PFF's highest-graded Eagles defenders should put smiles on everyone's faces

Okay, here's some radical and brutal honesty. After watching the Philadelphia Eagles get bludgeoned by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we weren't certain if there was anywhere to go but down. We know... We know... It's a long season. Next week presents another opportunity. Blah... Blah... Blah... We're just being honest. We didn't know if we'd recover. We thought Nick Sirianni would be run out of town.

We didn't think Nick would be fired in-season, but we knew the seat was hot. If you remember, Philly wasn't prepared, and Jalen Hurts was awful in that game.

We kept thinking about last season's collapse. We couldn't get the loss to the Atlanta Falcons out of our minds, so though it was early, we were down in the dumps.

Even though the Birds won their prior matchup, Hurts wasn't that impressive versus the New Orleans Saints. But, we told ourselves that AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith would be back. That would help. If this defense could get rolling, that would certainly give everyone a boost.

To make matters worse, the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, but we've been given some hope. Good showings by Vic Fangio's unit and two consecutive showings have given us reason to hope again.

The five highest-graded Eagles from Week 7 per PFF

Philly gave up a special teams TD to the lowly Browns, one scored by a former Eagle to be exact. The defense, however, only surrendered nine points. Sure, it was the Browns, but they're still an NFL team, right?

The Giants are another bottom feeder, but Philly's defense held serve again. Following the Week 7 victory, we checked out Pro Football Focus to see who the top defenders are.

Safety Sydney Brown (87.7)

In his return, Sydney Brown played nine snaps, two vs. the run and seven in coverage. A pass breakup on one target helped produce the following grades: coverage (81.8), run defense (60.0), overall (87.7).

Cornerback Cooper DeJean (86.3)

Total snaps: 42, 31 in coverage & 11 vs. the run

Cooper DeJean again impressed. The numbers truly speak for themselves.

The PFF site states he played 31 coverage snaps, but you get the idea. The dude was damn good. He earned a coverage grade of 87.4 and run defense and tackle grades of 63.0 and 82.0 respectively.

His fellow rookie DB Quinyon Mitchell earned an overall grade of 53.6. That is surprising because he has played so well.

Defensive Tackle Thomas Booker (85.9)

13 defensive snaps: 3 vs. the run & 10 coverage snaps

Thomas Booker doesn't strike us as a consistent pass rusher. That shows in his Week 7 grade (58.9), but he made up for that in other areas. His 69.7 tackle grade and an 86.0 run defense grade result in an 85.9 grade overall.

Defensive Tackle Milton Williams (78.7)

Total snaps, 27: 8 vs. the run, 18 pressure snaps, one snap in coverage
Grades: RDEF (64.8), Tackle (66.8), Pressure (75.6), Coverage (60.0)

Most Eagles fans have no issues with Milton Williams. He is solid when he plays but will never get a ton of snaps with Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter on the roster unless the Eagles play him outside.

Linebacker Nakobe Dean (78.1)

Total snaps, 49: 13 vs. rush, six pressure snaps, 30 coverage snaps
Grades: RDEF (71.5), Tackle (62.7), Pressure (90.3), Coverage (60.0)

Nakobe Dean missed his weekly open-field tackle this week, but he missed it early. He rebounded quite nicely with a great game. He was targeted three times and gave up three receptions but also tallied two sacks and two QB hits.

As a unit. The Eagles stopped the Giants on 11 of their 14 third-down attempts. They came up with eight sacks resulting in 62 yards of lost yardage. New York would only muster 119 offensive yards and three points at home versus Philly's defense. Sure, there's a temptation to state 'iIt was only the Giants', but again, you can only play the next team on the schedule.

Philly's next game is a road date versus the Cincinnati Bengals. The start time has changed, but we'll know a lot more about Philly's defense after this one.

Joe Burrow is one of the best young QBs in the game. Star players surround him. Philly only plays Cincy once every four years, but they've only won three of the previous 14 meetings.

They haven't beaten the Bengals since Christmas Eve in 2000. Philly has NEVER won in Cincinnati. They are 0-4-1. It's time to change that in Week 8.

Read more Eagles Week 7 news