alen Hurts forced a throw into double coverage, one of his worst passes in years, and was picked off. A.J. Brown — he of the nearly 1,500 yards receiving a year ago — threw a tantrum on the sidelines when the ball didn’t come his way.
And yes, already, in the Eagles’ home opener, fans booed the NFC champions in the first half when a string of offensive plays went nowhere.
All that, and Philadelphia is 2-0.
The Eagles already knew they’d be tested as they try to return to the Super Bowl. Oh, it won’t be easy, but they’ve been sloppy and feisty, and those highlight-reel plays are behind last year’s pace.
But they’ll take it.
Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the Eagles held off the turnover-prone Minnesota Vikings 34-28 on Thursday night.
“We’re a work in progress,” Hurts said. “We strive for progress, not perfection. We want to grow and find our identity.”
Hurts, the MVP runner-up, shook off a sluggish passing performance in the first half and woke up the crowd when he connected with Smith for the scoring strike in the third quarter that made it 27-7.
“We Own UR SKOL Tonight,” one Eagles fan sign read after the TD.
It almost wasn’t enough.