Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, Darius Slay power team to 24-7 win over Vikings | Observations

PHILADELPHIA – As the American flag was unfurled and the green, red, and blue fireworks were going off around the outer ring of Lincoln Financial Field and up into the night sky, it was a sign that the Eagles were back for a meaningful game, facing the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.

After Vikings kicker Greg Joseph approached the kicking tee and sailed the ball into the hands of kick returner Quez Watkins, the onslaught began. The Eagles had over 300 yards of offense in the defense held the Vikings offense to seven points, finishing with a 24-7 win to move their record to 2-0.

The Eagles showed they have the potential to be one of the best teams in the NFC, and be tough to defend on offense while getting by with its defense.

Here are six observations from Monday night’s impressive win over the Vikings:

Jalen Hurts comes out on fire

Hurts could not have started the game any better, completing his first nine passes of the night, including the five passes on the opening drive that led to a touchdown. Hurts finished the game, completing 83.9 percent of his passes (26 for 31) for 333 yards, a touchdown and an interception while adding another 57 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. The biggest knack on Hurts has been his ability to throw from the pocket. Hurts took advantage of the offensive line’s pass blocking and navigating within the pocket to buy time and take occasional shots downfield. Hurts’ performance in the first two games of the season should give head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen some confidence in their young quarterback.

Jonathan Gannon redeems himself

After giving up 35 points to the Detroit Lions, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon came back a week later and called a good game against the Vikings, limiting the team to 264 yards of offense and forcing three turnovers. The Eagles did only have one sack, which is still concerning, but they were able to hit Cousins seven times and force a fumble. The defense also limited the effectiveness of Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who finished the game with six catches for 48 yards. The Eagles showed what they wanted to accomplish if they were up big: Prevent big plays and keep everything in front of them. The Eagles still need to find ways to manufacture a pass rush because the secondary can cover their receivers well for four to five seconds. The Eagles will be a near-complete team if they get a sustained pass rush.

Darius Slay has a big night

Slay not only did a good job limiting the chances for Jefferson, he also came away with two interceptions. If you were to ask Slay, he would say that should have had more. Slay was in the vicinity of the ball in the fourth quarter. Slay’s final stat line was five passes defended, two interceptions, and a tackle. It looked like Cousins was trying to force the ball into Jefferson, but Slay was up to the task and came away with the big plays.

Special teams blocking issues continues

The Eagles nearly had a punt blocked last week against the Lions, escaping a potentially catastrophic error. However, the Eagles allowed a blocked field goal in the third quarter, allowing Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson to come off the edge and block Eagles placekicker Jake Elliott’s 41-yard field goal attempt. Punter Arryn Siposs saved Peterson from scoring a touchdown by tackling him at the Eagles’ 40-yard line. The defense forced Cousins to throw an interception to cornerback Avonte Maddox. The Eagles special teams have not been a top-10 unit, let alone a top-15 unit this season, and the blocked field goal was further proof that the team needs to clean up many things in that phase of the game.

Eagles use of the no-huddle effective early

The Eagles began their first drive using a lot of no-huddle and had early success with it. By forcing the tempo on the drive, the Eagles were able to force the Vikings to play a lot of their base coverage (mostly), and Hurts took advantage by finding the soft spots in the zones and attacking. It was also used as a way to get Hurts going. When the offense appeared to stall in the second quarter, the Eagles went back to it, and it led to a drive that culminated in Hurts 26-yard touchdown run.

Illegal man downfield penalties stalled drives

The Eagles fell back into the trap of running the run-pass option (RPO) Monday night and paid for it with three illegal man downfield penalties. Two of the calls were on left guard Landon Dickerson, and the other was on right guard Isaac Seumalo. While the RPO plays were there to pick up yards, the timing was off because the linemen fired out as if it was a run play, and the quarterback had to make a quick decision and get the ball out quickly. The Eagles had issues last year running RPOs and took it out of their offense for a while, something that could be on the table again.

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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.

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