Coming off of game 1 victories for both football clubs the Eagles look to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Philadelphia. The Eagles looks to carry momentum from their unnecessarily close nail biting W in Detroit to their home opener on Monday night. The Vikings are looking to also begin a streak as they come off of a convincing win against their rival and struggling Packers team. Even with the defensive breakdowns against the Lions, the Eagles are slight favorites to beat Minnesota. Here we will preview and break down both teams based on their game 1 performances heading into their second game of the season.
Hurts vs Cousins
Both quarterbacks came out to perform last week and their stats are almost identical. There are a few key differences though, as they are both perform differently in their positions. Cousins went 23/32 for 277 yards while Hurts had 18/32 for 243 yards. Cousins helped put up an easy 17-0 lead against Green Bay and with a weapon like Justin Jefferson, defenses need to be aware. There wasn’t much threatening Cousins as he felt little pressure from Green Bay. Hurts had slightly less yards in the air, however, he had 90 yards on the ground. It’s hard to say what Minnesota’s defense looks like considering there was much to defend in their first game of the season. It’ll be interesting to see how/if they deal with a dynamic Eagles quarterback that is not really struggling offensively, especially on the ground.
A.J. Brown vs Justin Jefferson
A.J. Brown was a stud in the Eagles win last Sunday. He had 10 receptions for 155 yards. While the star for the Vikings, Justin Jefferson, had 9 receptions for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both players filled their roles perfectly in their teams victories. Although Brown failed to get on the scoreboard, considering his play after game 1 it’s not “if” it is “when” the flood gates open. Jefferson will have to take on an Eagles defense looking to get back on track but is also much stronger than a struggling Packers defense. A.J. Brown will look to reach the endzone against a Vikings defense that did not see much in their first game of the season.
Ground Dominance
All of Philly’s offensive touchdowns came from the ground. Hurts, Sanders, Gainwell, and Scott all ran it to the paint. Minnesota focused more on the air game, but when needed, Dalvin Cook was their go to putting up 90 yards. The Eagles ground game has a crazy amount of depth. All of Philly’s RB’s are able to get the job done when called upon. Not to mention having a QB putting up respectable rushing yards and his ability to find holes when the pocket breaks down. Philadelphia should not have an issue even with a Vikings defense that only allowed a little over 100 yards on the ground.
Defense
The Vikings defense had little to defend in their victory against the Packers. They had but just one sack, however, they did do a good job pressuring Aaron Rodgers causing him to get the ball out quicker than he wanted to. Ultimately, what they had to defend, they did it well while holding Green Bay to just one tally. The Eagles defense will look to get back on track as their contest against Detroit was unnecessarily close. They’ll have to adjust and hold leads to close out a dangerous Viking offense. The Eagles secondary will be crucial to the Eagles success for Monday nights game.
Final Thoughts
The Vikings first real game of the season starts Monday night. Their defense did not see much coming from Green Bay. Not to say the Eagles will have their work cut out for them as their defense looks to turn the corner on almost giving up the lead late in the game. Philly has the makings of a dangerous and dynamic air and ground game that should cut through the Vikings. The Vikings have their own slightly younger A.J. Brown. This should be a great defensive battle between the two football clubs. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some highlight reel offenses’. I’m predicting the Birds take this one in another close game against an overinflated Vikings club.
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