Eagles QB Jalen Hurts’ Electric Passing Day Leads Philly to Key Bounce-Back Victory in Week 7
People were doubting Jalen Hurts and the Eagles heading into this road game in Minnesota after the previous two games, but Hurts answered a lot of those questions against probably one of the best pass defenses in the league by having his first 300-yard passing game in over a year, since the New Orleans game last season, in the Eagles’ 28-22 win over the Vikings. It was a key bounce-back victory for Philadelphia in this game. Here are some key takeaways from this game from an Eagles perspective.
Hurts, Brown, and Smith got this Pass Game Going
Like I covered in the intro, Hurts had a 326-yard passing performance in this game and three touchdowns, two to A.J. Brown, and a nice deep bomb to Devonta Smith. Smith had a career-high nine catches for 183 yards, and Brown added four catches for 121. That was the blessing that Philadelphia needed every bit of that passing attack in this game, as once again, they couldn’t get Saquon Barkley going in this game. Which leads to the next takeaway.
The Eagles’ O-Line Run Blocking NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
We’ve been beating this like a dead horse all season long. The Eagles‘ interior O-Line is not the same as it was in 2024, but that is no excuse. Although Philadelphia did lose Cam Jurgens in this game to a knee injury, the blocking still isn’t where we expect it to be from one of the best offensive line units ever.
I think we are underestimating the loss of Meckhi Becton at Right Guard a bit because Tyler Steen is doing fine, not great. I have full confidence that Steen and the rest of the O-Line are going to figure this out as the season goes on.
The Eagles’ Defense Was Another Key in this Game
The Eagles were sputtering offensively at times in the first half of this game, but the returns of Jalen Carter and Quinyon Mitchell to this Philadelphia defense were crucial, as they were key contributors to the Eagles holding on to this win.
Philadelphia’s Edge Jalyx Hunt got a Pick-6 in this game, and Andrew Mukuba got his second interception of his young career off Minnesota QB Carson Wentz. However, the key stat for the Philly Defense in this game was 1-for-6, as the Vikings were held to 1-for-6 in the red zone, failing to convert drives into touchdowns. If that had been different a bit, Minnesota might have pulled this one out.
Final Thoughts
The Eagles move to 5-2 on the season and will still have at least a one-game lead in the division after the rest of the action on Sunday. Philadelphia still needs to figure a few things out in terms of the running game and generating pressure on the quarterback at times, even though they did force a couple of sacks and turnovers. Next week is an opportunity for Revenge against the Giants team that beat them last Thursday at MetLife, this time will be in the Linc.
