Vikings Know Your Enemy: Philadelphia Eagles
If anyone seriously thought the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings were going to have a combined record of eight wins and two losses at this point in the season, more power to you.
A few short weeks ago, the Eagles looked like an NFL powerhouse destined to easily win their division and make a deep run in the playoffs. Then, their bye week happened. The Eagles have now dropped two straight games in which rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz, has looked much more like a rookie than in their first three wins.
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Rookie head coach, Doug Pederson may be known more for the hair sticking out of his green and black visors, but deserves credit for the start his team had, opening season with three consecutive wins. This is Pederson’s first stint as an NFL head coach and was previously the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Between Pederson and offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, the Eagles have plenty of offensive ingenuity at their disposal but it truly is their defense that has been a major factor of their early success. Defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, is a familiar face to Vikings’ fans as he was the Lions’ head coach from 2009 to 2013.
Schwartz’s defensive scheme in not that much different than Mike Zimmer’s as they both depend on pressuring the quarterback. This type of scheme is only effective if the defense can get to the quarterback. The Eagles currently rank 11th in the NFL with 14 sacks but were held to zero last week against the Redskins.
Strengths
Although their defense has slipped the last two weeks, Schwartz has his defense still playing at a high level. According to ESPN stats and info, they currently rank third in give/take, third in points per game given up and 11th in sacks. When healthy, Fletcher Cox is one of the best defensive tackles in the league; he currently sits second among defensive tackles with four sacks.
The Eagles are the only team to have a kickoff return for a touchdown. Last week, Wendell Smallwood returned a kick 86 yards for a touchdown. Darren Sproles is still an elusive punt returner; he ranks 10th in the NFL with an 11.2 yards per return average. Adding to the strength of the Eagles’ special teams is kicker, Caleb Sturgis. Sturgis currently sits eighth in the NFL in scoring and has only missed one field goal attempt all season.
Weaknesses
The most telling weakness the Eagles have right now is their offensive line. In the first three games, they allowed a total of four sacks and in the last two they were destroyed for eight total. While Lane Johnson serves his suspension, center, Jason Kelce’s health will play a major role into how well this unit does.
Although he has been performing extremely well so far this season, Carson Wentz is still a rookie. Fans all know that a rookie with a high-performance offensive line looks much better than an offensive line that gives up eight sacks in two games. As it is with most quarterbacks, especially rookies, the more comfortable they get the more mistakes they make. According to NFL.com stats and info, Wentz completes 65 percent of his passes; good enough for only 19th best in the NFL.
Wentz’s completion percent is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but last week when he was sacked five times, he completed just 50 percent of his passes.
How can the Vikings win?
The Vikings must rattle Wentz by getting to him early and often. Zimmer will choose his spots to send his famous double-A-gap blitz and they should be effective, especially if Kelce misses time at center. Taking advantage of ailing offensive linemen should come easily to the Vikings defense as they face a few in practice on a daily basis.
As Kyle Tasman of cbssports.com so perfectly suggested, “the Vikings must stop Fletcher Cox.” It cannot be stated enough as if Cox obviously gets going, the Eagles’ defense becomes a much more dominant unit. The Eagles have other players that can decimate an offensive line but stopping Cox is the key to getting to this defense.
Matchups
Vikings | Eagles | |
Coaching | Mike Zimmer takes this one with his | First year head coach. |
Offensive line | The addition of Jake Long and the rest should help but the Eagles take this one | Suffered a couple injuries yet are better than Vikings right now. |
Quarterbacks | Bradford even stole the show on the bye week with that great photo shop fiasco by FOX. | The rookie is making this writer eat crow so far this season but Bradford would be the starter if he wasn’t wearing purple now. |
Running Backs | McKinnon and Asiata have shown glimpses yet need to show more. | Ryan Matthews may not scare many teams but the combo of he and Sproles has teams preparing and scheming around them. |
Receivers | Stefon Diggs coming back healthy just barely edges the Eagles in this one. | The Eagles have a nice young corps but Vikings take this one. |
Defensive Line | Not much has to be written about their production this year. | With Fletcher Cox hurting, their run defense and sack totals may fall off considerably. |
Linebackers | Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks haven’t been lighting up the stat sheet but they are doing everything they are asked to do. | Jordan Hicks is perfect in the middle of this defense but edge goes to Vikings |
Defensive Backs | Insert Harrison Smith into the above statement. He is truly becoming one of the most versatile players in the NFL. | Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins are turning into a great pair of safeties but Vikings take this one. |
Special Teams | If Sherels was not on fire right now, the Eagles would take this one. | Barely edged out by Sherels and Patterson. Will definitely be a big part of this game. |
Total | 7 | 2 |
The matchup table may suggest a blowout but make no mistake, this will be a very close game and the Eagles very well could pull out the upset. Teams coming off a bye week are susceptible to coming out cold, just ask the Eagles who were 3-0 before their bye week.
Wrap up
Zimmer will most assuredly not take this matchup for granted as his tight ends coach, Pat Shurmur, was actually the interim head coach for the Eagles before they hired Pederson. Nobody would love to beat their former team more than Bradford and Shurmur, who have been scorned by the Eagles’ organization after being passed over for Wentz and Pederson respectively. This, of course, is all speculation but how does one feel after being let go and getting a chance to face their former employer in any form?
Shurmur will actually be vital to this matchup as his main tight end, Kyle Rudolph, is having a great season and needs to continue the trend this week. The best way to avoid playing right into the hands of a ball-hawking secondary is by throwing underneath to tight ends while allowing them do the dirty work.
The Eagles pose a pertinent threat to the Vikings and their perfect record. If any team could expose the weaknesses on the Vikings’ offensive line, it would be the underrated pass rush of Philadelphia. However, if the Vikings can keep Bradford standing tall in the pocket, his former team may be in for a long day. For both teams, there will be much riding on this week seven matchup.
Justin Ekstrom can be followed on Twitter @thesportscrib21 and may need an anxiety pill the next time Walsh attempts any type of kick. Be sure to follow and comment about vikings32 on Facebook and Twitter.
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