Eagles versus Vikings: Intriguing statistics ahead of Monday Night Football

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, the NFL season is in full swing. The Philadelphia Eagles find themselves in a primetime slot versus the Minnesota Vikings to cap what’s certain to be another action-packed weekend of professional football.

By now you’ve probably watched Week 1’s game versus the Detroit Lions three times (or more). Your Fantasy football team has, no doubt, kept you busy while you’ve locked into all of the numbers that NGS (Next Gen Stats) and Pro Football Focus can throw at you. How about a few more?

Nothing screams ‘pro football’ more than data. Here are a few statistics we dug up as the Birds prepare to battle their second NFC North team in as many weeks.

There’s a lot to talk about when evaluating the Philadelphia Eagles’ most recent game and the one that’s on the horizon.

Here are a few things that we found interesting in looking back at the Eagles’ first game and while preparing for their second.

Jared Goff had a QB rating of zero when targeting James Bradberry in Week 1.

There’s no need to adjust your screens or restart your devices. There’s no error there. Jared Goff didn’t complete any of the six passes thrown in James Bradberry’s direction, and Number 24 picked him off following a Kyzir White deflection.

If he spends much of his time blanketing the opposing offense’s second-best receiver, or even if he winds up covering their best wideout, it’s going to be a long day for the quarterback on the opposite sideline.

Stating that Jared Goff torched the Eagles is an overstatement.

Jonathan Gannon has gotten a lot of criticism for his scheme in Week 1, and rightfully so. Tackles were missed. The pass rush only got home once, and that was largely due to a bobbled snap, but for the most part, the secondary held serve, limiting Jared Goff to 5.8 yards per attempt and a 56.76 completion percentage.

The Eagles’ quest to become a top-ten defense has hit a snag.

Philadelphia is 28th in the NFL in rushing yards per game after allowing 181 in Week 1. They gave up 386 total yards. Only ten teams saw their defense give up a higher total. They’re also 23rd in sacks. Everyone has their fingers crossed for a bounce-back performance in Week 2.

Their rushing defense, one of pro football’s best in 2021, will be tested again versus the Vikes after giving up 9.6 yards per rush versus D’Andre Swift in Week 1. Dalvin Cook is no slouch either. He racked up 4.5 yards per carry after adding 90 yards on the ground versus the Green Bay Packers in Minnesota’s first game.

Justin Jefferson hauled in nine receptions on 11 targets in Week 1, resulting in 184 yards and two touchdowns.

Terrell Owens had a party during his first game with Philadelphia (eight receptions, 68 yards receiving, and three trips to the end zone), but A.J. Brown’s 155 yards in Week 1 are tops in Eagles franchise history. Only one man had a better day to open the 2022-2023 NFL season. Perhaps you’ve heard of him, Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.

It should be fun to watch two of the best at their position on Monday night in Week 2. The potential Jefferson versus Darius Slay matchup could wind up being must-see television.

Jared Goff had a QB rating of over 90 when targeting Darius Slay. No one’s worried. We expect a big game from Big Play.

The numbers are a bit skewed here. Jared Goff’s touchdown pass to D.J. Chark has a lot to do with the inflated total as Goff only completed three of the nine passes thrown in Slay’s direction. No one is worried about what should be expected from Darius Slay as we march through the regular season.

In the meantime, if Number 2 does draw Jefferson duty for the majority of the evening, this could be a back-and-forth affair, one that’s worthy of the price of admission.

Here are two bonus stats from NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank who dropped some golden nuggets while pulling some numbers of his own.

The Eagles’ defense gave us plenty to talk about after the trip to the Motor City, but the offense did as well. No one does deeper dives into the stats than NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank. Here are two of his takes about the Eagles’ offense that caught our eye in his ‘crazy stats from Week 1’.

Of course QB1 Jalen Hurts gets a mention. Check this one out.

"Hurts increased his combined passing and rushing yardage total to 5,452 yards in 20 career starts. That’s 13th-most in NFL history by a QB in his first 20 starts. Of the 12 ahead of him, only six won more games than Hurts, who evened his career record at 10-10 (Patrick Mahomes, Tony Romo, Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Daunte Culpepper, Foles). Hurts’ 1,146 rushing yards are second-most ever by a quarterback in his first 20 games. Lamar Jackson had 1,573."

Miles Sanders silenced some of his critics, for a week anyway, after notching 96 rushing yards and a 7.38 yards-per-attempt average on 13 carries, but just how good was he?

We’re glad you asked, Roob has some insight on that one.

"With 96 yards on just 13 carries, Sanders increased his career rushing average from 5.04 to 5.1 (5.097) and moved past Mercury Morris [5.087] and from 8thinto 7th place in NFL history among running backs with at least 500 carries. He trails only Bo Jackson [5.5], Jamaal Charles [5.4], Nick Chubb [5.3], Jonathan Taylor [5.2], Jim Brown [5.2] and Dan Towler [5.103]."

That should whet the whistle for Week 2’s game. We’ll see you guys on Monday night. Something tells us that quite a few Eagles fans will be in front of the television for that one.