5 Eagles players to watch vs. Vikings in Week 2
The Philadelphia Eagles have a quick turnaround this week. Following Sunday's Week 1 win over the New England Patriots, they had just three days to prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football. Philly entered the 2023 season healthy but they are now a little banged up. The same goes for the Vikings, […]
The Philadelphia Eagles have a quick turnaround this week.
Following Sunday's Week 1 win over the New England Patriots, they had just three days to prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football.
Philly entered the 2023 season healthy but they are now a little banged up. The same goes for the Vikings, who will be looking to bounce back from a three-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime and below are five Eagles players to watch in this primetime showdown.
CB Josh Jobe
Starting cornerback James Bradberry is still out with a concussion. That means Thursday could be a big night for backup Josh Jobe.
The former undrafted free agent out of Alabama was a huge help on Sunday, pushing running back Kayshon Boutte out of bounds during New England's final drive of the game to seal the Eagles' victory.
He logged his first pass breakup and forced fumble of his NFL career in the win and Thursday could mark another first for him: his first NFL start.
However, he will face a major test against Minnesota's Justin Jefferson and first-round pick Jordan Addison.
LB Christian Elliss
With Nakobe Dean (foot) on injured reserve, the next man up is Christian Elliss.
Just like Jobe, Thursday will also mark Elliss' first start of his career as a former undrafted free agent out of Idaho.
Things could get ugly versus a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback. But then again, it's Kirk Cousins in primetime, and he's not well-known for playing his best in the spotlight.
TE Dallas Goedert
Dallas Goedert shockingly registered zero catches for zero yards in Week 1.
In fact, he wasn't even targeted until the fourth quarter–with an uncatchable pass. He seemed frustrated during the game, but overall was a good sport about it.
Chances are if Jalen Hurts doesn't look his way more than once on Thursday, Goedert isn't going to be such a good sport about it this time around.
RB D'Andre Swift
The Eagles will be without Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) for this matchup.
But there shouldn't be a problem with Eagles' dual-threat running back D'Andre Swift leading the backfield. Swift had just one catch and zero carries on 18 snaps in Sunday's win. That won't be the case on Thursday as he should finish the night exhausted after handling most of the workload.
DT Jalen Carter
Jalen Carter proved he was the real deal in Week 1 with a monster NFL debut, logging eight pressures, seven QB hurries and a sack.
While head coach Nick Sirianni was impressed with Carter, he stressed the importance of consistency.
Can the rookie tackle do it all over again?
Well, he should be able to repeat his performance up against Vikings' backup center Austin Schlottmann.
…I feel bad for that guy.
Eagles have ‘faith’ in James Bradberry’s replacement
The Eagles could be without Bradberry on Thursday night.
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