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Despite the brutal loss on Monday, there is plenty of reason for optimism moving forward for the Vikings
After losing a brutal 24-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, there was still some good on the all-22.
The Vikings are still less than two weeks removed from a 23-7 domination of the rival Green Bay Packers, so there are still things that should give fans hope.
After the debacle on Monday night, I found five things that should give Vikings fans optimism moving forward.
Stock up, stock down following Philadelphia Eagles 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night.
Third-year quarterback Jalen Hurt led the way completing 26 of 31 attempts for 333 passing yards while adding 55 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Darius Slay was named the conference’s defensive player of the week after two interceptions and a lock down performance against Justin Jefferson.
With the Commanders up next, here’s the Week 2 stock report.
Studs and duds from Philadelphia Eagles 24-7 Monday night win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2
The Eagles are off to Washington after an emphatic 24-7 home win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jalen Hurts had his best game as a pro, while Jonathan Gannon and his retooled defense rebounded with a masterful performance against Kirk Cousins and the Viking offense.
Darius Slay was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Justin Jefferson.
With the focus now on the Commanders, here are the studs and duds from Week 2.
The pressure really got to Kirk Cousins inside the red zone
The Minnesota Vikings 24-7 loss to the Eagles left a lot of frustrations on the field for the purple and gold.
Most of those frustrations were on the offensive side of the field. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was the main culprit of those frustrations on offense.
One of the biggest issues with Cousins was dealing with pressure. He only completed 5-of-13 passes with two interceptions while under pressure. That came up in a major way late in the game on Monday night.
The game was still somewhat in doubt mid-way through the fourth quarter. The defense hadn’t allowed a point in the second half and even gave the offense the ball in enemy territory twice. The major issue was the offense didn’t take advantage of that.
After the Jordan Hicks interception, the Vikings had a first and goal on the nine yard line. On both second and third down, they drew up plays for Justin Jefferson to get open on the outside. Both plays worked but Cousins threw the ball into harms way.
The Vikings run a shallow and deep concept on the front side to try and get Jefferson open. I believe this works if Jefferson runs more to the pile-on and Cousins puts this ball in a good spot. The long and the short of it is that the throw was atrocious from Cousins. He did have massive pressure in his face, but that’s no excuse for throwing a near-certain interception.
The next one is even worse.
On the outside, Jefferson lines up, gets a clean release and breaks it off cleanly for an open corner route. The issue on this play is the Eagles run cover 0 and send six at Cousins who is operating out of an empty set. The free rusher comes right at his face and he throws a duck up to Jefferson that ends up short and turns into a Darius Slay interception.
The biggest takeaway with these two plays is that they worked but the execution from the pass blocking and panic throws from Cousins hindered this from working.
There is hope moving forward but some things will need to be cleaned up.Th
Philadelphia Eagles PFF grades: Best and worst from 24-7 win over Minnesota Vikings in Week 2
The Philadelphia Eagles sit atop the NFC East after defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurt was a true dual-threat, completing 26 of 31 attempts for 333 passing yards while adding 55 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Philadelphia’s defense harassed Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, finishing with less than 200 passing yards while throwing three interceptions.
Here are the best and worst graded players from PFF.
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his masterful performance against Justin Jefferson and the Vikings
Congratulations to @bigplay24slay, named NFC Defensive Player of the Week!#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/uJPUnZlo3s
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 21, 2022
The Eagles have award winners in back-to-back weeks, and Darius Slay has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his play against the Vikings on Monday night.
Slay recorded a career-high five passes defended along with two interceptions in Philadelphia’s Week 2 victory against Minnesota.
He became the first player since 2019 (Pierre Desir) to record five passes defended and two interceptions in a single game, and it’s the fifth time Slay has won the honor.
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What the Philadelphia Eagles are saying after Week 2 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night
The Eagles met with the media after their impressive 24-7 victory over the upstart Minnesota Vikings on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was accurate, efficient, and a dual threat as he racked up 390 total yards and three total touchdowns while outplaying Kirk Cousins.
On defense, cornerback Darius Slay led an energized defensive unit that responded to the criticism thrust at defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Philadelphia intercepted Kirk Cousins three times and held running back Dalvin Cook to less than 20 yards rushing on the night.
Here are the top quotes from the post-game presser.
Takeaways and observations from the Philadelphia Eagles’ impressive 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2
The Eagles formally announced themselves to the world with a dominant 24-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in their home opener at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jalen Hurts may have erased any doubt about his future after throwing for 333 yards on 26-of-31 passing.
Hurts opened the game connecting on his first 11 pass attempts and totaled over 300 yards in the first half, along with two rushing touchdowns.
Philadelphia’s defense also smothered Justin Jefferson on the night, as Darius Slay held the Vikings star to under 50 yards receiving.
With the team preparing for Washington, here are takeaways and observations.
Best 100 photos from Philadelphia Eagles’ 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2
The Eagles made a statement on Monday night, dominating from the start while controlling the pace in an impressive 24-7 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was the best player on the field, going 26 of 31 passing for 333 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Here are the top photos from Philadelphia’s impressive home win.
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Looking at the snap count and usage rate for the Philadelphia Eagles after their impressive 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football
The Eagles are 2-0 on the regular season after an emphatic 24-7 dismantling of the Vikings on Monday night in front of a nationally televised audience.
Jalen Hurts was 17-of-20 passing for 251 yards and one touchdown in the first two quarters and also logged two rushing touchdowns and 50-yards rushing in the first half.
With the team quickly turning their attention to Washington, here are the snap counts for Week 2.
