3 Takeaways From Eagles' Week 2 Win vs. Vikings

The Philadelphia Eagles produced an early-season statement with their 24-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

Jalen Hurts looked every bit of a franchise quarterback that is capable of leading the team on a deep playoff run.

Hurts thrived in both aspects of the offense with 333 passing yards, 57 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. The Eagles quarterback showed off his full arsenal of offensive weapons in the victory, as eight players caught a pass and four of them produced more than 60 receiving yards.

Defensively, Darius Slay shut down Justin Jefferson in the instances in which the two players were matched up. The star cornerback produced two interceptions and allowed one catch on six targets when matched up against the Vikings' top wide out.

Everything went right for the Eagles on Monday and that built up the hype that the team can win the NFC East and potentially contend for a Super Bowl.

Of course, there is always a chance the hype ends up being unwarranted, but the early returns from the Eagles suggest they will be near, or at the top, of the NFC standings all season.

Jalen Hurts Marveled in All Aspects of Offense

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 19: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks to pass the ball against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 19, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Jalen Hurts turned in a marvelous performance with his legs and arm on Monday night.

Hurts had 300 total yards in the first half alone. He became the first Eagles quarterback since Michael Vick in 2010 to record 300 total yards in a single half, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Hurts joined Vick and Cam Newton in rare company by throwing for 300 yards, rushing for 50 yards and scoring multiple times on the ground, per NFL Research.

Monday marked the fifth time in Hurts' young career in which he eclipsed the 300-yard mark through the air. He had at least 35 rushing yards in all of those performances.

Hurts produced three or more touchdowns in two of those five performances. It marked the first time he ran for two touchdowns while throwing for 300 yards in a single game in his career.

The Philadelphia quarterback also impressed by spreading the ball around to his plethora of top targets. DeVonta Smith led the team with 80 receiving yards and three other players got over the 60-yard mark.

Monday night's win was a statement for Hurts to show the national audience that he could step up with the spotlight on him and that he has improved from his first full season as a starter.

Offensive Depth on Display

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 19: DeVonta Smith #6 and Quez Watkins #16 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate a touchdown during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 19, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Eagles showed off their offensive depth around Hurts in their home opener.

DeVonta Smith earned the bulk of the targets in the first half in an attempt to get him going after he failed to catch a pass in Week 1. Smith finished with catches on all seven of his targets and 80 receiving yards.

Smith produced the second-highest receiving yard total in the box score behind Dallas Goedert, who had two more yards than the second-year player with 82 yards.

Quez Watkins hauled in a 53-yard deep ball from Hurts for a first-half touchdown and A.J. Brown, who was the team's top target in Week 1, chipped in with five catches for 69 yards.

Hurts was also able to work with Zach Pascal, Kenneth Gainwell and Miles Sanders in the passing game. None of them had large receiving totals, but it was important to work them into the passing game in certain situations.

The Eagles have two No. 1 wide outs in Brown and Smith and a top-tier tight end in Goedert that will give opposing defenses trouble all season.

If they can work in the likes of Watkins, Pascal and the running backs as well, the Eagles may be hard to stop in any of their games this season.

Darius Slay Put on Defensive Masterclass

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Darius Slay #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after his interception during the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 19, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Darius Slay felt like he was Kirk Cousins' top target for parts of the game.

The Eagles' top cornerback came up with two interceptions of the Minnesota quarterback and shut down the Vikings' top receiver, Justin Jefferson, in most of the times the two were matched up.

Jefferson earned one catch on the six targets he earned when he went one-on-one with Slay. That will likely go down as one of the best individual performances against the Minnesota wide out all season long.

Slay had five passes defended in addition to his two interceptions and both picks came at crucial instances of the contest.

He picked off Cousins for the first time in the red zone to start the third quarter. Minnesota tried to get back into the contest on that drive, but the interception ended the hopes of that.

Slay's second pick came three plays after Jordan Hicks hauled in a deflected pass by Hurts for the Vikings.

Not only did Slay own his matchup with Jefferson, but he came up with interceptions in two crucial spots of the contest.

Slay will not have 16 more two-interception games, but he will make his presence known throughout the season by making life difficult for other top receivers, starting with Terry McLaurin in Week 3.