PHILADELPHIA — The plan shifted. And so did the game.

The Eagles came out committed to the run in Minneapolis and wound up winning through the air, beating the Vikings 28–22 behind Jalen Hurts’ best outing of the season. The quarterback went 19 of 23 for 326 yards and three touchdowns with a perfect 158.3 passer rating, a tidy answer to two straight losses and a template for how Kevin Patullo’s offense wants to toggle in real time.

“Going into a game, you have the game plan … Sometimes you have to be patient for it and wait for the right opportunities, and I think that’s what presented itself in the game,” Patullo said Tuesday.

The Birds used early-down runs to set the table and then hit the explosives that the offensive coordinator and and his skill guys had circled midweek.

“They (receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown) both on high alert for like, ‘Hey, if this gets called, this is my deal,’” Patullo said Tuesday of the 79-yard shot to Smith. “At halftime, it was one of the plays that we discussed that were going to come up early if we got the right opportunity, and it presented itself.”

Smith answered with a career-best 183 receiving yards on nine catches, including a 79-yard touchdown, while A.J. Brown added 4 for 121 and two scores.

Patullo also highlighted Hurts’ command against Minnesota’s drop-eight looks.

“There are rules to it,” he said. “When you start to flush, there’s rules about where we need to be … When you look at it, it is like a broken play-ish, but they’re very structured.”

The Eagles mixed in more traditional looks to marry the ground game with play-action, even though the ground game only yielded 45 yards.

“Each week presents something new … We did that early with the runs and then it elevated to play actions,” Patullo said.

Hurts’ late ‘kill shot’

On third-and-9 with 1:45 left in the game, Hurts dropped a 45-yard deep ball to Brown to finish it—exactly the type of player-driven, situation-aware moment Patullo described.

“When you have guys like Jalen and A.J. … they can accelerate that and really foresee what’s going to happen,” Patullo said. “To make a play like that work in those moments … shows how poised they were.”

Despite his big game and big plays, Brown posted on social media this week: “Using me but not using me.” He probably wants more than four catches on six targets.

Barkley’s split halves

Saquon Barkley ran 18 times for 44 yards. His early-down bursts haven’t always carried into the fourth quarter, but Patullo noted Philly has leaned on four-minute, clock-drain scenarios late — situational football that can depress yards-per-carry while still serving the game plan.

“Late in the games in the fourth quarters, we’ve had a few four-minute drives … Statistically they’re probably going to go down just because of what we’re trying to do with the clock,” he said.

Also, center Cam Jurgens left with a back injury in the first half and was replaced by Brett Toth, which may have been a factor.

Fangio’s defense and Graham’s return

Minnesota reached scoring range repeatedly but settled for five Will Reichard field goals and only one touchdown. Rookie edge Jalyx Hunt jumped a throw for a pick-six, a play defensive coordinator Vic Fangio credited to Jalen Carter’s interior pressure.

“The whole key to the play was Jalen Carter … he caused the interception and Jalyx made a great catch,” Fangio said. “He beat the center quickly, got into the quarterback’s face, hit him just like we teach him to hit him and he caused the interception and Jalyx made a great catch.”

Edge rusher Brandon Graham is coming out of retirement. While it’s unlikely he’ll see any snaps until Nov. 10 at Green Bay — after their Week 9 bye — rather than Sunday against the Giants, anything’s possible with Fangio. He also wasn’t eager to discuss limiting snaps for the 37-year-old.

“I don’t know. Now he’s coming out of retirement and he’s older. But when I was in Chicago, we traded for (Chargers OLB) Khalil Mack who had missed the entire training camp, and the ‘fatigue police’ said, ‘Hey, he can only play about 20-22 snaps in this game,’ because we got him the week of the first game. I said, OK. He played about 45, so I don’t know.”

—

Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/10/22/patullos-plan-pays-off-for-eagles/