Game ball, three stars and snap count analysis: Week 8, Eagles at Bengals

In their Week 8 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Philadelphia Eagles played 61 snaps on offense and 58 on defense. Let's get straight to the snap counts and some notes.

quarterback

• 61 snaps: Jalen Hurts

Notes: After a few shaky drives early in the game, Hurts bounced back and had probably his best game of the season, completing 16 of 20 passes (80%) for 236 yards, 1 touchdown and no turnovers for the third straight game. He also rushed for 36 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Run back

• 50 snaps: Saquon Barkley

• 9 snaps: Kenny Gainwell

• 4 snaps: Ben VanSumeren

• 2 snaps: Will Shipley

Notes: Barkley scored 22 carries for 108 yards, 57 of them on a game-winning, 12-play touchdown drive that took up more than half of the fourth quarter.

Shipley had a 17-yard TD run that was returned to Nick Gates.

Wide receiver

• 57 snaps: DeVonta Smith

• 50 Snaps: AJ Brown

• 26 snaps: Jahan Dotson

• 8 snaps: Ainias Smith

• 6 snaps: Johnny Wilson

Notes: DeVonta Smith had a big game (6-85-1) with 7 scores after catching a pass for -2 yards last week. Brown (5-84-0) had a bad day for him.

Dotson completed a cardio workout. He was not targeted.

Ainias Smith appeared in his first NFL game after being activated from IR on Saturday. He got moving a few times, but the ball never went his way.

Tight end

• 57 snapshots: Grant Calcaterra

• 35 snapshots: Jack Stoll

Notes: Calcaterra had 3 catches on 3 targets for 58 yards as he continues to work his way into Hurts' circle of trust. He was completely open on all three of his receptions.

MORE: 10 awards from the Eagles-Bengals

Offensive line

• 61 snaps each: Fred Johnson and Cam Jürgens

• 59 snaps: Tyler Steen

• 58 snaps: Landon Dickerson

• 55 snaps: Lane Johnson

• 7 snapshots: Jack Driscoll

• 3 snaps: Darrian Kinnard

• 2 snapshots: Nick Gates

Notes: The offensive line was well protected as a group pass all afternoon as Hurts was not sacked once.

Lane Johnson writhed in pain after one play, but only left the game for one play before re-entering the game.

There were a few penalties given to Steen, but I thought both were questionable.

Fred Johnson did a great job with star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, even when asked to block him one-on-one. On Sunday there was a series of plays that went something like this:

This was by far his best game of the season.

Edge defender

• 38 snaps: Josh Sweat

• 30 snaps: Nolan Smith

• 22 snaps: Bryce Huff

• 21 snaps: Brandon Graham

• 3 snaps: Jalyx Hunt

Notes: In general, the defensive line did a good job shutting down the run and leading the Bengals to long downs and yardage, but they didn't convert those opportunities into sacks. They were under a lot of pressure, but Joe Burrow was often able to break away and play on the run.

Nolan Smith shared the Eagles' only sack with Milton Williams.

Internal defense line

• 45 snaps: Jalen Carter

• 28 snaps: Milton Williams

• 25 snapshots: Moro Ojomo

• 22 snaps: Jordan Davis

• 5 snapshots: Thomas Booker

Notes: I don't think anyone inside the line stood out positively or negatively. I found it interesting that Davis came off the field on Cooper DeJean's 4th-and-1 stop.

MORE: The decisive games of the Eagles-Bengals

Linebackers

• 55 snapshots: Zack Baun

• 51 snapshots: Nakobe Dean

• 3 snapshots: Oren Burks and Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.

Notes: Baun had 12 tackles and a forced fumble. He averages 9.9 tackles per game. He is tied for 11th in the NFL with 69 tackles, despite playing one fewer game than most players on the leaderboard.

Dean played physical and I didn't notice any missed tackles, which has been a problem for him this season.

Cornerback and safety

• 55 snaps each: Quinyon Mitchell, Reed Blankenship and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson

• 47 snaps: Cooper DeJean

• 41 snaps: Darius Slay

• 17 snaps: Isaiah Rodgers

• 8 snaps: Avonte Maddox

• 3 snaps each: Kelee Ringo, Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum

Notes: DeJean had one of the best plays of the day when he tracked down Ja'Marr Chase in the flat to make a tackle for a loss that led to a turnover on downs. He also made a rookie mistake when he decided to chase a scrambling Burrow instead of sticking with his man in coverage, Mike Gesicki. But overall, he and Mitchell already seem like good rookie players.

Rodgers made an outstanding play when he threw a Burrow throw to Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who made the INT.

Slay left the game with a groin injury and did not return. He didn't look good as he walked to the locker room.

Three stars 🤩

I've always liked the hockey tradition of awarding “stars” to each of the top three players in a game, so we're applying that to Eagles games.

⭐⭐⭐: QB Jalen is hurting

🌟🌟: WR DeVonta Smith

✨: RB Saquon Barkley

Eagles game ball 🏈

🏈: LT Fred Johnson: Playing against his former team, Johnson did an excellent job of keeping Hendrickson away from Hurts.

Seasonal game balls

Week 1, vs. Packers: Saquon Barkley
Week 2, at Falcons: Nobody
Week 3, at Saints: Vic Fangio
Week 4, at Buccaneers: Saquon Barkley
Week 5: Bye
Week 6, vs. Browns: Brandon Graham
Week 7, at Giants: Saquon Barkley
Week 8, at Bengals: Fred Johnson

MORE: The Eagles really manage to continue their winning streak against the Bengals

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