4 biggest disappointments in Vikings loss to the Eagles in Week 2
By Nik Edlund
Disappointment No. 1
Minnesota's run defense
The Vikings' run defense wasn't just disappointing in Week 2 against the Eagles, it was embarrassing. It didn't take long in this game to realize the Eagles would be able to do whatever they wanted to on the ground. D'Andre Swift was getting about eight yards a pop, and the Eagles quickly caught on to that and just kept running the football.
They ended up rushing for a total of 259 yards on the night. Swift averaged 6.25 yards a carry and ended up with 175. It was shocking how inept the Vikings' run defense was, and there was a stat floating around on Twitter that showed that the Eagles' running backs were getting nearly three yards before even being touched by a Vikings' defender.
So now the question is, what is the problem? Does Brian Flores' run defense suck? Is it a shortcoming to his defensive game planning? Did the Vikings' front get worn down because they were on the field so much? Or was this a case where the Eagles' offensive line was so good that they could dominate up front, making this a fluke and a one-time occurrence?
Time will ultimately tell on that. The thing that is disappointing is that the Vikings failed to make any adjustments to try and slow the Eagles' ground attack down. Maybe this was because they respected their receivers so much that they were afraid to take coverage away, but maybe not.
Either way, no team should ever run as easily against another as the Eagles did against the Vikings. Seeing such a huge mismatch for a defense that was actually playing pretty well was alarming.