PHILADELPHIA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jalen Hurts rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one more, and the Philadelphia Eagles held on for a 34-28 win over the visiting Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.
Hurts completed 18 of 23 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Philadelphia (2-0). D’Andre Swift notched 28 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown, while DeVonta Smith had four catches for 131 yards and one score.
Kirk Cousins completed 31 of 44 passes for 364 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions for Minnesota (0-2). T.J. Hockenson had seven catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns, and Justin Jefferson finished with 11 receptions for a team-high 159 yards.
Both teams started slowly on offense.
The Eagles led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 24-yard field goal by Jake Elliott.
The Vikings grabbed a 7-3 lead with 10:39 left in the second quarter. Hockenson caught a pass, shook off a defender and sprinted in for a 5-yard touchdown.
Philadelphia responded with a 1-yard touchdown by Hurts to go ahead 10-7 with 2:44 remaining in the first half. Hurts’ first score capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive.
Elliott made a 61-yard field goal as time expired at the end of the half to make it 13-7.
On the first drive of the second half, Hurts punched in another 1-yard touchdown to increase the Eagles’ lead to 20-7. The Eagles’ defense set up the score as Josh Sweat sacked Cousins on Minnesota’s 18-yard line to pop the ball loose, and Fletcher Cox recovered the fumble and took it to the Vikings’ 7-yard line.
Hurts relied upon his arm to make it 27-7 for the Eagles. He heaved a pass to a wide-open Smith, who made the catch and sprinted to the end zone for a 63-yard score.
On their next possession, the Vikings cut the deficit to 27-14 with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter as Cousins connected with rookie wideout Jordan Addison for a 62-yard touchdown.
Minnesota pulled within 27-21 with 7:41 left in the game. Cousins looked to his left and hit K.J. Osborn for a 10-yard touchdown.
The Eagles then made it 34-21 on Swift’s 2-yard touchdown run with 4:13 to go.
The Vikings capped the scoring on Hockenson’s second touchdown catch, again from 5 yards out, with 1:10 remaining.
–Field Level Media