Vikings Can’t Let Hurts Make His Mark
Ted Schwerzler
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After dropping their Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Minnesota Vikings find themselves in an unenviable position on a short week up against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. These two teams met in Week 2 last year, and the Vikings can’t allow a similar outcome.
Vikings Can’t Let Hurts Make His Mark
Over the last handful of years, the Eagles have had Minnesota’s number. That’s not entirely shocking, given how good Philadelphia has been lately. However, with the development that Jalen Hurts has shown early on in his career, the quarterback position drives everything for the Eagles.
In Week 1, the Eagles played a New England Patriots team in transition. While Bill Belichick is still the gold standard when it comes to decorated coaches, Tom Brady is long gone, and Mac Jones is anything but the same quarterback. Hurts positioned Philadelphia to a 25-20 victory, and he did so with a rather pedestrian performance.
Playing on the road in Foxboro, Hurts threw for only 170 yards and a single touchdown. He scrambled nine times, picking up 37 yards on the ground. He averaged nearly 5.0 yards per carry the past two seasons and chalked up roughly 50 yards per game. As good as he is as a passer, his feet are equally capable of beating the competition.
When hosting Minnesota last year, Hurts made his mark in a big way. Racking up 333 yards through the air, the Eagles signal caller put a ball in the end zone while also turning it over once. The passing yardage was notable, but it was the 11 carries for 57 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns that did Kevin O’Connell’s team in.
The Eagles dominated the Vikings from the jump, and the 24-7 score probably did not reflect how wide a margin the game really was. Kirk Cousins was picked off three separate times, and Justin Jefferson was held under 50 yards receiving by Darius Slay. The Minnesota offense never got going, and the defense was constantly on the field all day.
Minnesota has seen Cousins wilt in primetime games over the years. He doesn’t have a good track record in big moments, and going on the road to a difficult place to play on a short week is a hard way to rectify that. As much as the focus has to be on what Minnesota will do themselves, there should be limelight on Hurts at all times also.
It’s not as though the Eagles don’t have talented skill position players, but Hurts is the straw that stirs the drink. With his added mobility, each time the Vikings allow him to create with his legs, the more open the passing game becomes on future downs. Making sure that the edge rushers can get home while the linebacking corps contains Hurts is a must.
No matter how you slice it, the Vikings will find themselves in a difficult spot for a win. They don’t have a traditional week to get healthy, and there were already offensive line issues during Week 1. If they are going to pull off the upset, finding a way to wrangle Hurts is a must.
Minnesota has any number of contributors that could wind up being the key to victory. There’s really just one player that they need to focus on shutting down if they want to stop the opposition. Don’t let Hurts make his mark.
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Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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