Minshew Mania reincarnated? Gardner Minshew throws TD in his first two drives at the start of the Eagles

Gardner Minshew it didn’t take long to shake off the rust as his first game started giving Philadelphia Eagles. Minshew needed just three passes in the Eagles’ opener to make his first touchdown pass, a 36-yard ball. Dallas Goedert in the first quarter, giving the Eagles a 7-6 lead over New York Jets. And he wasn’t done yet, throwing another slide on his second drive.

Minshew, who started for the injured Jalen Hurts, went three of the 61 yards on his first drive, all passes going to Goedert – who had 61 yards received on the driveway. The 36-yard tackle was the longest of Goedert’s career.

In the Eagles’ second inning, Minshew connected with Goedert again for a touchdown – a 25-yard hit on the third down to send the Eagles 14-12. Goedert had five catches at 98 yards and two points while Minshew started the game 8/8 for 125 yards and two touchdowns for a perfect 1583 pass.

Minshew, who hasn’t started a game since last season with the Jaguars, has targeted Goedert frequently in warmups, so the early connect shouldn’t come as a surprise. He was named the starting midfielder after Hurts was reportedly out of action with an ankle injury.

Of course, Minshew is no newcomer to the starting midfielder role. Minshew completed 66.1% of his passes last season in 2,259 yards with 16 touchdowns to five interceptions, ending with a midfield tally of 95.9. He started 20 games for Jacksonville Jaguars more than two of him NFL season, completing 62.9% of his passes with 37 touches and 11 interceptions (93.1 rate). Minshew is 25th in the league in completion rate, 20th in touchdown and fourth in interception rate (1.38) for all qualifying midfielders from the 2019 to 2020 season. His pass rate of 93.1 is the 12th highest for a midfielder after their first two seasons (minimum 500 attempts).

“Minshew Mania” has arrived in Philadelphia, for better or for worse.