Some Issues to Address for The Vikings to Beat the Eagles
LeeAnn Lowman
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Vikings fans were thrilled with their team’s defeat of the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings will now meet the Eagles in Philly for Monday Night Football. Philadelphia also won in Week 1 (38-35 over the Detroit Lions).
While they looked good, the Vikings may need to address some issues to beat Philadelphia in Week 2.
Containment of Hurts and Stopping the Run
The Vikings holding the Packers to 7 points was a tremendous success; however, the defense still struggled against the run.
This is problematic because Jalen Hurts – the Eagles quarterback – rushed 17 times for 90 yards and 1 touchdown in Week 1. On top of Hurts gashing the defense, the Eagles RBs were able to get 147 yards from scrimmage and 3 rushing touchdowns.
The Minnesota defense has to find an answer to contain him and the rest of the run game. The team will need to attack the run and pressure Hurts to have success this week.
Containing A.J. Brown
New addition A.J. Brown was impressive against the Lions. He had 10 catches for 155 yards.
The Vikings new secondary needs to be ready for Brown and the other receivers. They will get a true test this week because the Eagles are arguably more dangerous than the rebuilt Packers. Veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson almost gave up a huge touchdown to Christian Watson last week. This secondary will need to be prepared for a much tougher group of receivers and have a creative game plan to stop them.
Silence the Crowd and Score
It’s no secret that the Eagles have passionate fans. They’ll be loud and rowdy and make it difficult to hear snap counts, which can cause costly penalties.
The best way to combat a noisy crowd is to control the game. Cousins needs to control the game, keeping the ball moving (particularly in the second half). Against the Packers in Week 1, the Vikings looked like two different teams from half to half. In the first half of the game, the offense looked perfectly in tune. At the half, they already had 17 points. In the second half of the game, they were only able to add 6 additional points. This may not be good enough against the Eagles.
It is absolutely critical that the Vikings not get overly confident after such an exciting win. While the victory was exciting, Week 1 often isn’t an accurate indicator of how the season will progress. To be able to beat the Eagles under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, the Vikings need to come prepared.
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