These are the two big plays that crushed the Eagles in the first quarter, putting them into that three-score hole. They occurred on consecutive plays from scrimmage for the unit, and both plays came on first-and-10 shot plays from the Vikings off play-action. Minnesota had to work for its opening drive touchdown, marching 70 yards in 13 plays while taking a bunch of time off the clock to start the game. As a defense, if you're going to give up points, you want to make them earn it. You obviously don't want to give up ANY points, but if that's how they score, that's how they score. These kinds of plays are the tough ones to live with.

On the first play, you have to tip your cap to the other team. Why? Because they called a good play against the defense. Simple as that. Stay with me here on a quick overview.

Let me set this up by saying the Eagles have not been a HUGE Quarters (otherwise known as Cover 4) team this year. Do they play it at times? Of course, but I wouldn't say it's been one of their staple coverages entering the game. Like every type of zone coverage, Quarters has its strengths and weaknesses. Here they are in a nutshell:

STRENGTHS

1. Safeties who are present in run support

Against a run-heavy team like the Vikings that likes to utilize base personnel packages (meaning the use of a fullback and multiple tight ends), the safeties need to be active in the run fit. The Eagles are a "one-gap" defense, meaning that each of your front seven players is going to be responsible for fitting into one gap. Well, when the offense adds players into that equation (like a fullback), that means there are more gaps that have to be accounted for by the defense. That means you're either going to ask your defensive linemen to account for those extra gaps, or you're going to have your safeties come down and be a bigger part of the run game.

2. Theoretical four-deep coverage across the board

While those safeties are assigned gaps in the run game, they also are given responsibilities on the back end of the defense, as they join the two outside cornerbacks to split the secondary into "quarters" across the width of the field. These aren't extremely wide areas of grass to cover, but it gives each defensive back "help" if he is attacked vertically down the field, as long as their "help" is not being occupied elsewhere.

3. 'Tight' zone coverage

Quarters coverage is typically a "pattern match" zone, meaning that, after a certain depth downfield, the coverage for the defensive back turns into what is basically man coverage, typically at about 8-10 yards. It can differ from coach to coach.

WEAKNESSES

1. Stressful for safeties

Quarters coverage can be stressful for safeties. They are responsible for being players inside the run fit. They are responsible for areas in the deep middle. AND if they have a slot receiver across from them pre-snap, they have potential a man coverage assignment as well. Now, they are obviously not going to have all three on any one play, but the threat of all three is present on nearly every snap. There is a lot of reading and keying and diagnosing and communicating involved in playing the coverage.

2. Blurring of responsibilities

Every team plays every form of zone coverage a little bit differently, and that can change from week-to-week depending on the opponent, the personnel, the situation, injuries, etc. There are literally dozens of potential checks and changes a secondary could make based off one pre-snap motion or change in the alignment of a receiver before the snap. If you're a team that passes off receivers in the secondary, it can also get a bit dicey if all of your T's and I's aren't crossed and dotted.

3. Quick out-breaking routes

Again, every zone coverage has weaknesses. In Cover 2, you have two deep safeties with five defenders underneath. In Cover 3, you have three deep defenders with four players underneath. Simple math tells you then that, in Cover 4, you have four deep defenders with just three defenders underneath and those three defenders have a lot of ground to cover. Since they typically are linebackers and slot defenders, they typically have to work from the hash marks out toward the sideline, so the quick game can be effective against these looks.

Before that first Diggs touchdown, the 62-yard throw on the deep post, the Vikings threw the ball 11 times. On three of those first four pass plays, the Eagles came out in Cover 4, all on the opening drive. Credit for Minnesota now for coming back and racking up some of their "Cover 4 Beaters" in this game to try and attack the coverage.

Going back to that first Diggs touchdown in the clip above, before the snap you can see Sidney Jones is lined up across from tight end Kyle Rudolph at the top of the screen. Malcolm Jenkins is lined up across Adam Thielen in the slot to the right. Rasul Douglas is lined across from Diggs at the bottom of the screen. If a receiver attacks a certain depth, for the case of this article we'll say 8 yards, it now reverts to a form of man-to-man coverage for that defender.

The caveat to that, however, is that if you are a team that passes off receivers mid-route, as the Eagles appear to do on this play, it can get a bit hairy. Thielen does a great job of working up toward Jenkins, certainly at a depth of where it could be seen as a man-to-man situation. But it appears as if Jenkins and McLeod execute a pass-off here. After acknowledging the run fake in the backfield and confirming that he doesn't have to come downhill to attack running back Dalvin Cook, McLeod looks to pick up Thielen on the crosser. That means that he is not available to play in the deep quarter of the field.

Douglas, playing outside and funneling the receiver in, as he's coached to do, struggles to match up with Diggs down the field. He's on an island now, and even if Jenkins had gotten on his horse from the other side to get into the deep middle, the throw from Cousins is so good that it would have fallen in for a touchdown regardless. Thielen's route, along with the play-action fake, held both safeties at mid-field. That isolated Diggs on Douglas, and with Douglas playing with outside leverage he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Tip of the cap to Minnesota on that one.

The Vikings get the ball back just shy of midfield after a turnover on downs, and on the very first play they strike gold again. This time, it was on a busted coverage. Jenkins owned up to it after the game, saying that it was completely on him. Douglas is playing what appears to be Cover 2 technique on that play, expecting safety help over the top. Jenkins saw the threat of receivers coming in the intermediate area from across the field, and appeared to abandon his area of responsibility, leaving Douglas vulnerable over the top. Cousins hit Diggs for another explosive pass play and six more points.

This put the Eagles down 24-3 with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter, a tough hill to climb out of for the remainder of the game.