Eagles vs Vikings: 5 intriguing storylines for Monday Night Football
The Vikings’ defensive front will face the best offensive line in the NFL.
The offensive line the Packers sent out in Minnesota for week one was one missing two starting tackles, and while Aaron Rodgers can be shifty, he is not the rushing threat he may have used to be. According to StatMuse.com, in each of the last two years Rodgers has rushed less than 40 times for under 150 yards and four yards per attempt.
The Vikings will now have to come to Philadelphia and face an Eagles offensive line that is the best it has been since the Eagles won Super Bowl 52,
and a huge part of that is the fact that the whole offensive line is finally healthy. Each member of the Bird’s starting offensive line was able to play 100% of the offensive snaps in week one against Detroit. Now they will stand between the Vikings’ defensive line and a quarterback who has rushed for 1,228 yards in 20 games as a starter.
Jalen Hurts is an elite rushing quarterback and made the Lions’ defenders miss no matter how they decided to bring pressure. The Lions brought corners, safeties, and even lined up edge rushers in the interior of the line to try and get to Hurts faster, and it all failed. Hurts finished the week one matchup with 90 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, and a rushing touchdown. Jalen Hurts doesn’t just have unlimited rushing potential either, he has also developed as a passer.
In week one, Jalen Hurts was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the most accurate passer on throws past the sticks. New acquisition A.J. Brown showed he was worth both his $100 million contract, and a first-round draft pick, recording 10 catches for 155 yards in Detroit in week one. Jalen Hurts’ inability to throw the ball downfield in 2021 was one of the biggest limitations to the Eagles’ offense, and if Hurts can keep it up, it would take an All-Star defensive line to stop him. The Vikings may be riding high off four sacks and three tackles for loss in week one, but Jalen Hurts will be a different animal in the backfield for a Vikings defense, along with the new Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.