Philly native D’Andre Swift saves the Eagles — and Jalen Hurts — upon his return home

D’Andre Swift has been here before.

He’s been the running back who has been neglected — for whatever the reason — and had to answer questions like the one he faced when asked if he was frustrated following a measly two-touch outing in the Eagles’ opener on Sunday.

“Frustrated? No, we got the win,” Swift said. “I wouldn’t say frustrated. The way I prepared — just being ready for whenever the opportunity came.”

Opportunity arrived just four days later and fittingly upon his first game back at Lincoln Financial Field playing in his hometown Philadelphia. And Swift snatched it with a career-best performance, rushing for 175 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries as the Eagles outlasted the Vikings, 34-28, on Thursday night.

The Eagles needed every bit of Swift’s yards on the ground with quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing offense struggling and their defense unable to put Minnesota away. He essentially iced the game with a 43-yard burst to the 4-yard line with around 4 ½ minutes remaining, and two plays later with a 2-yard touchdown scoot.

“I was just locked in on the task at hand,” said Swift, who said he had 30 family members and friends in attendance. “It was just great being back in my hometown. We needed to come out with the win, first and foremost.”

Swift, of course, has been here before. Born in Philly and raised in Mount Airy, he set records at St. Joseph’s Prep and had similar rushing performances almost weekly for the Hawks. In fact, he said Thursday night’s game was his best since high school.

When he was introduced at the Linc, the announcer mentioned his city of birth and the Prep, drawing an ovation similar to that of veterans such as tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce. Not bad for a running back who had one carry for 3 yards and one catch for zero yards in his Eagles debut against the Patriots.

But most saw his usage in the first game as an oversight, one that now looks mind-boggling. Kenneth Gainwell got the start in New England, and while he ran hard and with a modicum of success, he doesn’t possess Swift’s explosiveness and shiftiness.

Gainwell, though, received 18 touches to Swift’s two. Who knows if coach Nick Sirianni and his braintrust would have stuck with the former in Week 2, but Gainwell was out with a rib injury, and Swift became RB1.

It should remain that way, even though backups Boston Scott and Rashaad Penny also contributed to the Eagles’ total of 259 yards rushing.

“That was a lot of touches, too,” Sirianni said of Swift’s night, “so ... not only pleased with how he saw it and how he hit it, but also how he protected the ball, especially when they’re coming after it in situations at the end of the game like that.”

Swift hasn’t really been a workhorse since high school, and even then he was often pulled by the half in blowouts. But at Georgia there were other blue-chip running backs, and in his first three NFL seasons with the Lions, he was often part of a by-committee approach.

“It’s what I can do,” Swift said. “I didn’t even feel like I even scratched the surface of what I can do.”

Swift’s previous NFL best in rushing yards was the 144 yards he gained in last year’s opener vs. the Eagles. He once logged 33 carries in 2021, but aside from that game, he never had more than 16 totes in a game.

The Eagles didn’t necessarily go into the game thinking they would run it as much as they did — 44 times vs. 31 Hurts drops — but the Vikings almost dared offensive coordinator Brian Johnson to switch to a ball control offense with their three-man fronts and shell coverages.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ pressures and disguises often made life difficult for Hurts. But with Minnesota determined to take the deep ball away from wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown — to some degree — Johnson kept dialing up Swift on inside zone runs.

» READ MORE: Eagles OC Brian Johnson gets booed but leans on D’Andre Swift and learns to run the damn ball

On the 16-play second quarter drive that resulted in the Eagles’ first touchdown, 13 were called runs.

“Obviously, it can be kind of monotonous for the play caller,” Kelce said. “OK, I’m going to call inside zone 18 times? I think that’s the mark of somebody who’s taking something that the defense is giving them.”

But Johnson was also clearly accounting for Hurts’ unevenness. The quarterback struggled to see the field, threw a terrible interception into double coverage, and took several sacks that were avoidable. Defenses have also done a better job of containing him in the run game.

“We’re seeing some crazy things,” Kelce said. “I think teams are going to keep doing this to try and throw us off. We saw it in Week 1. Obviously, saw it similar [in Week 2]. We adjusted [better] than we did last week.

“That’s the positive. We’re getting better.”

» READ MORE: Eagles-Vikings report card: D’Andre Swift and the O-line pave the way to victory

They got better, though, by simplification. How long can that last? Swift has had his share of injuries in his career. He’s not the biggest running back. And Sirianni is unlikely to abandon his other tailbacks.

But sometimes old-school football works -- lining up and running at will, especially when you have one of the best run-blocking offensive lines in the league.

“Do you wanna punch somebody or get punched in the face,” Eagles guard Landon Dickerson said, explaining why O-linemen love to run the ball. “I’d much rather be running at somebody than backing up.”

Swift can catch the ball, too. In fact, that’s what many were fixated on after the Eagles made a draft day trade with the Lions in April. As explosive and productive as Sirianni’s offense was last season, it lacked a true receiving threat out of the backfield.

There will come a time when Swift’s hands are needed. But he flashed like the Swift of old on the grass. Eagles receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, his former Prep teammate, said Swift’s night reminded him of a time he took over against North Penn in high school.

Or was it Pittsburgh Central Catholic?

“He had a lot of games like that,” Zaccheaus said.

Swift knew who he played best against, though.

“Every time,” he said with a laugh, “we played La Salle.”