What we learned from Eagles-Vikings: Jalen Hurts has adjustments to make. Brian Johnson is still finding his rhythm

The Eagles used opportunistic defense and a dominant run game to beat the Vikings, 34-28, on Thursday, setting up an extended rest through the weekend before preparing for a road trip to Tampa Bay next Monday night.

Here’s what we learned about the Eagles in their second win in as many games:

Considering Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ 14 years spent around Bill Belichick, it should come as no surprise that Minnesota employed some of the same principles against the Eagles offense that the Patriots found success with in Week 1.

Flores took it to even greater extremes, packing the line of scrimmage with five or six bodies and alternating between frenetic blitzes and anticlimactic three-man rushes with eight players dropping into coverage. It had the intended effect; Jalen Hurts never quite looked comfortable in the pocket, even against the three-man rushes, and was sacked four times, managing just 23 passing attempts on his 31 dropbacks. The 25-year-old hasn’t been as dynamic as a runner this season either, with both the Patriots and Vikings using the extra rushers and zone coverage in the middle of the field to help contain him.

» READ MORE: Philly native D’Andre Swift saves the Eagles — and Jalen Hurts — upon his return home

The run-heavy approach, reminiscent of the 2021 offense before Hurts took a massive leap as a passer the following year, punished the Vikings for their use of sub packages. D’Andre Swift’s stellar night was enough against a lesser Minnesota defense, but it covered for the underperforming passing offense that will need to be unlocked for the offense to reach its ceiling. Even against exotic defenses, Hurts has to be better.

That’s not to say it’s time to sound the alarm on Hurts. He has enough of a track record from last season and even during training camp to suggest his indecisive play in the first two games may be matchup-specific. Each of the league’s elite young quarterbacks have hit lulls where defensive coordinators eventually find what works against them. The best ones evolve and find answers for the flavor of the day, which is what the Eagles are tasked with in the early going here.

The Cover 0 looks Hurts has seen so much of so far won’t be a weekly occurrence, but you can bank on coordinators implementing some wrinkles based off this year’s tape. Hurts, along with Nick Sirianni and Brian Johnson, will have to figure out solutions, but there’s plenty of time to do so. Next Monday night against Todd Bowles, the architect of a defense that gave Hurts fits in the 2021 playoffs, will serve as another opportunity for that evolution to take place.

» READ MORE: Eagles OC Brian Johnson gets booed but leans on D’Andre Swift and learns to run the damn ball

While we’re on the topic of the offense, Johnson took a page out of his predecessor’s playbook Thursday night.

Johnson called zone run after zone run against the Vikings defense, almost daring the group to stop it before going away from it. The Eagles’ 16-play touchdown drive early in the second quarter was the best example of a Shane Steichen-esque sequence of persistent play calls. Johnson called 13 running plays (quarterback sneaks included) and one sprint-out pass to Swift that may as well have been a run. Eventually Minnesota loaded the box and sent an all-out blitz, which helped free up A.J. Brown for a first-down reception. Swift finished with 28 carries, the second-most he’s logged in his four-year career, and set a career high with 175 rushing yards.

Part of what made Steichen so good as a play-caller was his belief in sticking with what works instead of growing impatient or getting bored with calling the same play until the opposition stops it.

As Johnson searches for his own identity as a play-caller, taking a cue from Steichen is an encouraging sign for his in-game feel.

With injuries mounting, the Eagles defense has found a template for relative success in the first two weeks.

The group has been opportunistic with turnovers, and the defensive front in particular has been the driving force for a few key plays in each game. The young duo of Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter has lived up to the hype, with Davis making some significant strides as a pass rusher and Carter already being subjected to steady double teams after a dominant NFL debut.

Even with the extra attention, Carter still had a tackle for loss against the Vikings as a result of his freakish ability to get off the ball. He went nearly untouched into the backfield to wrangle Alexander Mattison for a 2-yard loss. Davis had an even more encouraging play, logging his second sack of the season off an impressive swim move in the first quarter.

Georgia youngsters aside, Josh Sweat was the team’s main disruptor against Minnesota backup left tackle Olisaemeka Udoh and even generated pressure from the 4i-technique on Thursday. He finished with a game-high eight pressures according to Pro Football Focus, which was the most he’s had in his career.

» READ MORE: Inside Josh Sweat’s career night and the strip-sack that swung the momentum for the Eagles

Sweat’s strip-sack at the start of the third quarter — along with the Terrell Edmunds forced fumble at the end of the first half — generated a 10-point swing that helped the offense stay in its run-first form for the rest of the game.

The defense went into the game missing three starters and now will be without Avonte Maddox at slot cornerback, putting even more onus on the pass rush to set the table and the makeshift group behind them to manage just enough plays to hang on. To that point, Zach Cunningham fared much better than he did against New England, and Nicholas Morrow did a fine job filling in for Nakobe Dean. Cunningham still had some coverage woes, but looked capable coming downhill against the run.

So far, this season has served as a perfect reminder as to why so few teams make it to the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons, particularly after losing in the big game the year before.

Last year’s run was the exception, not the norm. Teams sometimes lose games they’re supposed to win, and scoring lines sometimes are far closer than they have any right to be. This isn’t to dismiss the legitimate concerns the team faces through two weeks, but the early returns confirm the suspicion that the road to the big dance inevitably will be bumpier than it was a year ago.