Eagles Dominate on MNF

[time2rock]

Eagles Dominate on MNF

Posted: September 20th, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

Week 2 is way too early to really know what is going on in a given season, but the Eagles sure sent an notable message to the rest of the NFL by dominating the Vikings 24-7. The guys in green were dominant on offense and defense. They piled up almost 500 yards of offense and made Justin Jefferson a non-factor for the Vikings. Rough day for the Skol crowd.

Jalen Hurts played the best game of his young career. He was 26-31-333 through the air and got his first TD pass of the year. He was 11-57 on the ground and ran for a pair of TDs. Minnesota played soft coverage almost all game long and Hurts sliced and diced them. He spread the ball around. Four of his receivers had at least 69 yards. Eight different Eagles caught passes.

And things weren’t exactly easy. The Eagles had poor field position all night long. They only had two drive start beyond the 20, with their own 25-yard line being the best starting point. Penalties were an issue so Hurts had to deal with some tough down-and-distance situations. He just dropped back and got the ball to his guys.

It was great to see DeVonta Smith come alive, going 7-80. There won’t be any questions about why someone didn’t get the ball this week.

The Eagles ran for 163 yards. Miles Sanders led the way (17-80). The run game wasn’t dominant, but part of that is because the passing game was so effective.

The OL played well. You don’t rack up those yards without good protection. There are some penalties to work on, but the OL kept the Vikings pass rushers under control most of the game. That allowed Hurts to sit in the pocket and get the ball out.

As for the Eagles defense…what a difference a week makes. They were aggressive and smart and made plays. The Eagles had some extra bounce in their step. They heard the criticism this past week and knew they had to play better. Give credit to Jonathan Gannon for putting together a good gameplan and his players for making it come to life.

Darius Slay had an insane game. He picked off 2 passes. He was credited with 4 PDs. My notes show that he had a chance for 5 other INTs. I can’t remember ever seeing something like that. Slay covered well, but you also have to credit the pass rushers. They bothered Kirk "Don’t call me Kurt” Cousins all game long. Slay shut down Jefferson when they were matched up. Great game by Big Play Slay.

The Eagles defense had 2 sacks, 4 TFLs, 3 INTs and 11 PDs. They were credited with 7 QB hits. Gannon let his guys blitz more and they really got to Cousins. There were multiple plays where he just threw the ball up for grabs to avoid being sacked. Really bad game for him.

Avonte Maddox came up with his first INT of the season. It was a leaping grab. Really impressive pick. The defense tackled much better than last week and generally played better. They held the Vikings to 264 yards. Minnesota was only 4 of 12 on third downs and only 1 of 4 in the red zone.

Just a terrific showing by the Eagles.

It wasn’t perfect, of course. The Vikings were able to block a FG. That has to be cleaned up. Amazingly, Arryn Siposs chased down the Viking who had the ball and kept him from scoring. A couple of plays later, Maddox got his pick.

The Eagles KOR unit struggled. Blocking has to improve. Quez Watkins doesn’t have any room to run.

The offense failed to score in the second half. They did have one long drive, but that led to the blocked FG.

The Eagles had problems with penalties, again. They were 8-60 this week. That has to be cleaned up.

After two weeks, the Eagles are 2-0 and have wins over good/solid teams. The Lions beat Washington on Sunday and were in control all game long. The Vikings played really well in the opener.

The Eagles are the most impressive NFC team to this point. That doesn’t mean anything obviously, but it beats being 2-5 and trying to figure out how to save the season. Nick Sirianni has his guys playing good football this fall and that could lead to a really exciting season.

http://igglesblitz.com/2022/09/eagles-dominate-mnf/