Eagles Vs Vikings: Four Players The Eagles Must Prepare For
The Philadelphia Eagles are getting ready to host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in what should be an exciting game. Both teams are coming into the game 1-0, so whoever wins will have momentum in the early NFC playoff race. The key to victory for the Eagles is to slow down the following four players. Here are the four players the Eagles must prepare for.
Kirk Cousins
The Eagles have historically struggled against quarterback Kirk Cousins who is 6-3 against Philadelphia. Cousins went 4-3 vs the Eagles playing for Washington and 2-0 as a Minnesota Viking. His career numbers against the Eagles are 2,756 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 104.9 passer rating.
Cousins was effective in the Vikings Week One victory over the Green Bay Packers. He went 23/32 for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
Key To Victory: The Eagles need to bring pressure and force Cousins to make mistakes. The Eagles only had one sack in their victory over the Lions in Week One but did record one interception.
Justin Jefferson
This one stings for Eagles fans as Philadelphia passed on wide receiver Justin Jefferson in favor of Jalen Reagor. Jefferson has done nothing but impress since his rookie year. The former LSU star had 1,400 receiving yards as a rookie and 1,616 receiving yards last season. In his first two seasons, Jefferson has already been selected to the Pro Bowl twice.
Justin Jefferson was unstoppable in last week’s win over the Packers. He caught nine passes for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns.
Key To Victory: Need to play Jefferson in man coverage with safety help. Jonathan Gannon’s scheme cannot let Jefferson get the ball in space.
Dalvin Cook
Dalvin Cook has been one of the NFC’s leading rushers over the past three seasons. He is also a threat as a receiving back. Last season, Cook recorded 1,159 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, and 224 receiving yards. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for a third straight year. Cook is a dangerous back that the Eagles must be prepared for.
Dalvin Cook had a productive Week One last week. He carried the ball 20 times for 90 yards. This helped use up clock to keep the opposing team’s quarterback off the field. The Eagles allowed the Lions to rush for 181 yards last week. This included a 50-yard run by D’Andre Swift to set up an opening drive score by Detroit.
Key To Victory: Slow down the run with nose tackle Jordan Davis. The Eagles used their first-round pick on only 22% of defensive snaps last week, but he was effective. The Lions did not have much success running the ball when he was on the field.
Jalen Reagor
This is a revenge game for Jalen Reagor. He was cast aside by the Eagles as they drafted WR Devonta Smith in 2021 and traded for WR A.J. Brown in 2022. Reagor was a huge disappointment for the Eagles but has a new home with the Vikings. The Eagles tradedhim to Minnesota for two draft picks just a few weeks ago.
Reagor did not make any catches last week for the Vikings but had one punt return for seven yards. Now that he knows the gameplan a little more, expect him to see more snaps with the Minnesota offense. Reagor probably won’t put up any big numbers, but he might be involved in a few unexpected plays.
Key To Victory: Make Reagor nervous. Jalen Reagor muffed two punts in the Eagles’ wildcard loss to the Buccaneers. If the crowd can get to him, the Eagles can possibly get a momentum changing takeaway.
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