Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts a perfect passer, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown soar in victory against Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 28-22 win over the Vikings:

Jalen Hurts was fantastic. He seems to always play his best when doubt seeps in about his abilities. He completed 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns and iced the game when he lofted a 45-yard strike to A.J. Brown. Hurts finished with a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

He may not always be great within structure, but he killed the Vikings when forced to extend plays in the second half. Hurts found receiver DeVonta Smith once for 28 yards, later for 21 yards, and Brown for 13 in between. The first two completions came on long third downs.

Hurts followed the last scramble drill completion with a dart to Brown for a 26-yard touchdown. He hooked up with him to open the game on another scramble drill that resulted in a 37-yard score. There was a lull after that, but Hurts did what he does best with a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Smith to open the second half.

It was another tough day on the ground for Saquon Barkley, but he ran hard. He finished with 44 yards on 18 carries. Barkley had a couple of shifty moves on a 7-yard rush in the second quarter. He also had his longest rush of 13 yards brought back by a holding penalty.

Barkley’s blitz pickup remained a problem. He got run over by Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson — and still held him — before Hurts got sacked in the second quarter. Will Shipley did better a series later, and Hurts was able to throw for a first down. Tank Bigsby had a carry on the Eagles’ first series that went 11 yards off tackle. AJ Dillon, a game after he fumbled, was inactive for the first time this season.

Cameron Latu was the lead blocker on a Barkley 5-yard run in the third quarter.

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DeVonta Smith produced his second 100-yard receiving game of the season. He caught nine passes for a career-high 183 yards and a touchdown. He toasted former Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers with a double move on the 79-yard touchdown.

Earlier, Smith failed to pull in a third-down jump ball over Rodgers in the first quarter, but it was high on the scale of difficulty.

A.J. Brown’s early touchdown was his lone target until the third quarter. He took advantage of great pass protection and released up field beyond man coverage for a 37-yard touchdown on the game’s first possession. Brown caught a 26-yard touchdown on an in-breaking route in the fourth quarter. His 45-yard grab at the end put him over 100 yards for the second time this season.

Tight end Dallas Goedert had a relatively quiet day as a receiver, catching three passes for 18 yards. With Grant Calcaterra (oblique) out, Kylen Granson, EJ Jenkins, and Latu handled second and third tight end blocking.

Center Cam Jurgens was sidelined in the second quarter with a knee injury and was replaced by Brett Toth. Rookie center Drew Kendall was inactive as he has been for most of the season. Toth got bowled over on one of his first snaps and Barkley was dropped in the backfield. He couldn’t hold his block on a Barkley third-down run in the fourth quarter.

Landon Dickerson was back at left guard after missing the New York Giants game with an ankle injury. He had a clear-out lead block on an early Barkley carry and held up despite multiple nagging injuries. Right guard Tyler Steen’s holding penalty in the third quarter brought back a Barkley 13-yard run.

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Tackles Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson didn’t allow much edge pressure in pass protection. Mailata did appear to get beaten on the blind side once in the fourth quarter. He also committed an early first-half holding penalty.

The O-line led the way on a successful fourth-down Tush Push on the opening drive, despite the Vikings laying a defender on the ground behind the ball. Brown’s false start denied a second try a drive later.

Fred Johnson was the sixth O-lineman on a couple of early runs, later setting up the bomb to Smith.

The Eagles held Vikings running backs to just 3.2 yards a carry. The defense allowed running back Jordan Mason to rush five times for 34 yards to open the second half, but the group tightened the hatches down the stretch. The pass rush was effective early, then not-so-much for a period, until Moro Ojomo‘s third-down sack early in the fourth quarter forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal.

Jalyx Hunt had the early defensive play of the game with a second-quarter pick-six. The outside linebacker dropped into coverage and Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz threw it right to him. Hunt didn’t do as well the next time he was targeted in coverage, when some Minnesota trickery resulted in him committing pass interference.

Jalen Carter, who returned to the lineup after a one-game absence, hurried Wentz on the interception with an inside rush. He was credited with another hit just before the half. He broke through and forced Wentz out of the pocket before he threw his second pick in as many drives. Jordan Davis held up Vikings blockers before making two run stops near the line in the second quarter.

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Azeez Ojulari went inside early with a hamstring injury, which forced an already-depleted edge rush corps to lean on Hunt, Joshua Uche, and Patrick Johnson. Uche delivered with a late sack.

Rookie Jihaad Campbell played some outside linebacker for the first time this season. It allowed Nakobe Dean to take his first defensive snaps of the season at off-ball linebacker. Campbell had some edge-rush chances but didn’t get home. He finished with three tackles.

Dean finished with six tackles, including a run tackle for loss in the third quarter. He was behind only Zack Baun (10) in tackles. Baun was all over the field. He made a tough open-field tackle on a pass to the flat in the second quarter.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. injured an ankle on punt duty and never returned.

Adoree’ Jackson got the nod ahead of the benched Kelee Ringo. He didn’t allow much until Vikings receiver Jalen Nailor converted a third down in the third quarter. Jackson got up slowly and a play later suffered a game-ending concussion. That forced the embattled Ringo into action. A drive later, Vikings receiver Jordan Addison toasted Ringo on a 25-yard crossing route.

Quinyon Mitchell didn’t follow elite receiver Justin Jefferson. He wasn’t targeted much by Wentz, but his soft coverage in the fourth quarter allowed Addison a relatively easy 20-yard reception.

Cooper DeJean was up and down. He had tight coverage on Addison in the end zone on a Wentz my-guy-or-no-one overthrow in the first quarter. Playing on the outside, DeJean gave Jefferson too much space on an 18-yard slant route. He let Nailor get behind him for a 26-yard gain in the second quarter. He rebounded later in the possession, though, and broke up an end-zone corner fade to Jefferson.

Jefferson was held to five catches for 79 yards.

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Drew Mukuba notched his second career interception — another Wentz gift — when he played center field on an ill-advised, up-for-grabs toss. He later whiffed on a sideline tackle attempt and Jefferson turned what should have been a short catch into a 40-yard pickup.

Reed Blankenship played well. He got beaten by Addison on a third-down conversion in the red zone in the third quarter, but he kept the deep middle secure and chipped in with four run stops. The Eagles had a busted coverage when Addison got behind Mitchell in zone coverage for a 37-yard completion in the first quarter.

Xavier Gipson was active for the first time since he was acquired last month. He had five kick returns for a 25.6-yard average, while Shipley averaged 29 yards on two returns.

Kicker Jake Elliott was wide right on a 42-yard field-goal attempt for his first miss of the season. He made all of his extra points. Punter Braden Mann averaged 40 net yards on three boots. The Eagles didn’t have a single punt return.

Latu was flagged for an illegal combo block on a third-quarter Eagles kick return. The Eagles’ kick coverage unit allowed a 38-yard return to open the second half. Elliott’s next kickoff landed short of the landing zone and the Vikings had good field position at the 40.

Coach Nick Sirianni has his team back in the winner’s circle after a two-game losing streak. It wasn’t pretty, but Eagles football during the Sirianni era rarely is. And that’s OK for now as the 5-2 Eagles continue their search for an offensive identity. It may just be relying on Hurts and the passing game.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo dialed up a strong opening script, with plays under center and a fourth-down dagger vs. single high man coverage that resulted in Brown’s 37-yard touchdown. But after that 12-play, 75-yard drive, the offense did very little before the half. The Eagles went three-and-out on their next three possessions, and Hurts was sacked twice before the break came.

Patullo had one of his better moments when he set up the Vikings with six O-linemen and used under-center play action to free up Smith on his 79-yard connection with Hurts. And he just let Hurts roll with it down the stretch and it worked, especially in crunch time.

Vic Fangio’s defense did a lot of bending and benefited from Wentz’s miscues. But the Eagles were great in the red zone and forced the Vikings to kick five field goals on six possessions inside the 20.