The Minnesota Vikings fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-7 in what felt like a lopsided title fight.
Once the Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the first series of the game, the Vikings couldn’t recover and it felt over from that point on.
There weren’t a lot of positives in the game but we were still able to find some studs among the large amount of duds.
Stud: Greg Joseph
It’s not a good sign when your kicker is one of your studs and was only on the field for three plays. Joseph hit his only kick of the week but was really good pinning the Eagles deep in their own territory, including a perfect pooch kick after the touchdown. The special teams units were really good all night despite a tough game.
Dud: Kirk Cousins
There is no way to sugarcoat it. Kirk Cousins was utterly abysmal on Monday night. It wasn’t just about the statline, which was also abysmal at 27-of-46 for 221 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. It was also about his presence in the pocket. He looked like he was seeing ghosts and wasn’t seeing the field well in the slightest. The pressure rattled him and in turn, he made a lot of bad decisions. The defense forced 11 pass breakups alongside their three interceptions. After a game where head coach Kevin O’Connell did a great job scheming receivers open and giving Cousins layups, the lack of layups combined with the receivers being well covered all night were a major downfall. This tweet from Locked On Vikings host Luke Braun says it all about Cousins’ performance.
https://twitter.com/LukeBraunNFL/status/1572055729032548357?s=20&t=dGulQ9l6yacSmVbX0E-Xhw
Dud: Ed Donatell
It’s no secret that his defense was abysmal against the Eagles but what was so surprising about how defensive coordinator Ed Donaell called the game was the lack of adjustments. He saw that the Eagles were hitting every layup and didn’t try to get more aggressive. The idea of Donatell’s scheme is to prevent everything from getting behind the defense and generate a pass rush with four rushers. That wasn’t happening and we didn’t see the scheme vary whatsoever. Disappointing performance from the veteran coach.
Stud: Irv Smith Jr.
This one will come with some debate as Smith Jr. did drop a sure fire touchdown in the second quarter that could have changed the game. He was unable to catch it and the Vikings were unable to keep up. After that, Smith Jr. was getting open and making things happen after the catch. Great to see from the former second-round pick after missing all of 2021 and training camp this year due to injuries.
Dud: Patrick Peterson
The Vikings defense was abysmal on Monday night and Patrick Peterson was about the same on the outside. The epitome of that was on a 15-yard dig route to Quez Watkins. Peterson had outside leverage and still got turned around and fell down on that simple in cut. Not a great look for him. He was also rough in coverage throughout the game letting receivers get quick separation on him. Peterson did redeem himself somewhat by blocking a field goal in the third quarter.
Dud: Red zone offense
The Vikings had opportunities to score points in the red zone having made it to the most important area on the field four separate times. While they scored on their first possession, they couldn’t find the end zone again. The biggest reason was Cousins poor pocket presence. He struggled mightily in seeing the field and in turn threw three interceptions including one to Darius Slay in the end zone. That was ultimately the biggest factor in the Vikings losing this football game. Where was the creativity in the red zone with play calling? The Vikings offense looked like the 2018 John DeFillipo offense as the game went on, running five wide receiver sets with the Eagles blitzing and creating pressure on the quarterback. After a great first week, head coach Kevin O’Connell needs to go back to the drawing board.
