The Philadelphia Eagles host the Minnesota Vikings at their home game on Monday Night Football. It’s a relatively big duel between two 1-0 teams at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Birds pull off a win over the Detroit Lions that wasn’t as convincing as many had hoped. While there were a number of positives from that game, concerns about Philadelphia’s defense remain. Can Jonathan Gannon find a way to hold his own against a quarterback that’s not entirely terrible? Kirk Cousins has proven problematic for the Birds in the past and it’s difficult to give Philly’s defensive coordinator the benefit of the doubt at this time.
The Vikings are looking to follow up a big win over the Green Bay Packers with another strong performance. Minnesota’s defense limited the damage Aaron Rodgers could do in Week 1. There could be pressure on the Eagles offense to pick up a lot of points should Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook prove as challenging as they seem.
The winner of this game will feel pretty good. They will have a 2-0 record and a claim as one of the very best teams in the NFC. The loser may think they are good, but not good enough.
Bleeding Green Nation will be covering this game with live updates in the form of highlights, analysis, etc. Follow the page regularly and update it regularly.
(NOTE: This is NOT a game thread, this is a live blog that turns into a game round-up. Use the game threads set by BGN for each quarter to discuss in-game events there. The first quarter thread is HERE.)
FIRST QUARTER
- The Eagles took aim at DeVonta Smith on the very first game, which went for a five-yard reception. Who knew the Birds would try to get hold of him early? Jalen Hurts rolled to the right and found an open Dallas Goedert for a first down. Miles Sanders’ first carry went for 12 yards. Hurts were tackled without a win to earn a 3rd and 9th. In third, Hurts found Kenneth Gainwell just before a catch-and-run to move the chains…but the big game was wiped out by Landon Dickerson, who was down some illegally in bottom field. On the 3rd and 13th, Hurts was well protected and threw a strike to AJ Brown for a first down. Nice throw! Hurts found Zach Pascal short to convert a 3rd and 3rd. Pascal also had a third down conversion in Detroit last week; he is a factor in such situations. Two games later, Hurts powered through the contact to hole it in for a touchdown. Strong opening drive. Strange sequence on the Eagles’ extra point where they had to repeat the extra point because there were “Vikings companions” on the field. So why wasn’t that a penalty? The Vikings were then penalized for offside…but the Eagles refused the flag instead of attempting to take two points from the 1-yard line. EAGLE 7, VIKING 0.
- The Vikings’ first drive was a three-and-out, with Darius Slay knocking over a pass from Kirk Cousins intended for Justin Jefferson. Jefferson wanted a pass interference call but the refs didn’t give it to him. Slay quickly grabbed Jefferson’s hand…but the umpires won’t always call it that. Fired up, Nick Sirianni ran down after the stop to celebrate with the defense.
- An offensive pass interference on DeVonta turned a 3rd-and-2 into a 3rd-and-12. Hurts was then released from behind after holding the ball to force a punt. Jalen Reagor drew boos as he lined up to return the Eagles’ first punt … and then cheers after being tackled by Zech McPhearson for a mere one-yard gain.
- The Vikings took 3rd and 5th place and James Bradberry knocked down the third knockdown against Irv Smith. Strong start for Jonathan Gannon’s defence.
- The Eagles were called for their fourth offensive penalty on their third drive. It was her third ineligible man in the field, with Isaac Seumalo being named as the culprit.
SECOND QUARTER
- Hurts threw deep to a wide-open Quez Watkins, who was freed with a Viking safety that mistakenly helped Goedert instead of staying with the fast wide receiver. EAGLE 14, VIKING 0.
- Jalen Reagor jet sweep in 3rd and 1st place for a 17 yard gain…and boos from the Linc crowd. The Vikings drove into the red zone, and Haason Reddick, running for cover against backup tight end Johnny Mundt, allowed a 17-yard reception to set up 1st and goal at the 2-yard line. Cousins then hit Irv Smith with a short pass for the score. Reddick in coverage sure feels like a waste. EAGLE 14, VIKINGS 7.
- The Eagles finished 3rd and 12th and hurts ran out short of the marker, but they were helped by an illegal Vikings contact penalty for a new set of downs. Hurt’s first incompleteness came on a play where Goedert was under tight marking and nearly made a catch, but Cameron Dantler dissected the ball before the tight end established possession. Just a great defensive play to break up a good throw in a narrow window. Hurts’ third down pass was completed just short of the sticks to force a punt. Second offensive kick of the evening without points.
- TJ Edwards hit a third Cousins pass down the middle to force another three-and-out.
- Hurts hit DeVonta over the middle on back-to-back plays for gains of 19 and 16 yards. Then Boston Scott took a tie for 16 yards. Then Sanders took a tie for nine yards. With 3rd and 2nd in sight, Hurts started running… but not just for the first descent. Instead of going out, he followed Goedert’s good lead block to Harrison Smith and then drove through contact to extend for a touchdown. Pretty impressive stuff! EAGLE 21, VIKINGS 7.
- Josh Sweat fired Cousins… but grabbed his face mask to snuff out the sack. womp Cousins was almost denied on a deep throw that seemed pressure-affected…but it was almost completed deep by Irv Smith…who dropped a touchdown instead. what a break Especially for CJ Gardner-Johnson. Cousins’ third down pass was incomplete to secure another stop. Odd that it wasn’t an intentional grounding when no one was even close to the ball. The umpires said Dalvin Cook was in the area but… he wasn’t. At all.
- The Eagles took over at their own 5 at 1:14 of the second quarter. Hurts threw the ball into a soft spot with a good touch to find DeVonta for a first down. Hurts met Goedert for a 19-yard catch-and-run down the left touchline. I’m not sure why the Vikings left it so open. Hurts put in another pass to Goedert down the middle, another high-level throw, great. That close led to a 38-yard field goal make by Jake Elliott. Huge to be able to take some points on that drive and make it a three possession game. EAGLE 24, VIKING 7.
THIRD QUARTER
FOURTH QUARTER
INSTALLATION NOTES
- Quez Watkins was back to take the opening kickoff.
INJURIES
- In the middle of the second quarter, AJ Brown got a quick look in the medical tent. However, he wasted no time.