The Eagles are taking on a bit of an underdog role this week against the Minnesota Vikings (where have we heard that before). After blowing out the Green Bay Packers in week 1, the Vikings will head to Philly to take on an Eagles defense that allowed 35 points in their matchup with the Lions. While everyone’s eyes will be on Justin Jefferson, here are five Eagles that you should keep an eye on:
James Bradberry
This will be a tough matchup for the Eagles CB1 & CB2 as one of them will draw Justin Jefferson and the other will draw Adam Thielen. Who has who doesn’t matter at this very moment but what matters is how Bradberry performs. He had a good week against the Lions as he picked off Goff for a pick-6 and only allowed one completion on six targets for 13 yards.
This will be a tough test for the Eagles CB2 but one test that will show us how good this secondary can be or won’t be.
Miles Sanders
The Vikings allowed nearly 6 yards per carry against the Packers which means the Eagles’ offensive line and their running backs should feast. Unfortunately, the NFL is a week-to-week league and nothing is ever a guarantee. Miles Sanders will need to be as efficient as ever if the Eagles want to win this game. His big runs could open up the passing game and allow Jalen Hurts to avoid running for his life again with defenders living behind the line of scrimmage.
The Safeties
We’re going to count these as three and four on my list because they’re just as important to this game as the corners. Epps and CJGJ need to contain the big plays and allow minimal damage by the Vikings offense. We saw how aggressive they both were against the Lions, especially in Epps’s diving tackle against Brown, but they may need to be much more strategic against this Vikings offense.
DeVonta Smith
Everyone now knows that A.J. Brown is the guy. He’s the safety blanket for Jalen Hurts but DeVonta Smith will be the equalizer that the Eagles need on Monday night. With Brown demanding so much attention, the Eagles will need Smitty to do his thing and have a breakout game. It’s clear that the receivers don’t care who has the big game but this time around all eyes will be on the Eagles’ former first-round pick.
After going catch-less against the feisty Detroit Lions, expect DeVonta Smith to be a focal point for the Eagles’ offense on Monday night.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
