The undefeated Vikings are back in action this Sunday as they head out to the city of brotherly love for one of their toughest matchups of the season. Fortunately for the purple, last week’s bye provided enough time for the likes of receiver Stefon Diggs and tight-ends David Morgan and Rhett Ellison to get healthy and presumably play in Sunday’s contest. Having all three of them back for Sunday’s game means a more efficient offense benefitting both the ground and passing attack against an Eagle’s defense that is still reeling from their loss last Sunday against the Redskins. Here’s a preview for this week’s matchup against the Eagles.
Sam Bradford’s return to the city of Philadelphia
Before being traded to the Vikings prior to the start of the season, Bradford was all but guaranteed the starting quarterback job, as the Eagles coaching staff planned to give Carson Wentz a year to prepare to take over. Fast forward a month and some change and the two will be leading their teams on offense in one of the more intriguing matchups we’ve seen thus far in the NFL. Despite the ongoing narrative, Bradford is approaching this game just as he would any other.
“My approach is just try to keep it as normal as possible this week,” said Bradford. “I think I owe it to all of the guys in our locker room to not try and do anything special. Not try to do anything extra. I think when you get caught up in everything that is going on outside the building. When you get caught up with things outside of football that’s when things can go wrong. My approach is to just treat it like I would any other game. ”
Given the circumstances and human nature, it is nearly impossible to treat this game like any other, but that’s the mindset that he needs to have in order to be successful. Bradford has done an incredible job of picking his spots and not trying to do too much when there’s nothing there, hopefully that trend continues on Sunday.
Carson Wentz’s biggest test
Even though this is a home game for Wentz and the Eagles, the Vikings will undoubtedly provide Wentz with the toughest matchup of his career. The red-hot Vikings defense has been making Super Bowl Champion quarterbacks look like third-stringers and completely shutting down offenses in the process. There’s little question that the Vikings smell blood in the water and are chomping at the bit to properly welcome Wentz into the NFL.
Eagles run-defense reeling from embarrassing loss against the Redskins
An otherwise stout Eagles run-defense looked abysmal last Sunday as Matt Jones and the Redskins totaled over 200 yards rushing when it was all said and done. While I don’t see that kind of production coming from the Vikings this Sunday with their two-headed monster rushing attack of Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata, I do see a defense that can be exploited. If the Vikings can produce on the ground, the passing game will open up which is where most of the damage will be done. With Stefon Diggs back in the mix, the passing attack will be at full-strength, giving Bradford multiple options to methodically pick apart this weak Eagles secondary.
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