Jalen Hurts was nearly flawless, throwing for three touchdowns and a season-high 326 yards against the second-ranked Minnesota Vikings’ (3-3) pass defense to lead the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) to a 28-22 win on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Eagles started off the game in 2024-esque fashion. Relying on a heavy running attack, Nick Sirianni being aggressive, staying on the field on a pair of fourth downs with the second resulting in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown giving the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.
It was an impressive 12-play, 75-yard drive that potentially would put the questions surrounding the offensive struggles to bed. That was not the case.
Afterwards, it was very much the same iteration of the 2025 offense that has been inconsistent and stagnant. Over their next four possessions, the Eagles had three, three-and-outs and their final drive before halftime was just four plays and ended on a Hurts sack, the third of the first half given up by the offensive line who was without center Cam Jurgens for the majority of the first two quarters.
Carson Wentz helped his former team out on two different occasions, with the difference maker in the first half throwing a pick-six to Jalyx Hunt thanks to a great pass rush and big hit from Jalen Carter who returned to action after missing the last game.
He threw a second interception on a desperation heave that Drew Mukuba was able to come down with, but the Eagles were unable to capitalize. The defense held its own, holding the Vikings to a pair of field goals in the red zone, including on one drive where Minnesota had the ball on the Eagles’ six-yard line and took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
Minnesota drove down the field to open up the third quarter, but another red zone trip stalled with a pair of bad decisions from Wentz forcing the Vikings to kick their third field goal of the game to make it 14-9.
On the ensuing drive, the Eagles responded with a play action deep pass to DeVonta Smith who took it to the house for 79 yards. It was the longest reception for Smith in his career with his previous high being a 63-yarder back in 2023.
The Vikings countered with a touchdown drive of their own, marching eight plays, 60-yards capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mason for the first red zone touchdown allowed by Philadelphia in the game making it a 21-16 game with 3:38 left in the third.
Minnesota got in the red zone for a fifth time on their next drive, but Moro Ojomo delivered with the first sack of the game for the defense on third down to protect the Eagles lead for the time being, forcing a fourth field goal, to make it a 21-19 game with a little over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Hurts and the passing game stepped up in clutch moments, connecting on a trio of big plays, including a 21-yard strike to Smith before connecting with Brown from 26-yards out for the second touchdown of the game for the star wideout, extending the Eagles’ lead 28-19 with 6:35 left in regulation.
Another red zone stop for the Eagles’ defense forced Minnesota to send out kicker Will Reichard for a fifth field goal making it a 28-22 score with under two minutes left in the game.
Hurts, who missed on some down field passes throughout the season so far, was locked in on Sunday delivering a 45-yard dagger to Brown on third and nine to essentially put the game on ice.
Smith finished with a career-high 183 yards and a touchdown while Brown had his first two touchdown game since 2023 and finished with 121 yards in the win. Hurts completed 19 of his 23 passes throwing for a season-high 328 yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
With the win, Philadelphia avoided dropping three straight games for the first time since 2023 and for just the second time under Nick Sirianni.
The Eagles return home for a Week 8 clash with the New York Giants with a chance at redemption after losing to the Giants in Week 6 in surprising fashion.
