Sunday’s contest between the Eagles and Vikings will pit two teams that are trying to climb up from the bottom of the pile against one another.  While the 2-4 Eagles have seen several winnable games slip away, despite veteran leadership, the 2-4 Vikings are going through growing pains with young players in key positions. The teams have other similarities too. 

Both squads have defenses that are outperforming their offenses. The Eagles have only allowed 16.8 points per game, 2nd best in the NFC.  The Vikes have allowed 19 per game, making them the 7th stingiest team.  The icings are the conferences best against the run, allowing only 76.5 yards per game.  The Eagles are 4th against the run at 88 yards per outing. Where the Vikings have trouble is in pass D.  They are last in the conference against the pass, allowing 282.5 per game.  Andy Reid commented in one of his press conference this week that the Vikes play a lot of the

Tampa 2 zone coverage.  That bodes well for the Birds as their receivers play better against zone D.  The Eagles pass D does not rank in the conference leaders either, but they are better than the Vikes on paper, allowing only 220.2 yards per game.  Despite their issues in pass defense, the Vikings have 7 INTs in their 6 games, and the Eagles only have 5.

Minnesota has also forced 9 fumbles and scores 4 touchdowns on D.  The Eagles have not scored any.   

On offense, both teams are in the top 5 in the conference in rushing.

Minnesota is 1st at 163.7 yards per game and the Eagles are 5th, averaging 129.7.  Both teams have explosive backs.  The Vikings feature rookie Adrian Peterson, who gained 361 yards from scrimmage in one game against the Bears.  That is the 3rd highest total in league history.  The Eagles showcase Brian Westbrook, who is 2nd in the NFC in yards from scrimmage, trailing Peterson by just 68 yards.  As on the defensive side of the ball, the passing game is a difference maker in comparing these teams.  While the Eagles are 8th in the conference at 219.7 yards per game, the Vikings are 15th of 16 teams, with just 151.8 yards per game. The Vikings are led at QB by Tavaris Jackson, in his first season as a starter.  He has had his struggles and only threw for 72 yards last week against the Cowboys. 

 

The scoring averages for the clubs are nearly identical at 19.2 for the Vikes and 19.3 for the Birds.  That is ironic, as the Vikings are led by 2nd year head coach brad Childress, who is a protégé of Andy Reid, and was the Eagles offensive coordinator from 2002-2005.  Given the Eagles inability to score TDs from inside the 20, and the Vikings difficulties in passing the ball, I expect a low scoring game.  I have written several times on my blog that the Eagles are missing in the end zone by a small margin.  The difference as I see it is Donovan McNabb is not 100% recovered from his knee injury of last year.  Each week he has shown various signs of regaining his form. Last week, he seemed more elusive in the pocket and had a couple of nice scrambles, one for a key first down.  The one area that has yet to snap back is his red zone passing.  When that happens, suddenly, Andy Reid will again appear to be a coach at the top of his offensive game.  I just don’t know when to expect that to materialize.  I have not picked against the Eagles yet this year.  I know I am a pathetic homer, but I have believed that they would win each game, and they could very well have been 4-2 at this point had they not blown the Bears game last week and the Packers game in week 1.  All of that said, I still think the Eagles win this week. 

 

Eagles 19 Vikings 14