3 Matchups The Eagles Need To Win Vs The Vikings

Eagles fans likely long for the days of ugly wins. 3 quarters into the Broncos game, most people would say the Eagles had not looked good, but also were content they were 4-0. They still felt like the team that "just knows how to win." But then, within 5 days, they had lost 2 games in a very ugly fashion, and now the sky is falling.

It all leads into what feels like a significant week 7 matchup vs the Vikings. A team that is not exactly pushovers. They enter week 7 as one of only 3 teams to have allowed fewer than 100 points. Granted, they had an early bye week, but they have also allowed just 19.4 points per game. Their offense is a bit iffy, but their defense is a force. Not exactly what you want to see for an offense that desperately needs a get-right game.

The Eagles also have a defense that is kind of limping into the game. Jalen Carter is banged up, and has not played up to his standard, and Quinyon Mitchell missed most of the last game with a hamstring injury. Nolan Smith is out for at least 1 more week, and they just had Za'Darius Smith retire.

So will they have that "get right game"? Or will they continue to struggle to get back to their standard? Here are some matchups they need to win if they want to get back into the win column.

There are many issues with the Eagles' offense. Many want to push the blame squarely on Kevin Patullo, and he deserves a lot of it. But Jalen Hurts also has just not been good enough. And you can't explain all of that away by saying the playcalling is not creative enough.

There have been plays to make. Against the Giants specifically, Hurts just either missed them or did not execute the throw well enough. Now he faces one of the more aggressive Defensive Coordinators in the league. In the NFL, only the Falcons blitz more than the Falcons. Not only that, but they run a predominantly zone blitz scheme. Which just so happens to be the area Hurts has struggled in the most so far this season.

Hurts has been at his best when teams in man coverage blitz him this season. He can quickly process the man coverage and get it to the open man. Either that, or he can get outside and run for a decent gain. But he has been at his worst when zone defenses blitz him. His air yards per attempt get cut in half compared to almost any other situation, and his EPA per play falls into the negatives.

The Vikings have one of the best pass defenses in the league. Expecting a 300-yard game would be unrealistic. But Hurts needs to go back to what made him great last year. Being efficient and dependable. Make the throws the defense gives you, and put the ball where your star wrs can make a play.

You cannot get into 3rd and longs vs this defense. That will fall on the run game too, which we will get into, but it also falls on Hurts. If he takes sacks or has to throw it away, he is letting the Vikings defense play to their strength. But if he can operate quickly and get the ball out quickly, there will be plays to be made, especially with the Vikings sending an extra man. And if you start to punish the Vikings for blitzing, you can take them off their game.

Jalen Hurts does not need to be a hero in Minnesota. But Saquon Barkley may need to be. If there is an achilles heel to the Vikings' D, it is the run game. While they give up the 2nd fewest passing yards per game, they give up the 9th most rushing yards, and the 11th most yards per rush. They are not awful vs the run, but it is a place where you can beat them.

But in stark contrast to last season, this Eagles run game has yet to bully any defense, even ones that struggle vs the run. That is partly on Patullo, partly on Barkley, and partly on the O-Line. The run design is more predictable, the O-Line is getting less push, and Barkley has not shown the same burst. All of that has combined to make the run game a bit of a disaster.

The Eagles are one of the worst teams on 3rd down. But that is caused by their struggles on the 1st and 3rd. When Barkley runs into a wall of defenders and gets stopped for 2 yards, it sets up tougher conversions. That leads to more obvious pass situations and all of those 3rd down failures.

Barkley and co just need to be better. Especially on 1st down. They need to get back to wearing teams down. Going back to 2022, the Eagles are at their best when they grind teams to a pulp and then impose their will. But you can't do that while gaining 2-3 yards at a time.

All the issues of this offense would vanish if Barkley started picking up chunk yards again. If defenses needed to worry about the 20,20, 40, and 50 yard runs again, it opens up everything. But that is not even a concern right now. The run game is pedestrian at best, and as long as that is the case, the offense will continue to struggle.

Quinyon Mitchell when healthy has shut down whoever he faced. He was not healthy vs the Giants, and the pass defense fell apart. But even if he is out there and shuts down his man, and Cooper DeJean shuts down his, the Vikings have a deep WR room, and their CB2 could be an issue.

It looks like they will go back to Adoree Jackson. He has been better than Kelee Ringo, but that is not saying much. He will need to be able to handle whoever the Vikings get lined up on him. Not shut them down. But Jackson can't be the guy they know they can pick on. If he is, it will be another long day for the Eagles' defense. But if he gets a passing grade, it will go a long way to getting this defense back on the right path.

The Eagles might need to bring in outside help here. The fact they are playing against the guy they let walk out the door, Isaiah Rodgers, kind of hurts. The defense would have a lot fewer problems if it was Mitchell, DeJean, and Rodgers. But it is too late to fix that, and too late this week to bring in outside help. For now, they will need to get by with Jackson or Ringo. And whichever one is out there on Sunday needs to at least get a C.