Offensive tackle Jalen Hurts-Saquon Barkley is clicking

CINCINNATI — Snapshots for the Eagles’ 37-17 win over the Bengals:

Quarterback: A

Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season and perhaps since the Week 12 overtime win over the Bills last season. He had a few early problems, including a dangerous forecheck pass Kenneth Gainwell which could be collected in the second quarter. But Hurts bounced back and was superb in the air and on the ground the rest of the way.

He completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also scored three rushing touchdowns — two rushing touchdowns and a 7-yard run out of the zone in the third quarter. He had some powerful throws, the best being a 17-yarder AJ Brown who converted a third-and-16 in the second quarter and a perfectly placed 45-yard bomb DeVonta Smith in the end zone.

Running back: A-

Saquon Barkley had some tough early snaps against a Bengals defense intent on stopping the run. But he left in the fourth quarter, when the Eagles’ four-minute offense hit Cincinnati and put the game away. Barkley went over 100 yards on the ground for the fourth time this season and finished with 108 yards on 22 carries.

Gainwell wasn’t used as much as he was a week ago and only had two touches. Ben Van Sumeren continued to play sometimes in the position of full back. He had a decent leadoff block on Barkley’s 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. newcomer Will Shipley had a successful touchdown attempt that was negated by a Nick Gates interception in the final moments of the game.

Receiver / Tight End: B+

The Eagles receivers made the most of their opportunities. After a couple of quiet games, Smith got off schneid with a 45-yard touchdown on a jump ball in the third quarter. Earlier, he caught his first pass for positive yards in a while with a 15-yard third down in the third quarter. He made several interceptions up the middle in the fourth.

Brown finished with five catches for 84 yards. He caught a 29-yard pass over the middle on the first drive and Grant Calcaterra second straight start at tight end Dallas Goedert still out with a hamstring injury. He had a pair of long catches of 28 and 19 yards and finished with three catches for 58 yards. Jack Stoll caught a 6-yard bootleg pass and was injured on the play but returned.

Aeneas Smithin his first NFL game, got some snaps. However, he was not the target.

Offensive Line: A-

The O-line won the battle up front. Fred Johnson did a yeoman’s job against Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Left tackle who replaced the injured Jordan Mailatadidn’t need much help either. Hendrickson finished without pressure. Tyler Steen stayed put Mehi Becton (concussion) at the right defender. He had a couple of penalties in the first half — a questionable hold and an earned personal foul — but he also had some solid blocks when the Eagles went into run mode.

Lane Johnson one play left in the first half. Johnson, left guard Landon Dickersonand center Cam Jurgens everyone deserves credit for not firing Hurts.

Defense line: B+

The Eagles front was instrumental in holding the Bengals to 43 yards on 17 carries. Jordan Davis and Jaylen Carter led the way in the middle of the D-line. Davis played more than last week, when he was on the field for just 12 snaps, and took part in the Bengals’ first series. Carter didn’t get to Joe Burrow to be sacked, but he pressured the Bengals linebacker into making a throw that hit a teammate Nolan Smith in a helmet

Defensive end Bryce Huff started in the front four and got a stop on the first carry. Burrow’s quick throws made it difficult for the D-line to get to him, but Smith continued his streak of games with a sack when he split a second-quarter tackle on Burrow with a defensive tackle Milton Williams.

Defensive end Brandon Graham struck out Moss with no lead on the decisive third and first stop of the third.

Linebacker: B

Zack Bown and Nakobe Dean led the Eagles with 12 and 9 rebounds, respectively. For the most part, they played well.

Bown made a tackle near the line on the Bengals’ opening drive. A few plays later, he couldn’t bring down Chase Brown before he picked up a third down. He recorded a blitz in the third quarter and made a penalty run by Burrow that fell incomplete. He was late to cover running back Zach Moss out of the backfield for a long gain in the third quarter.

Dean sniffed out an early screen for a tackle for a loss.

Cornerback: B+

The Eagles cornerbacks deserve their share of credit for holding Ja’Marr Chase to just 54 yards on nine catches. Cooper De Jean continued to flash in the socket. The rookie recorded a huge fourth down stop when he tackled Chase in the backfield for a loss in the third quarter. He should have caught the Eagles’ third interception of the season, but he dropped a Burrow pass that landed in his hands. Later, on a third-and-22 play, DeJean failed to make a play to tight end Mike Gesicki on a Burrow scramble that he converted. He was nowhere near Chase on the 12-yard catch he made from the slot. However, on the next play, he made a good tackle in the open field.

Darius Slay left in the third quarter with a groin injury. Before that, he ripped a third-down corner fade to receiver Jermaine Burton into the end zone in the second quarter. However, Burton had him run a route later, which resulted in a 41-yard gain.

Quignon Mitchell did a good job on Chase in the first half when facing the star receiver. And again almost had an interception. This time, Mitchell caught the ball, but went out of bounds. He was penalized for holding a pass, which Chase still caught for 13 yards on third down. Isaiah Rogers replaced Slay and he broke up a pass to Chase that was deflected to safety CJ Gardner-Johnson to intercept. Avonte Maddox was again the sixth defense in terms of the number of pennies.

Security: B

Gardner-Johnson was Johnny’s spot on his fourth quarterback interception, the Eagles’ first forced fumble in four games. He had ups and downs in coverage and was outside his responsibility for a breakaway on Chase Brown’s 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Reid Blankenship had some difficulties with coverage, in particular with Gesicki. The tight end had a third tackle against him in man coverage on the opening drive. Blankenship did break up Gesicki’s third pass in the second quarter. The tight end got to him in the fourth quarter after a 12-yard pass.

Special groups: A

Jake Elliott made field goals of 49 and 47 yards and made all of his extra points. Gainwell kicked a 31-yarder to open the second half. The Bengals never broke through, so DeJean never had a chance to come back. The Eagles’ punt coverage blocks were otherwise solid.

Training: A

Nick SirianniThe team had its best game of the season on the road against a decent team with an elite defense. In game management, the coach had a good call after a Bengals pass that was initially ruled complete.

Also, did the Eagles jump the shark with the Tush Push? There’s a time and a place for that, but not every third and first — especially a close midfielder — needs it. This may be too conservative.

Kellen Moore scored more plays under center which helped open up the play action. He did well to mix up Hurts’ runs against a Bengals defense that previously struggled against the plus-one quarterback game.

Vic FangioThe team’s defense got off to a slow start and a bit of a lull, but overall it held Burrow in check and forced two turnovers in one game for the first time this season. Fangio really came up short when the Bengals forced Chase to face Nolan Smith in the end zone.