Eagles Postgame Report: Birds Fly Past the Vikings in First Primetime Outing

After squeaking by the Patriots last Sunday, the Birds were back in action Thursday evening against the Vikings. 

Starting off sluggish, quarterback Jalen Hurts forced a throw into double coverage and was picked off, A.J. Brown threw a tantrum on the sidelines when the ball didn’t come his way, and in pure Philadelphia fashion, the fans booed the NFC champions in the first half when a slew of offensive plays went nowhere.

Nonetheless, they still came up with a 34-28 win in the City of Brotherly Love. 

Eagles Offense seems to have gotten their run game back at least- and run is exactly what they did. In a 16-play, 75-yard drive featuring 13 rushes, ending with the classic sneak from Hurts to score. 

Defense also looked phenomenal with Josh Sweat leading the way, forcing four turnovers in the win against Minnesota. 

Offensive MVP: DeVonta Smith

DeVonta Smith continues to show up and show out, going for four receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, including a pair of grabs at 50-plus yards.

Corner Darius Slay has even predicted that it won’t be long until Smith is considered the best receiver in the league, and it looks to be heading that way. 

Defensive MVP: Josh Sweat

Bearing a 13-7 third-quarter lead, the defensive end came up and knocked the ball loose from Kirk Cousins in a pivotal play for Philadelphia. He also came through with a career high five hits on Kirk Cousins to wreck the Vikings

Game Notes

• Neither team looked off to an energetic start. Vikings looked like they gave up before they even took the field and the Birds energy was mid. 
• Jake Elliot continues to shine with a career high 61-yard field go to secure the lead going into the second half.
• First half 16-play, 75-yard drive featuring 13 rushes, an impressive sequence coming off of last weeks lack of offense. 
• Jalen is slowly but surely getting back to business- Despite an erratic start, the quarterback rushed two touchdowns and threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Smith. Hopefully as the weeks go on, he continues to get better and better. 
• D’Andre Swift had a HUGE night in his first home game as an Eagle. The St. Joe’s Prep standout rushed 28 times for a career-high 175 yards and a touchdown.  
• Eagles are a work in progress. It will be interesting to see how/if they pull it together against some of the better teams in the league. 

Injury Notes

• Avonte Maddox suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter after making a tackle on Alexander Mattinson. He was later downgraded to out.
• Quez Watkins left in the first half with a hamstring injury. He was also downgraded to out after initially being listed as questionable to return.

Minnesota Vikings @ Philadelphia Eagles – September 14, 2023