of the Browns’ offensive line and dressed every single one of them down, cackling the whole way. 

DeVonta’s raw show of emotion was incredible, but the amount of effort it takes to individually tell five separate grown men how bad of a day they are going to have is something else. 

Also, hats off to B.G. for keeping it professional and not berating DeShaun Watson in a public venue. That takes real self-restraint.

The Eagles are in a much better spot now than they were four short weeks ago. The team is functioning at a higher level and it shows, whether it be by standalone performances or arbitrary awards that could easily change in the near future.