The Vikings were thumped 24-7 Monday night by the Eagles and almost nothing went well for Minnesota. Here’s what stood out in the game.
1. Prime time Kirk Cousins
Cousins, who fell to 2-10 all time on Monday Night Football, had a terrible game, throwing three interceptions in the second half – all of them deep in Philadelphia territory.
His first pick came on a throw near the end zone to Justin Jefferson. The second happened on the very next drive in the third quarter, this time when he tried to force a pass to Adam Thielen in double coverage. That killed momentum gained by a blocked field goal by Patrick Peterson.
YOU LIKE THAT?!@2live_AM
📺: #MINvsPHI on ABC pic.twitter.com/7tpjUjHNTo
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 20, 2022
The third interception came three plays after Jordan Hicks intercepted Jalen Hurts and put the Vikings at the Philly 9-yard line. Cousins, who was nearly picked off on second down, lobbed a pass into the end zone for Jefferson only to get picked by Slay for a second time.
.@bigplay24slay with his 2nd interception 🗣
📺: #MINvsPHI on ABC pic.twitter.com/KnV0evoizI
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 20, 2022
Cousins either fumbled or was intercepted on four straight possessions in the second half. The fumble came on a third down and led to a Vikings punt in between the second and third interceptions.
2. Cam Bynum’s massive blown coverage
A rough start in Philadelphia for the Vikings as Minnesota’s offense had the ball for just over three minutes of the first quarter. But the biggest gasp came on the second play of the second quarter when Jalen Hurts unleashed a bomb to Quez Watkins for a 53-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 14-0.
Jalen Hurts 53 yard TD pass to Quez Watkins 🔥🔥
Eagles 14-0
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 20, 2022
As Sport Illustrated’s Will Ragatz points out, Vikings safety Cam Bynum bit on a route from tight end Dallas Goedert and that left Watkins in the clear for an easy touchdown. Watch Bynum (number 24) on this play.
Coverage bust. Cam Bynum bites on Goedert's out route and Watkins runs behind him for an easy touchdown catch. pic.twitter.com/mlt8Zqbgid
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) September 20, 2022
You can see on the replay that Goedert was running directly into the area covered by cornerback Cam Dantzler, so even though no one knows for sure what the defensive call was, this is almost for sure a blown coverage by Bynum.
3. Irv Smith Jr.’s critical drop
With just over 90 seconds left in the first half and the Vikings trailing 21-7, Cousins delivered a dime to his tight end but Smith dropped it. Had he caught the pass, Smith likely would’ve waltzed into the end zone for a 63-yard touchdown.
Irv Smith Jr gotta catch this. Kirk Cousins threw a beautiful ball here. pic.twitter.com/luBRoFy2sU
— CLew 🏈🏀⚾️🥊 (@droppedballspod) September 20, 2022
4. Who’s fault was the first red zone interception?
Based on what Troy Aikman said during the MNF broadcast, the third quarter interception that Cousins threw (the first one) in the end zone was the fault of all-world wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
SLAY back makin’ BIG PLAYS!
📺: #MINvsPHI on ABC pic.twitter.com/KwL2B0OrZ6
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 20, 2022
Aikman said Jefferson allowed Slay to get in front of him, calling it a “cardinal rule” broken by Jefferson. Vikings radio play-by-play announcer Paul Allen noted that Jefferson appeared to apologize to Cousins after the play. But as noted earlier, the next possessions for Cousins went interception-fumble-interception.
JJ blew that end zone route, and it was picked by Darius Slay. Jefferson ran to Cousins seemingly apologizing for messing up. Impressive possession thwarted by a miscue. Eagles lead, 24-7. Damn it. #StillSkolTho
— Paul Allen (@PAOnTheMic) September 20, 2022
5. Harrison Smith concussion
Harrison Smith left the game in the second half with what the team said was a possible concussion. Without Smith, the Vikings’ put Josh Metellus in his spot. What’s more is that Cam Bynum, who was burned on the long Philly touchdown, wound up giving way to rookie first-round pick Lewis Cine at one point in the second half.
Making the secondary situation even more complex is that cornerback Cam Dantzler appeared to get benched in the third quarter, being replaced by rookie Akayleb Evans.
What the Vikings look like in the secondary against the Lions on Sunday will be interesting.
Related: Kirk Cousins, Vikings get rocked by Eagles on MNF
