December 14, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (27) and defensive end Brandon Graham (55) on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sunday at the Linc had the feel of what football is often like around South Philly in December – played after a morning snowfall, with winds gusting around the stadium, and with stiff defense essential to surviving the elements.
The Eagles and their defense were ready, as they swarmed and suffocated an undermanned and overmatched Raiders offense in a 31-0 victory in Week 15 on Sunday afternoon, when the temps were in the 20s but the "feels like" sank to single digits.
Brandon Graham picked up two early sacks, and Jaelan Phillips, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and Nolan Smith were also major nuisances up front, causing fits for Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett, the former Eagle who made his first start of the season in his old confines, which were anything but warm and friendly.
Pickett was sacked four times, hit plenty of others, threw an interception and was generally ineffective in place of Geno Smith as the Raiders were abysmal on offense, even for their standards. It's the second straight dominant showing for the Eagles' defensive line – and this time, the offense gave it some help, but it wasn't easy, as the weather didn't allow for much of an aerial attack on either side.
Here's a look at whose stock is up and down after Week 15:
Brandon Graham – BG the "OG" – continues to add to his legacy. He's been playing iDL the past two games with Jalen Carter out, and not just in pass rush downs. He's played alongside Jordan Davis on a variety of downs.
Graham picked up two sacks in the first half for his first and second in five games since coming out of retirement. Oddly enough, Graham came out of retirement to help the Eagles' edge rush after Za'Darius Smith retired abruptly and while Nolan Smith was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
But for the moment, the 37-year-old Graham is helping the Eagles from the inside. In the first quarter, he sacked Kenny Pickett on 3rd-and-8 as the former Eagles quarterback was trying to step up in the pocket for time. Instead of finding time, he found Graham's bearhug. Fortunately for Pickett, a personal foul on Cooper DeJean kept the chains moving.
On his second sack, Graham walked Raiders RG Caleb Rogers back into Pickett's lap on 3rd-and-6, then dropped Pickett for another sack, forcing another Raiders punt.
In total, throughout his 16-year career that includes two Super Bowl rings, Graham has played defensive end, EDGE, conventional outside linebacker (in Chip Kelly's defense), 3-technique on pass rushing downs (2017 Super Bowl season), and now iDL.
Quite the career for someone who was nearly run out of town after his third season. He now has 78.5 sacks, just seven sacks shy of Trent Cole for second all-time in franchise history.
It's really neither quarterback's fault, as the wind gusts made it tough for Hurts and Pickett to find a good rhythm in the pass game. Well, for Pickett, it was the wind and the Eagles' defense.
Hurts capitalized on having the wind at his back in the first and fourth quarters, when he made his longest completions. In the first, he went deep for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, drawing a penalty on the pass to Brown and connecting with Smith for 44 yards. Then it took all the way until the fourth before he put the ball in the air past 20 yards – a seam-splitting 27-yard touchdown to Brown.
In between the first and fourth were a bunch of runs, many of which weren't very good, and an assortment of RPO passes to Dallas Goedert and a few other mid-range passes. Hurts only had 11 completions going into the third quarter, but it's not a knock on him, he really didn't need the deep ball to move the chains against the Raiders.
Pickett, on the other hand, needed to be better to pull off an upset. But other than a slew of quick passes to Brock Bowers, he came up short on several throws or just felt the wrath of the Eagles' pass rush.
It would be nice to see the Eagles play a home game again that isn't interfered with by gale force winds. But their next, and final, game at the Linc is the Jan. 4 season finale against the Commanders. Hard to see the weather being great for that one.
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