The Philadelphia Eagles, buoyed by superstar performances from quarterback Jalen Hurts and cornerback Darius Slay, dominated the Minnesota Vikings in a 24-7 game that felt more of a blowout than the scoreboard suggets. Hurts' output, in particular, will turn some heads, as he joined some lofty company with the numbers he posted against the Vikings backline. But just as important to the Eagles' cause was the shutdown efforts by Slay, who terrorized Vikings receivers all night long.
In fact, Darius Slay had Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson in a straitjacket. After Jefferson tallied a monstrous 184 yards in just nine receptions (two for touchdowns) in the Vikings' Week 1 win against the Green Bay Packers, he was unusually quiet against the Eagles, accumulating only 48 yards in six receptions, none of which went for a touchdown, and Slay is to thank for that. And Slay's teammates know just how instrumental he was in winning such a crucial matchup on the field.
Per Josh Tolentino, the Eagles' beat writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, fellow cornerback Zech McPhearson praised Slay's unreal performance, which even Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden was in awe of.
“Slay took one of the best receivers in the world, and he put [Justin Jefferson] in a car seat. It’s true. He’s one of the best DBs in the world,
McPhearson said.
It's very easy to understand why the entire Eagles squad is so hyped up after Darius Slay's statement performance. It's not easy at all to hold Jefferson in check, with the star wideout having posted 108 receptions for 1,616 yards, which was good for second in the entire league, and 10 touchdowns last season. And the Eagles fed off of Slay's contagiously emotional performance in a big way.
“We feed off of him for real. Seeing him make so many plays, lead the defense, and back his talk up on the field. You have no choice but to get behind your brother,” Slay added.
Darius Slay, Jalen Hurts, and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles will look to sustain their entertaining winning performances in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders.