Philadelphia Eagles @ Minnesota Vikings
Final Score: Eagles 28, Vikings 22
Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)
Finally back in the United States after splitting a pair of decisions overseas, the Minnesota Vikings hosted the Philadelphia Eagles in a battle of NFC heavyweights on Sunday afternoon. Philly struck first, beating the aggressive Minnesota defense over the top (a theme that would repeat throughout the day), and capitalized on poor play by Carson Wentz and the Vikings’ offense, including a pick-six, to take a 14-6 lead into the halftime break. In the second half, the Vikings were more competitive, cutting the lead to 21-19 in the fourth quarter, but another long strike from Hurts to A.J. Brown put the Eagles ahead for good. Let’s dig in.
Three Up
- A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — The pair of Eagles pass catchers were prioritized as they faced (and beat) a lot of man coverage looks.
- Jordan Addison — Wentz’s favorite target, Addison has been the Vikings’ WR1 by the numbers since his return.
- Jalen Hurts — A near-perfect game for Hurts, he couldn’t have played much better than he did.
Two Down
- Dallas Geodert — Touchdown variance went away from the big tight end — no goal-line shovel passes this week.
- Saquon Barkley — It’s hard to get to the second level when you can’t even get out of your own backfield.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 19/23, 326 yards, 3 TDs | 4 carries, -10 yards
Jalen Hurts was exceptional — as good as he’s been all season — picking apart the Vikings’ defense while facing significant pressure in his face, to earn the victory. He put dots on his receivers all day, and even managed a couple of really nice touch throws over the first level of defenders to find open receivers. Hurts proved he is more than just a tush-push merchant and cemented himself in the top-five fantasy discussion for the rest of the season. The playcalling still feels suspect — but that’s another discussion for another column.
They see "TD bomb to AJ brown"
I see, terrible offensive scheme once again getting bailed out by talent. https://t.co/dZrn3r1kVJ
— Mostly Eagles Tweets (@MostlyEagles) October 19, 2025
Running Back
Saquon Barkley: 18 carries, 44 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, -2 yards
Saquon Barkley was doing his best Ashton Jeanty impression in the Eagles’ backfield, dodging tacklers and taking hits behind the line of scrimmage on nearly every carry. The Eagles’ offensive line suffered a series of injuries, including losing center Cam Jurgens, and didn’t generate much of a push up front all game. On Barkley’s best run of the day, a 13-yard cutback up the middle, Philadelphia was called for holding, bringing it all the way back. It was an ugly game for Barkley managers and not much of a silver lining to take from it. Whether due to scheme, performance or whatever else, Barkley hasn’t been the same explosive play machine we saw last season.
Last season Saquon Barkley had 17 carries that gained 20+ yards.
This season Saquon Barkley has an NFL-high 113 carries without a 20+ yard gain.
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 19, 2025
Tank Bigsby: 1 carry, 11 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, -1 yards
Will Shipley: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Brown: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 121 Yards, 2 TDs
DeVonta Smith: 11 Targets, 9 Receptions, 183 yards, TD
DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown combined for over 300 receiving yards, 94.4% of the Eagles’ receiving yards on the day. With two receivers of this caliber, they should be garnering 90% or more of the receiving yards, targets, etc. But it’s certainly something that we had yet to see up until this point. As Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores threw numbers forward on the blitz, Hurts went over the top to his two dynamic wide receivers with great success. If only every game looked like this from a matchup standpoint.
DEVONTA SMITH FOR THE 79-YARD TDpic.twitter.com/wwCfmCyM4d
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 19, 2025
Dallas Goedert: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 18 Yards
While the wide receivers feasted, the tight ends were hardly used. There was just no need to check the ball down when Hurts had the deep ball as an option on nearly every passing play.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: 26/42, 313 Yards, 2 INTs | 4 Carries, 28 Yards
The first half was a comedy of errors for the veteran quarterback against the team that drafted him. His first drive was curtailed by an errant snap and loss of 30 yards. His next two drives ended in picks — Carson Wentz‘s first interception was a mistake caused by pressure up the middle. The Eagles generated an excellent pass rush and Wentz rushed the delivery of a pass over the middle where a dropping linebacker was waiting to undercut the route and intercept the pass. The next offensive possession, Wentz chucked up an awful decision — rolling right out of the pocket and essentially punting the ball for an easy pick on a deep lofted pass. In his final drive of the first half, Wentz looked calmer and more confident with better decision-making, but his touchdown pass to Jalen Naylor on fourth-and-1 was called back for a holding penalty, forcing the Vikings to settle for another field goal. Things looked much different for Wentz and the Vikings in the second half as the O-line protected much better, allowing him time to find his receivers on deep developing routes. He earned points with his legs as well, scrambling for a couple of first downs in the fourth quarter.
Running Back
Jordan Mason: 15 Carries, 57 Yards, TD
Jordan Mason was fine for fantasy purposes, finding the end zone to preserve his value as a starting RB. The most encouraging thing about his game Sunday was that he was on the field for so much of it. The Vikings deployed their lead back for 76.4% of snaps, including over 50% of third-down snaps. Though he didn’t garner a target, it’s still encouraging to see Mason involved on passing downs (even if it is as a pass protector).
Zavier Scott: 4 Carries, 4 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards
C.J. Ham: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jordan Addison: 12 Targets, 9 Receptions, 128 Yards
Since coming back from suspension, Jordan Addison is averaging 8.7 targets, 6.0 catches and 94.3 yards per game. He has emerged as Wentz’s favorite target, maybe because Justin Jefferson draws so much attention from opposing defenses. The talent is there and with Wentz under center, the usage is there as well. He can be started with confidence as a low-end WR2, high-end WR3 or flex play on a weekly basis.
Overshadowed by the loss was a fantastic game from Jordan Addison, which easily could've included a touchdown. He's so good. pic.twitter.com/1ZqWqXAKdF
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 20, 2025
Justin Jefferson: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 79 Yards
The most frustrating thing about watching Justin Jefferson was that Wentz tried to get him involved, but it seemed like every shot he took to the first-round fantasy pick was way off-target. At one point in the fourth quarter, Wentz took three shots downfield to Jefferson on the same drive and missed badly on each one. It would be nice to see Kevin O’Connell scheme up some first-read looks in space to his top receiving option, but that may depend on which quarterback is under center for the Vikes.
T.J. Hockenson: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 43 Yards
T.J. Hockenson served mostly as Wentz’s safety-valve option in underneath routes in the short to intermediate parts of the field. He nearly pulled in a touchdown on a full-extension dive. Ruled a score on the field, the play was overturned to an incomplete pass after review (but it should have counted for the effort he gave). On the field for 57 out of 69 offensive snaps, he’s a low-end TE1 on usage alone with opportunities to reach his ceiling if he can find the end zone.
Jalen Nailor: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 37 Yards
Jalen Nailor was on the field and more involved than Adam Thielen for the first time since Addison’s return, but wasn’t fantasy-relevant.
Josh Oliver: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Adam Thielen: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards