Saquon Barkley didn’t want to sound like a broken record. After rushing for just 44 yards with a long of nine, he admitted, “I gotta do a better job of not taking negative runs. I keep saying that, and I sound like a broken record, but that’s something I gotta do. I own it, but at the end of the day, what’s most important is we won the football game. I’m excited about that. It felt good to win the game.”
Lane Johnson declined to speak postgame, feeling there was nothing he could say to the media that would help the team, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. Meanwhile, head coach Nick Sirianni acknowledged the win but didn’t shy away from the problems still looming.
The Eagles survived a dicey Sunday in Minnesota, beating the Vikings 28-22. They rebounded from consecutive ugly losses to improve to 5-2 and maintain a clear lead in the NFC East.
Jalen Hurts was outstanding, throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns while recording the third-ever perfect passer rating in Eagles history. A.J. Brown caught two touchdowns and amassed 121 yards, and DeVonta Smith grabbed a score along with a career-high 183 receiving yards. On defense, the Eagles forced two turnovers and largely pressured old friend Carson Wentz in the pocket.
However, Wentz kept driving the Vikings deep into Eagles territory repeatedly. The defense struggled because Quinyon Mitchell can’t cover Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison simultaneously. Offensively, aside from the big plays, the Eagles still had trouble avoiding stalled drives. And Barkley’s running game—expected to be a dominant force—remains ineffective, hampered further by an increasingly banged-up offensive line.
Though the Eagles won, they missed chances to bury the Vikings at several points. Instead, they let them hang around and the game came down to a crucial 3rd-and-long gamble on a toss-up to Brown, followed by some unconventional clock management to drain the timer completely. But for now, that was enough.
This performance was a stark contrast to the previous two weeks against the Broncos and Giants. Whether they can repeat it next Sunday against the Giants at home remains to be seen. Still, the Eagles have to accept the win and recognize they can’t keep relying on this level of play.
DeVonta Smith’s touchdown and career-high 183 receiving yards were major factors in the victory. As Brad Rempel/Imagn Images highlighted, Smith’s impact was undeniable.
The Eagles’ offensive identity since the Hurts-Sirianni era began has leaned heavily on the run—especially after Barkley signed with the team over a year ago. But that hasn’t materialized this season, and the defense isn’t facing easy competition every week. After facing Wentz, they now prepare for a hotshot Jaxson Dart coming back after the Giants caught them off guard last week. Then they face Jordan Love and a Packers team motivated after the bye, followed by Jared Goff and a tough Lions squad.
They know improvements are essential.
As Sirianni said postgame, “Find a way to win, and then identify issues and get better from it. I know how I felt for the last two weeks not winning, so I’m never gonna take a win for granted ever again. I think sometimes in the midst of it, you can be like ‘Man, we’ll be there, we’ll get there.’ But we’re going to enjoy the heck out of this thing, and then we’re going to identify the things that we need to work on.”
It remains a double-edged sword for the Eagles. In 2023, they played ugly for much of the season but managed to get by—until their luck ran out, causing a spiral. In 2024, after starting rough and playing ugly for some time, everything clicked and they powered their way to the Super Bowl. For 2025, the jury is still out.
For now, Sunday’s win is enough—but nothing to rest on.
“Our philosophy is always gonna be do whatever we gotta do to win games every single time,” Sirianni added. “And then we do what we gotta do to identify problems. We’re gonna be so excited any time we win a game. We really don’t care how it looks.”
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**Key Highlights:**
– Jalen Hurts: 326 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, perfect passer rating
– A.J. Brown: 2 touchdowns, 121 receiving yards
– DeVonta Smith: 1 touchdown, career-high 183 receiving yards
– Defense: 2 turnovers, consistent pressure on Carson Wentz
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