Eagles-Vikings analysis: D’Andre Swift dominates and the defense is opportunistic as the Birds win 34-28

Going into Thursday night’s home opener against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles lacked three defensive starters due to injury, including safety Reed Blankenship.

The Eagles turned to the existing group to step up in his place, including safety Terrell Edmunds. He took full advantage of the opportunity to make an impact and help the Eagles to an eventual 34-28 victory.

With the Vikings driving at the two-minute warning of the first half, looking to wrangle the 10-7 lead away from the Eagles, 2022 AP offensive player of the year Justin Jefferson caught a 30-yard pass over cornerback Mario Goodrich and set his sights on the end zone. But Edmunds remained over top of the fourth-year wide receiver and wrapped him up for the tackle. In the process, Jefferson fumbled the ball in the end zone for a touchback, squashing the Vikings’ aspirations of taking the lead into halftime.

Edmunds’ savvy play not only prevented the Vikings from getting on the board, but also set up kicker Jake Elliott for a 61-yard field goal, extending the Eagles’ lead to six points at the half. The Vikings attempted to claw their way back, pulling within a touchdown with roughly one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. However, after briefly holding a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, they never regained it.

In addition to Blankenship, the Eagles were also missing starting inside linebacker Nakobe Dean and starting outside cornerback James Bradberry. Inside linebacker Nicholas Morrow, whom the Eagles signed to the active roster on Tuesday, wore the green dot as the on-field play-caller in place of Dean. The Eagles defense bent and broke at times, but benefited from the offense’s productivity and the Vikings’ self-inflicted wounds, which included four fumbles and plenty of dropped passes.

Swift current

In Week 1, running back D’Andre Swift finished with just two touches, including one carry for 3 yards and a reception for no gain. With Kenneth Gainwell inactive against the Vikings with a ribs injury, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson relied on Swift to carry the bulk of the workload on the ground, especially when the passing game stagnated on the second offensive drive of the game.

Johnson turned to the run game in earnest on the Eagles’ third offensive drive of the game in the first quarter, which was precipitated by safety Justin Evans’ forced fumble on punt returner Brandon Powell that was recovered by Morrow. Swift had three straight carries on the drive, including one run when he bounced outside to the right for a 12-yard gain. But quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception on third-and-16 to the Vikings’ 35-yard line, which was essentially an arm punt.

But when the Eagles got the ball back on their next possession, Johnson continued to ride the hot hand. The Eagles ran a 16-play, 75-yard scoring drive in which Swift had seven carries for 38 yards. Running back Boston Scott also rotated in on a few plays, picking up 15 yards on three rushes. Hurts punched the ball into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to put the Eagles up, 10-7.

The Eagles’ ability to get the run game going on the Swift-dominant drive in the second quarter helped ignite the offense as a whole after halftime. Swift punctuated his electric night with a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. He was the Eagles’ most productive player of the night, picking up 181 all-purpose yards (175 rushing yards on 28 carries) and a touchdown.

Smith stock rising

On the Eagles’ first drive of the game, the Vikings blitzed Hurts often, forcing him to get rid of the ball quickly. But on second-and-11, the Vikings relented, affording Hurts plenty of time to connect with wide receiver DeVonta Smith for a 54-yard reception over the top of safety Theo Jackson. Smith flaunted his straight-line speed, dashing past safety Byron Murphy Jr. and Jackson on a go route before snaring the pass.

Smith set Elliott up for an eventual 24-yard field goal, putting the Eagles up, 3-0. At the time, the catch marked the longest gain of Smith’s three-year NFL career.

He one-upped himself later on. On the Eagles’ first possession of the second half, Hurts lofted up another deep ball for Smith on third-and-4. Smith beat cornerback Akayleb Evans inside, sprinting up the middle of the field and hauling in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Hurts. Through four quarters, Smith caught four passes on five targets for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Injury report

The Eagles lost another defensive starter in the second quarter when cornerback Avonte Maddox went down with a shoulder injury. Maddox, typically nickel corner, had been filling in on select plays at safety with Blankenship out. With Maddox out, Goodrich entered the game. Maddox was ruled out early in the third quarter.

Additionally, wide receiver Quez Watkins left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. He was also ruled out in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, Scott exited the game to be evaluated for a concussion and did not return. Inside linebacker Zach Cunningham also went back to the locker room with one minute, 10 seconds remaining in the game.