Jalen Hurts Did Something to Vikings That’s Never Happened Before
The Minnesota Vikings had never surrendered 300+ passing yards and 50+ rushing yards to the same person — in the same game — until Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts accomplished the feat on Monday Night Football.
The Eagles smoked the Vikings 24-7 at Philadelphia in a lifeless performance from Minnesota, a team coming off an impressive Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Minnesota surrendered 486 total yards on the evening, and the game was effectively over at halftime. Neither team scored in the 2nd Half.
Throughout Vikings history, Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, Michael Vick, Russell Wilson, and Steve Young have thrown up commendable single-game passing and rushing numbers in the same contest, but none were statistically as prolific as Hurts on Monday. Put simply, he had his way with Ed Donatell’s defense from cover to cover.
Hurts recorded 333 passing yards and 57 rushing yards, becoming the first player ever to top 300+ passing yards and 50+ rushing yards against the Vikings in a single game.
In 2021, Donatell defensively coordinated the Denver Broncos, and that team was 1-5 in games where the QB had 5+ rushing attempts. They were 6-5 in all other games. Ergo, Donatell — and the Vikings historically — endure mammoth problems with mobile quarterbacks, a concerning trend in the “modern NFL.”
Aside from the sins of the defense, the Vikings offense couldn’t sustain prosperity either. Quarterback Kirk Cousins looked clumsily and panicky in the 2nd Half, his pass-catchers dropped numerous balls, and the offensive line was up to his dirty old tricks. Combine the follies on offense with the futility on defense, and the Vikings were sunk from the jump.
The Eagles now climb the NFC’s pecking order, situating themselves next to the Tampa Bay Buccanneers and New York Giants as the conference’s only unbeatens. Minnesota will attempt to diagnose its Jekyll-and-Hyde voodoo from the last two weeks in the next five days before hosting a hot Detroit Lions team with a suddenly productive offense.
Thankfully for head coach Kevin O’Connell and the aforementioned Donatell, Lions passer Jared Goff is not overly mobile, so he may be just what the doctored adored to atone for Week 2.
The Vikings are favored by a touchdown to cage the Lions.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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