Minnesota Vikings Fall to 0-2 Following Sloppy Game in Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- — Jalen Hurts forced a throw into double coverage, one of his worst passes in years, and was picked off. A.J. Brown — he of the nearly 1,500 yards receiving a year ago — threw a tantrum on the sidelines when the ball didn't come his way.

And yes, already, in the Eagles' home opener, fans booed the NFC champions in the first half when a string of offensive plays went nowhere.

All that, and Philadelphia is 2-0.

The Eagles already knew they'd be tested as they try to return to the Super Bowl. Oh, it won't be easy, but they've been sloppy and feisty, and those highlight-reel plays are behind last year's pace.

But they'll take it.

Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the Eagles held off the turnover-prone Minnesota Vikings 34-28 on Thursday night.

“We're a work in progress,” Hurts said. “We strive for progress, not perfection. We want to grow and find our identity."

Hurts, the MVP runner-up, shook off a sluggish passing performance in the first half and woke up the crowd when he connected with Smith for the scoring strike in the third quarter that made it 27-7.

“We Own UR SKOL Tonight,” one Eagles fan sign read after the TD.

It almost wasn't enough.

Kirk Cousins hit Jordan Addison for a 62-yard touchdown that made it 27-14 in the fourth and found K.J. Osborn for a 10-yard TD that cut it to 27-21 and put the Eagles on edge.

But Swift scored on a 2-yard run for a 34-21 lead with 4:13 left and the Vikings didn't have enough time to score twice.

“He showed a vision, an explosiveness,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Minnesota (0-2), which had three first-half turnovers in a season-opening loss to Tampa Bay, lost three fumbles in the first half in Philly and four overall. In perhaps the most deflating moment for the Vikings, Justin Jefferson fumbled a 30-yard catch into the end zone and out of bounds for a touchback with Minnesota trailing 10-7 in the second quarter.

“No one’s more torn up about that one than Justin,” Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said.

Cousins threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns, two to T.J. Hockenson. Jefferson had 11 catches for 159 yards.

“Very deflating,” Jefferson said.

Hurts finished 18 of 23 for 193 yards — mostly to Smith, who also hauled in a 54-yard catch. He finished with 131 yards on four receptions.

Get our free mobile app