Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game flies high vs. Minnesota Vikings | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game flies high vs. Minnesota Vikings | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

You know, join me in misery. It’s so strange because I don’t think the Vikings ever led, but it always felt like it was there to be had. It did. And it did. And it was the damnedest thing because the Eagles should have been blowing them out in the first half and it’s like they’re still hanging around. Kind of like the Bears game week one. Like the Bears should have been blowing the Vikings out and the Vikings are just kind of hanging around. It’s like are they going to find a way to take this? And at the end of the day, it it took Jaylen Herz having his first 300 yard passing performance in 23 games. Yeah. It took trusting AJ Brown on multiple occasions, right, where the Vikings got okie dod a little bit and Brown got behind. Then Devonte Smith had a massive performance for the Philadelphia Eagles with nine catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. And Jaylen Herz, 19 for 23, 326 yards, three touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating. Some would call that a maximum passer rating. I call it great. 158.3. They they didn’t get Saquon Barkley going, but they got the passing game going. And for the first time this year, it felt like they had an identity on offense. It wasn’t just random play generator. It was we have a plan. We’re executing the plan. And it came down to a a third down with the game still in the balance. 28-22 and they called the double move Ray Brown and he gets behind Yeah. Isaiah Rogers and that was it. Night. Yeah, that that was it. There a lot of big plays, a lot of things to be positive about, I think, in the Philadelphia and their passing game. I think they can learn something about there is value in throwing the ball down the field a little bit more. I think that’s what they can learn. And I think, you know, the the the Rams game did that a little bit for them. And here again was another lesson of that. And and why do I say that? One, it backs people off and is going to scare people out of aggressive defenses cuz they’re like, “Oh man, they’re going to attack down the field.” It’s going to open up the run game. When they attack down the field, too, what else does it do? It opens up the field and it opens up rushing lanes and run lanes for Jaylen Herz to scramble and buy time too there. So that’s where I think one thing that within the simplicity of their offense they can fix and is take more shots down the field. But Jaylen Herz threw the ball really well yesterday. I mean that play that first one we showed that was a fourth down where he buys time forever. Here we go. A little post route down the middle right on the money. AJ Brown coverage is pretty good but AJ so big he boxes him out. Let me just say this because I’m not one to complain about officiating because it does go both ways as it relates to where my partialities from time to time may lie. the left guard on that play grossly moved early. Grossly moved early. There was the Phantom holding call on Blake Brenell. Well, we’re gonna get into that. I know, right? And I mean, there there were several moments yesterday and you know, you and I both thought that TJ Hawinson may have caught that. I I the only reason I thought they should uphold the TJ Hawinson laying out overturn. Well, because they gave the Eagles a completion in the first quarter when the ball clearly hit the ground all the way in. Agreed. Agreed. I don’t know what the hell’s going on. I agree. It’s very inconsistent in 3:45 right now. It’s not just inconsistent, it’s wrong. There was the play Thursday night. I lost my mind on Thursday night. The interception on the sideline, the ball was out when the DB hit the ground and it’s like, oh, it’s upheld. So, they got to they got to iron that out. They created the centralized replay system for Dean Blandino and then Blandino left and I felt like post Al Riveron they got it under control. Now I’m seeing a lot of stuff that isn’t just failing to reach the level of clear and obvious. It’s just wrong. I would just wrong. I I I I would agree with you there. And your your point of the game was 14-3. Wentz throws a touchdown pass. They call holding on the left guard which he did not hold. They saw the defensive tackle on the ground and they assumed he hold which happens a lot in the NFL and they tell the refs, make sure you see it, but they make this mistake a lot. They ended up not getting a touchdown. They kick a field goal. So yeah, there was there was some inconsistencies, some big plays here and there certainly. But here, let me throw this out with and let me just say this though. It would be different if they call holding all the time, but holding is like flip of the coin. You see, holding all the time. Holding happens all the time. And I’m not talking about run play away from the point of attack. I’m talking about pass plays all the time. You see hands up under the shoulder pad jersey getting grabbed. So if you don’t see it, you just assume the only way that Jaylen Carter is laying on the ground face down is because he was held. That’s crap. What happened was Jaylen Carter was leaning or whoever it was. I don’t know if it was Jaylen Carter or not, but the defensive tackle was leaning so hard the offensive lineman basically just got his hands on his shoulder pad and threw him to the ground. That’s all it was. Cuz he was leaning. and he was like, “Wait, if I just push him a little bit, he’s going to fall down.” So, he did that and then he fell on him when they called the penalty. I mean, that happens a lot in the NFL and the referees get okey dod by it all the time. The game was there to be had, like you said, for the Vikings. Let’s not forget, we’re sitting here talking about perfect passer rating and all that. They scored on the first touchdown. You know, the the AJ Brown, they went through a period of time. Let’s not They got the pick six. Their defense scored, right? Jayix Hunt got the pick six, which is a big moment in the game. And then the next interception when they didn’t score on that one that’s when I thought hey you know what maybe there’s a chance here. Well they went what after the first drive I think they scor it was only seven yards or something until he hit the long bomb to Devonte Smith. So yes there’s something to be learned about they need to take shots down the field. I think there’s something there. But I also will say I don’t sit here and go oh the Eagles fixed their offense. I don’t know if that’s sustainable going forward. I think the Vikings made a bad call. The Vikings thought that they were going to go heavy Saquon Barkley, right? And and the Vikings didn’t adjust the way. Here you go. Here’s the big moment where the offense totally flipped on. See, you can see here. I mean, at this point, Jaylen Herz has been efficient. It’s 10 for 12 for 91 yards. But it’s the middle of the third quarter. It’s 91. It’s it’s it’s, you know, it’s 91 yards. So, it’s not like they’re tearing things up at this point. But this started the kind of the downfall of the Vikings defense and the big plays for the the Philadelphia Eagles and they continued throughout the game. Isaiah Rogers, who was the hero of the week three win over Cincinnati, he just got spun around there. Former Eagle, we were talking before the game, hey, what’s Rogers going to do against the Eagles? Well, well, because we know they wanted to keep him. They wanted him there. They just couldn’t make it all work. He’s a he’s a pretty good player, but yeah, they got the best of it. If there’s a weakness to that Vikings team, it is the corner position. But you can’t single cover AJ Brown at Devonte Smith. You can’t do that. You can’t load the Bucks and and hey, hey, that’s great. They they held it Saquon Barkley to 44 rushing yards, but the the passing game went off. And again, it was the first time that I sensed any real plan, cohesiveness, and identity from the Philadelphia offense all year long. Yeah. Yeah, they they did some good things. They they definitely did. We’ll see where it goes, though. Still not running the ball, right? and a collection of shots is not to me surgical. So, I want to see more, but it’s at least a jump off to go, okay, can they build on this and get some positive vibes going between the quarterback, the receiver, and the offense, and the passing game and all that and go forward from here. We’ll see. We’ll see. But, yeah, I still have some questions about what they’re doing. But if the opportunity to take the shots is going to be there, at least they at least they got to take them. That’s what I’m That’s what I’m saying. That’s what they they should have learned. They hadn’t been taking them. No, I I went to the Giants game last Thursday night. The Giants were going, “Hey, take shots. Go ahead. We’re going to stop the run. We’re not going to let Jaylen Herz sit in the pocket and buy time and run and do all that.” They took that approach, right? And I thought they probably could have took more shots in that football game. So, I think there’s something to be learned there. We’ll see what they do, but they got to make sure they get the ball into AJ Brown and Dvonte Smith’s hands. We know that there was that key play on the Thursday night game when AJ Brown was open on the post. Yeah. Covered on the outside, nobody else there, and he didn’t throw it. He had a play like that yesterday. It’s like he threw that ball, right? We showed it there before. Something happened between that Thursday and yesterday hopefully to to break whatever had been going on. They do such a good job of concealing what’s really going on behind the curtain. We don’t know. We sense some things. Something was okay for at least one day. We’ll see. Maybe it was temporary and the Giants when they go to Philly next Sunday will be able to We’ll see. Beat them again. Although, yeah. Hi, it’s Mike Florio. Thanks for watching PFT on YouTube.

Mike Florio and Chris Simms analyze Jalen Hurts’ perfect outing against the Vikings and why Week 7 was the first time it felt like the Eagles had an “identity” all season. #NBCSports #NFL #ProFootballTalk #PhiladelphiaEagles
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Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game flies high vs. Minnesota Vikings | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC
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