Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings seek to spark season under Thursday night lights
While the Philadelphia Eagles seek to ignite their pursuit of a return to the Super Bowl, the Minnesota Vikings enter shouldering the pressure of a losing start to the year amid their own effort to launch a deep playoff run; watch the Vikings @ Eagles from 1.15am Friday morning
Thursday 14 September 2023 14:49, UK
The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings meet in a Week Two prime-time clash for the second season running on Thursday night - live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am, Friday morning.
A year ago, the Vikings were handily beaten 24-7 on Monday night by a rampant Eagles outfit in the midst of an eight-game winning streak to open the season and ultimately put them en route to the Super Bowl.
For the Vikings, it was a familiar failing for their quarterback Kirk Cousins under the bright lights of prime-time. His career record in such games is 12-21.
And that could conceivably be stretched to 13-24, with Cousins having one just one playoff game in four attempts. The concern in Minnesota currently, however, is the possibility of the team failing to even get back to the postseason at all in 2023 after a disappointing 20-17 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on opening week.
Lincoln Financial Field is not the place you would pick to travel to next on your schedule, but the reigning NFC-champion Eagles didn't quite appear to be the juggernaut that many anticipated, based on the evidence of their laboured, 25-20 win over the New England Patriots last weekend.
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After following an opening-drive field goal with a short-field touchdown, the Eagles' offense went three-and-out on four-straight possessions to close the first half, something it didn't do in a single game with Jalen Hurts at QB last season.
It also marked just the second time the Eagles offense scored one or fewer touchdowns with Hurts under center.
"Winning is the only thing that matters," Hurts said after the game. "I think we obviously have things that we need to work on and have to be better in those situations when the ball is in my hands, and I take full accountability for that.
"But good thing about it is we get the opportunity to play on Thursday [against the Vikings]."
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Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni added: "Was it our cleanest opportunity? No.
"We've got a lot of things to clean up."
Hurts will be hoping a visit of the Vikings will spark similar to the breakout performance he enjoyed against them last season. Under the national spotlight, Hurts sliced through Minnesota's defense with his legs (57 yards, two TDs) and diced them up with his arm (333 yards and one TD).
By contrast, Cousins had one of his worst games of 2022 in Philly, completing 27 of 46 passes for 221 yards, a TD and three interceptions.
Though the Vikings would ultimately recover to post a 13-4 season to win the NFC North, they finished the year with a negative point differential (−3), the first time in NFL history a team with 12 wins had managed to do so.
And the concern is that the same problems which troubled them in 2022 remain, on the early evidence of last week's loss to Tampa Bay.
After ranking second-last in the NFL in yards allowed (388.7 YPG) and giving up the fourth-most points in the league last season (25.1 PPG), the Vikings have turned to respected defensive coordinator Brian Flores and have refreshed more than half of their starting lineup on defense.
The early results weren't terribly promising, however, as the new-look D allowed a fourth down conversion to extend Tampa Bay's drive for the tie-breaking field goal and later let the Buccaneers drain the final 3:52 off the clock with a 15-yard facemask penalty and two third-down conversions.
As for Cousins and the offense, they're left with the daunting prospect of facing a fearsome Philadelphia defensive front boasting Jordan Davis and Brandon Graham, among others, and with top rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter added to the mix.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Carter's pass-rush get-off time was 0.68 seconds against New England, which ranked first among defensive players with a minimum of 15 pass rushes. And he had six pressures - the most by a rookie defensive tackle since 2019.
Philadelphia will, however, be without Fletcher Cox on defense, with him, safety Reed Blankenship and running back Kenneth Gainwell all listed as having rib injuries. Cornerback James Bradberry (concussion protocol) also isn't expected to play due to the short week.
Minnesota's offensive line, meanwhile, is also banged up as it prepares for Carter and co. Vikings center Garrett Bradbury (back) was ruled out on Wednesday, with tackle Christian Darrisaw (ankle) listed as questionable.
In Bradbury's spot, the Vikings are set to turn to Austin Schlottmann, the fifth-year pro making only his 12th career start.
Watch the Minnesota Vikings @ Philadelphia Eagles from 1.15am in the early hours of Friday morning live on Sky Sports NFL; Week Two continues on Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Jacksonville Jaguars from 6pm followed by the New York Jets at the Dallas Cowboys.
