The latest round of Pro Football Focus player grades are in after Week 3’s New Orleans Saints game with the Philadelphia Eagles. So who stood out — for good and bad? Let’s break it down by highlighting the top five — and bottom five — performances on both offense and defense from Sunday, as well as the special teams and quarterback play:
Top 5 offense
- WR Chris Olave: 90.3
- QB Derek Carr: 67.5
- LT Taliese Fuaga: 64.9
- RB Alvin Kamara: 63.8
- C Erik McCoy: 60
Backup left guard Nick Saldiveri gets an honorable mention here for grading out with a 71.0 on his only snap of the game (in pass protection), and it would be great to see him climb the depth and earn a shot in the starting lineup now that McCoy is out of action. Olave should’ve had more targets. He caught all 6 passes that Carr threw to him for 86 yards and what would have been a game-winning touchdown.
Top 5 defense
- DE Carl Granderson: 88.9
- LB Willie Gay Jr.: 85.9
- CB Paulson Adebo: 79.9
- CB Marshon Lattimore: 72.7
- FS Tyrann Mathieu: 68.5
Granderson was incredible this week, leading the team with seven pressures and twice sacking the quarterback. As we expected, Gay played a key role in spying Jalen Hurts to prevent the quarterback from running amok; he only had 3 tackles but Hurts managed just 25 rushing yards off of 8 attempts, 21 of them on one play. They went after Adebo often in coverage but he yielded just 36 yards and 3 first downs on 9 targets.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Juwan Johnson: 29.6
- RT Trevor Penning: 40.1
- LG Olisaemeka Udoh: 43.3
- RG Cesar Ruiz: 45.5
- WR Mason Tipton: 46.4
We’re past the point where Johnson’s offseason injury can explain his lack of production. He’s someone who should’ve stepped up with Taysom Hill out this week, but instead he was a liability as a blocker and he couldn’t get open enough for Derek Carr to even try throwing to him. The offensive line was a disaster without Erik McCoy in the middle. All three of these blockers allowed multiple pressures (4 for Udoh, 3 for Ruiz, and 2 for Penning) and they failed to consistently open running lanes against the Eagles front.
Bottom 5 defense
- S Jordan Howden: 32.8
- DT Bryan Bresee: 40.7
- LB Deemario Davis: 44.5
- DE Chase Young: 56.8
- DT Nathan Shepherd: 59.1
Those aren’t the names you want at the bottom of the list. Davis suffered an injury in this game and played an uncharacteristically low number of snaps because of it (only 63 out of 71), and he struggled to defend tight ends crossing through his zone in the middle of the field. Howden only played 11 snaps but was one of the key defenders at fault on a coverage bust that set up Dallas Goedert’s 61-yard catch late in regulation. Bresee didn’t generate many pressures but he did bag a pair of sacks. Conversely, Young had six pressures but he’s still struggling to finish plays, and too often he rushed too deep which created a lane for Jalen Hurts to escape into.
Special teams
Blake Grupe looked sloppy on a couple of mid-range field goals, which may have kept the coaches from trusting him at greater distances later in the game. At least Matthew Hayball placed his punts better this week with two falling inside the 20 and only one being returned. Isaiah Foskey had two assists in coverage and J.T. Gray blocked a punt, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on that opportunity.
Quarterback play
It’s tough to evaluate Carr’s performance given how many times he was under pressure. He did make a couple of big-time throws this week, but he also twice put the ball in harm’s way; he’s very lucky he had an interception dropped on the worst pass he’s thrown all season, but he didn’t get lucky on a forced throw in the offense’s final play. The Eagles did a great job not biting on play action and that really limited his options to get the ball out under pressure.
