The Philadelphia Eagles confidently won the second Monday Night Game in week 2 24:7 against the Minnesota Vikings, whose offense was almost completely shut down. Quarterback Jalen Hurts towered, opposite Kirk Cousins continued his troubles in the problem.
Eagles vs Vikings: At a Glance
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Jalen Hurts dominated the first half with a highly efficient display that put his team on the winning track early on. He scored 3 total touchdowns, statistically exceeding expectations.
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The Eagles-Secondary dominated defensively and thus took Justin Jefferson in particular largely at stake. Cornerback Darius Slay topped with 2 interceptons.
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Kirk Cousins once again lost in prime time and helped out a lot. He had 3 turnovers in the game.
Philadelphia Eagles – Minnesota Vikings: Die Analyse
Early in the game, it was evident that the Eagles had a clear plan and the Vikings found few answers for it. Accordingly, the first drive ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jalen Hurts, who distributed the ball well from the start.
The Vikings then once managed to stop the Eagles’ attack with a 3rd down sack from Danielle Hunter. Offensively, however, little went for the Vikings, so that the Eagles quickly regained possession and increased to 14:0. Hurts found Quez Watkins on an easy go route for a 53-yard touchdown. The key here was that safety Camryn Bynum, who was supposed to be helping the responsible cornerback, focused on an out route from Dallas Goedert, leaving the middle completely open.
The Vikings sensed the dawn and shortened it with a touchdown from Irv Smith, but the Eagles responded immediately. This time, Hurts ultimately scrambled for a 26-yard rushing touchdown. And just before the break, kicker Jake Elliott made it 24:7.
After the break, both sides made mistakes. The Vikings worked their way into the red zone, but then Darius Slay, while guarded by Justin Jefferson, intercepted a pass from Kirk Cousins. The home side failed to score further points because veteran Patrick Peterson attempted a field goal blocked. However, Cousins gave up the ball again, this time with an interception from Avonte Maddox.
The Vikings then marched back into the red zone, where Cousins ultimately went under pressure looking for Blitz Jefferson in the end zone. But Slay was there again and caught his second pick in the end zone.
Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) – Minnesota Vikings (1-1)
Result: 24:7 (7:0, 17:7, 0:0, 0:0) BOXSCORE
Eagles vs. Vikings – the most important statistics
- Hurts opened the game 12/12 for 157 yards and a touchdown. Only the 13th pass in the game was incomplete – and that was probably his best pass up to that point, which Goedert dropped.
- Hurts’ 26-Yard-Touchdown-Run hatte laut Next Gen Stats only 10 expected rush yards, resulting in 16 rush yards over expected. The odds of it turning into a touchdown were less than one percent.
- The Eagles Secondary dominated this game for long stretches. This is underlined not only by the 3 interceptions, but also by an impressive 10 passes defended.
- How good was Jalen Hurts (26/31, 333 YDS, TD, INT; 57 RUSH YDS, 2 TD)? Well, he provided 3 touchdowns. Overall, he posted a .17 EPA/play through the air and .39 EPA/play on the floor. What’s more, his Completion Percentage over Expected (CPOE) was 15.
The star of the game: Darius Slay (cornerback, Eagles)
Slay once again underlined that he is a top cornerback in this league. While he wasn’t Jefferson’s only opponent in the game, he was always close when it mattered. Strictly speaking, only one reception was given to Jefferson, who was thus unsubscribed for long stretches, which in turn paralyzed the entire Vikings offense. The two interceptions were the icing on the cake. However, Slay apparently had to leave injured in the end. What exactly plagued him is unclear.
The Flop of the Match: Kirk Cousins (Quarterback, Vikings)
Cousins in prime time – this combo remains a tragedy for the Vikings QB. He is now 2-10 in Monday Night Games – the worst record ever in a Monday Night Game with at least 10 starts. Once again he wasn’t there when the lights came on. He suffered from the fact that the opposing defense hardly gave his receivers any space. But he also made too many mistakes. Two of the three interceptions are about his fault. Overall, not enough to keep his team in the game against a strong opponent.
Analysis: Eagles vs. Vikings – the Tactics Table
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The Vikings played zone coverage defensively throughout. Always with two deep safeties, but often even with cover 4 shells to prevent shot plays on the fast receivers.
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The Eagles were unimpressed and attacked these coverages with deep in-breaking routes and flood concepts. And they naturally ran against the Vikings’ light boxes.
- What was strange, however, was that the Vikings didn’t seem to make any adjustments during the game. The Eagles found gaps in the Shells and constantly exploited them, but there were no conversions, allowing the Eagles to basically follow Plan A throughout the game.
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Meanwhile, the key to the game defensively for the Eagles was stopping Justin Jefferson. And that was achieved with cornerback Darius Slay, who was often put on the star receiver and sometimes even did it without safety help. Jefferson only had 5 targets and one reception with Slay in his area.
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The Eagles’ success is remarkable because they didn’t start all that confidently. In the first half, they conceded three penalties for ineligible receiver down field, largely at the hands of Hurts for holding the ball too long before the pass on RPOs.