Gardner Minshew Week 16 report card: There’s still magic in the mania

It wasn’t the performance by the Philadelphia Eagles that we had hoped for. We most certainly didn’t get the result that we wanted. Gardner Minshew threw two touchdown passes. He also, unfortunately, threw two interceptions, but we learned something about him, even in a loss. There’s still a little ‘magic’ to be found in the ‘mania’

Four total turnovers led to 20 points for the guys in the wrong-colored jerseys. Jordan Davis, Lane Johnson, and Avonte Maddox all left the field with injuries and didn’t return. As we enjoy Christmas Day and wake up to spend time with our families, we will have those guys on our minds, but if, for some unfortunate reason, Jalen Hurts isn’t healthy enough to play versus the New Orleans Saints, Gardner is good enough to get the job done.

Here are some final grades following Gardner Minshew’s Christmas Eve performance versus the Cowboys.

Gardner’s final numbers were as follows: 40 passing attempts, 24 completions, the aforementioned two TDs, a pair of interceptions, a rating of 84.9, and a 70.6 QBR. Let’s dig into his game a little further.

Best throws

With a tad over 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Eagles faced a third-and-nine scenario. Minshew found Kenneth Gainwell for an important first-down conversion. That one led to a touchdown toss on a good-looking fourth-down play fake. DeVonta Smith was the recipient of this one.

Gorgeous!

In the fourth quarter, facing third-and-ten from midfield with a little over 14 minutes remaining, Dallas brought the house. Gardner escaped left, found DeVonta Smith, and moved the chains. Then, he found A.J. Brown on third-and-six at about the 12-minute mark. A TD pass on third-and-six concluded the drive.

Check that one out!

Who are we kidding though? It doesn’t get much better than that first deep pass to A.J. Brown. Just sit back, kick your feet up, and appreciate the beauty.

All in all, it was a decent day for Gardner, not great but decent. Four turnovers by the offense are far too many. It’s hard to win when that happens. Keep in mind the fact that Philly’s other loss was a four-turnover performance as well.

Seeing the defense fail to get a stop on third-and-30 was tough to watch too, but again, we’ve seen enough to state that there’s a little Minshew Magic remaining in the frame of the guy wearing the Number 10 jersey.

He missed throws and hit them. He made reads and missed them. Despite playing one of their worst games of the season, Philadelphia had a chance to pull this one out late. They didn’t. That’s unfortunate, so securing home-field advantage will have to wait for another week.

Here are Gardner Minshew’s final grades.

• Accuracy: B
• Vision: A-
  
• Intangibles: B
  
• Decision-making: A
  
• Leadership: A
  
• Overall: B+