3 Keys To An Eagles Victory Over The Vikings

After an explosive, yet too-close-for-comfort victory over the Lions in week one, the Eagles play their home opener on Monday night. Last week’s game had a little bit of everything.

 

Offensively, Jalen Hurts was good, and anyone who tells you otherwise didn’t watch the game. A.J. Brown was special, and has the makings of being the best receiver in this town since Terrell Owens. The rushing attack was once again superb, as all four of the Birds offensive touchdowns were on the ground (and came from four different players). Miles Sanders even scored a touchdown!

 

On the other side of the ball…yikes. The defense did have a pick-six in the first half, which was exhilarating. In the second half, every Eagles fans worst nightmare came to fruition. Jonathan Gannon was basically brain dead. The pass rush was non-existent…again. The cornerbacks were playing 83 yards off the line of scrimmage (Gannon’s fault). Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean got the fewest snap of anyone in their position groups, despite Davis being a glaringly obvious solution to a big problem (Gannon’s fault).

 

 

Even still, a win is a win. I told you in last week’s preview, week one is wonky. Also, after Sunday’s big win over Washington, Detroit may just be better than we all thought. I’d much rather fix the problems the Eagles had after a win than after a loss.

 

Heading into this matchup with the Vikings, it will be evident quickly whether the Birds made the adjustments they had to. Minnesota may just be one of the best teams in the NFC, which is still weird to say given who their quarterback is. Kirk Cousins isn’t as bad as the internet thinks he is, and the rest of the team is great around him. If you were hoping for an Eagles blowout so you can get to bed early, it’s not happening. Have that extra coffee before the game starts, you’re going to need it.

 

1. Jonathan Gannon…Coach In A Way That Makes Sense

 

Getting Jonathan Gannon to call a defense that makes any inkling of sense is like mission impossible. His scheme is maddening. The lack of aggression and overall passiveness is the complete opposite of the mentality you should have as a defensive coordinator. Watching an Eagles defense with all of this talent be ripped to shreds because Gannon’s terrified of being beat deep is my villain origin story.

 

Football, more than any other sport, is all about adjustments. What works one week doesn’t always carry over to the next week. Yet, throughout Gannon’s entire tenure, it doesn’t feel like he’s made any real adjustments. If the Eagles are going to win big games like Monday night against a great Vikings offense, then Gannon has no choice but to change what hasn’t been working.

 

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is nothing short of elite. He may just be the best receiver in all of football. The last thing he needs is for his job to be even easier than it already is. Gannon needs to make it as difficult as possible for Jefferson to beat them. Whether that means double-covering him, having Darius Slay follow him everywhere he goes, or simply just not having his defender line up seven yards away from him, you have to do something different.

 

 

In the running game, Minnesota has one of the best backs in the league in Dalvin Cook. The Birds were cooked by a good offensive line and running back in Detroit last week. What was once a strength of the defense can still be a backbone, with the right personnel. Jordan Davis needs to play more snaps. Last week, Gannon only had him out there in a five-man front where Davis was the nose tackle.

 

For as good of an athlete as Davis is, I don’t think he needs to be limited to the one trick pony that a nose tackle usually is. He can play defensive tackle in four-man fronts, you just have to let him try to do it. Especially in obvious run downs, Davis is going to quickly become a player the Eagles defense needs to have out there in big situations. The measly 22 snaps he played last Sunday are not going to be enough. Unleash the big man.

 

2. Put Pressure On Kirk Cousins

 

This key goes hand-in-hand with Gannon using that big brain of his to coach in a way that makes sense. Last week, the Eagles had one sack. For a team that invests so heavily in their defensive line, that’s not good enough. We shouldn’t expect Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox to be the pass-rushing menaces they were a few years ago.

 

I’m looking at the new free agent, Haason Reddick, and another guy who was paid handsomely last year, Josh Sweat, to start making a difference. Derek Barnett tore his ACL last week, which is a blow to this defensive line, if for no other reason than depth. This puts even more stress on Reddick and Sweat do what they’re paid to do.

 

If the defensive line continues to struggle the way they have in 2021 and through one game in 2022, then the issue once again will fall on Gannon’s shoulders. If they aren’t creating pressure, Gannon can’t just throw his hands in the air and say oh well. He has to manufacture pressure, and the best way to do that is with blitzing.

 

 

There were a few times last week where Reddick, who excels as an edge rusher, was blitzing from four or five yards off the ball. Football isn’t that hard. Play to your players strengths. This isn’t rocket science, put your players in a position to be successful.

 

The lack of blitzing in the past goes hand-in-hand with why Gannon’s defenses are so easy to pick apart. If there’s no pressure, any NFL caliber quarterback is going to find an open guy. This is part of the reason the Eagles have struggled every single time they’ve faced an above average quarterback.

 

Let’s also not forget that if you want to create pressure with a blitz, the Eagles have one of the best blitzing linebackers at their disposal. Nakobe Dean was sixth in the entire nation last year in pressure percentage on opposing quarterbacks in college football. His great speed and underrated strength are why he’s so successful. Let the young man do what he does best. I’m not clamoring for him to play half the game, just use him in a few blitz packages.

 

 

3. Control The Line Of Scrimmage

 

The Eagles were the best rushing offense in the league in 2021, and continued their dominance in week one with 216 yards on the ground. The Vikings were one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL a year ago, and responded by bolstering their front seven in the offseason.

 

Last week, those additions paid dividends as they allowed 111 yards on the ground in their 23-7 win over Green Bay. The big addition for the Vikings defense was edge-rusher Za’Darius Smith, who didn’t disappoint in his Vikings debut. They also added Harrison Phillips at nose tackle from Buffalo, who was a key cog as the anchor of the defensive line last week.

 

If the Eagles want a similar offensive performance like they had last Sunday in Detroit, they’ll have to neutralize a revamped Vikings front seven. Unlike the Eagles defense, I’m confident in the Birds offense. I’d take their offensive line against any front seven in the league, and the Vikings are no exception.

 

That being said, the Birds offensive line wasn’t as amazing as they usually are last week. Jalen Hurts was seemingly under fire on every drop back. The Vikings have one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league with the aforementioned Smith and Danielle Hunter. I imagine Minnesota’s game plan is to not let Hurts escape the pressure and use his legs as much as he did last week.

 

If the Vikings defensive game plan is to force Hurts to beat them with his arm and not his legs, I feel like the Eagles are going to score a ton. Hurts is not as bad of a passer as everyone seems to think he is, especially with the great weapons he has at his disposal. The Vikings secondary is not that good. If Minnesota wants Hurts to beat them with his arm, I think he can.

 

 

That’s why it is so important for the Birds o-line to control the line of scrimmage. If they can dominate the way they usually do in the run game and provide great pass protection, the Eagles should have a good advantage on offense.

 

My Prediction

 

Ultimately, we’ve known Gannon long enough to not trust him to make the changes necessary for the defense to play to their full potential. I expect the Vikings to move the ball easily and score often. That being said, I expect the same from the Eagles offense because they have no holes on their unit as long as Hurts plays well.

 

This game is going to feature a lot of points. It may come down to what defense makes a stop first, or what quarterback makes a mistake first. If that’s the case, then I side with the Vikings.

 

At this point, we can’t trust a Gannon-led defense to make a stop when they desperately need it, especially against a quarterback with as much experience as Cousins has. We also haven’t seen Hurts hold up his end of a bargain in an old-school offensive shootout. This isn’t to say that he can’t, we just haven’t seen it yet.

 

This will be a wild back-and-forth game. I think the winner of this game will be whoever has the ball last. The Vikings win on a last-second field goal because Gannon’s conservative defense prevents Minnesota from scoring a touchdown, but let’s them get into field goal range with ease. Gannon’s head is on a stake by the time Angelo Cataldi takes the air at 6 a.m.

 

Vikings 36, Eagles 34. Prove me wrong Gannon, I beg you. See ya at 8:30.

 

 

By Matt Szczypiorski | September 19, 2022
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