Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Full Report Card Grades for Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles overcame a sloppy first quarter to beat the Minnesota Vikings 21-10 on Sunday. The Eagles were able to consistently harass Sam Bradford all day. They gave their former signal-caller no quarter. Bradford was sacked six times, fumbled the ball four times and threw an interception. Swarming defense, a special teams touchdown and just enough of a run game were enough for the Eagles to hand the Vikings their first loss of the season.
The offense struggled, only generating 239 yards and fifteen first downs, but they were timely and enough for the win. Carson Wentz had another week where he looked more like a rookie than a superhuman. He continues to show big flashes of talent, though, and had enough improvisational plays to keep the offense moving.
After a terrible showing against the Washington Redskins, the Eagles defense bounced back. The final stat line won't do it justice, as Bradford racked up garbage-time stats, but it locked Minnesota down. The Eagles now get to take on the Dallas Cowboys next week in a battle for NFC East supremacy.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Carson Wentz had a solid game, even if it was underwhelming. The rookie finished 16-of-28 for 138 yards, one touchdown, a fumble and two interceptions. Early in the game, Wentz tried to force the issue and threw both of his interceptions on passes that should have not been thrown. He has so much arm talent and can make every throw, but he needs to learn that quadruple coverage is better than his arm.
Wentz never seemed to find the rhythm of the game. When he relaxes and plays football, he's excellent and has incredible improvisational skills. Wentz turned two bad snaps into positive plays; most quarterbacks can't do that.
When he presses, he forces passes into coverage and misses short passes, and his footwork abandons him. Wentz has performed well enough for the Eagles to win every week. As the schedule continues to get tougher, the coaching staff may have to expand the Eagles' offensive playbook. Teams are creeping closer to the line of scrimmage, making life tougher than it needs to be for Wentz.
Grade: C-
Running Back
2 of 10
Ryan Mathews tried to make the game more interesting than it needed to be. A second fourth-quarter fumble in three weeks could have been a deadly sin if the game was closer.
The Eagles running backs finished with 21 carries for 95 yards—a respectable number, given the fact the team was trying to kill clock for much of the fourth quarter. A Darren Sproles 17-yard dash and a Mathews 20-yard carry to help the Eagles earn a field goal before the half highlight the Eagles' ground attack.
The backs also chipped in three catches for 50 yards, including a long Mathews effort that ended with him hurdling a defender.
Grade: C+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Josh Huff was the Eagles' leading receiver against the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, you read that right. The third-year player was finally able to get involved in the Eagles offense this week, providing a run-after-catch threat on quick passes to the flat. He finished with four catches for 39 yards. Dorial Green-Beckham scored his first touchdown as a member of the Eagles on a five-yard slant.
Zach Ertz and the tight ends never seemed to get on the same page as Wentz. In all, this was always going to be a tough game for a receiving unit that was lacking dynamic players and facing one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Brent Celek deserves a ton of praise. He's the embodiment of what Eagles fans love. Celek was utilized as a blocker heavily in this game. He helped the Eagles offensive line greatly. By keeping Celek in, the coaching staff was able to help keep Wentz upright, which was a vast improvement over last week.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Next man up.
After a rough debut week filling in for Lane Johnson, rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai had a much better game against the Vikings. When Brandon Brooks got rolled up on, Stefen Wisniewski was able to come off the bench and keep the drive going. In the fourth quarter, when Jason Peters dinged his bicep, Matt Tobin was able to step in and continue to help the Eagles pound the ball on the ground.
The Eagles offensive line kept Wentz from getting sacked against one of the best pass-rushing teams in the NFL. It paved the way for 101 yards rushing. Jason Kelce had some errant snaps, and Allen Barbre had two bad penalties, but the offensive line was rolling on Sunday. It isn't the best unit in the league, but it bounced back and had another good week.
Grade: B+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
A week after getting run over by the Washington Redskins offensive line, the Eagles defensive line was out for atonement. It'll sleep well tonight. Not a single member of this unit had a bad day. Bradford must have forgotten to send the line Christmas cards last year, because it ruined his day.
Let's run through the box score. Fletcher Cox had a tackle for loss and quarterback hit. Beau Allen had a fumble recovery and three tackles. Brandon Graham had five QB hits and a sack. Connor Barwin had a sack. Steven Means had a sack. Marcus Smith had a tackle for loss on a run stuff. Destiny Vaeao had a tackle. Vinny Curry brought consistent pressure.
After getting destroyed in the run game, the Eagles were much more stout up front. The Vikings got 29 yards on a draw play in the second half. The Eagles allowed 2.5 yards per carry on the other 26 attempts. They also had back-to-back run stuffs when the Vikings only needed a half-yard.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Eagles linebackers had their best day of the season. They were everywhere. Jordan Hicks had eight solo tackles, a sack, three tackles for loss and two pass deflections. That's stuffing the scoresheet. Nigel Bradham wanted in on the action and posted six solo tackles, a sack and a pass deflection.
Even Mychal Kendricks showed signs of life.
The Eagles linebackers have not been busy this season. Today, though, they showed up in a big way. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz may consider continuing to blitz his linebackers more, given the amount of success they had. The tackling was also improved this week.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
Rodney McLeod was everywhere. A crucial interception to keep the Vikings off the scoreboard early helped set the tone for the entire defensive effort. Not wanting Bradford to feel bad, he came flying off the edge on a blitz later in the first half and gave the Vikings quarterback a nice big hug, stripping the ball loose in the process.
Malcolm Jenkins was much better at making run fits this week. On the heels of his worst performance as a member of the Eagles, Jenkins was back to his normal self.
The corners weren't tested. Stefon Diggs wasn't completely healthy. The rest of the Vikings' receiving unit makes the Eagles' own group look like stars. When the corners don't have to cover for long periods of time, they are a viable unit. Ron Brooks left the game early with what looked to be a serious leg injury. The Eagles may be adding reinforcements during the week.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Special teams coach Dave Fipp is a wizard. Josh Huff's 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown marked the first time in team history the Eagles have had kick-return touchdowns in back-to-back weeks. The big play helped provide a cushion in what would turn into a showcase of defenses.
Trey Burton recovered a muffed punt late in the game, which allowed the Eagles offense to continue driving and extend the lead to three scores.
Kamu Grugier-Hill running into the punter was a dumb mistake, but the Eagles found a way to avoid it being too detrimental.
Grade: A-
Coaching
9 of 10
Head coach Doug Pederson was not playing around this game. He decided to take points off the board and go for two instead, gambling that points would be at a premium in a defense-focused game. It paid off, as Wentz plunged in for the conversion.
When Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer decided to ice the kicker before the half, Pederson was annoyed and decided to take one more shot at the end zone. It was a bit surprising he didn't try to punch it in on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line late in the game instead of settling for a field goal.
The offensive game plan was solid, even if it was a touch conservative. Moving forward, the offensive staff may need to build in more designed deep plays to keep defenses honest. Part of the problem is a lack of a deep threat, but the staff should figure something out.
Schwartz got his players to buy back in after a tough loss. The Vikings defense is one of the best in the NFL, but Schwartz and Co. put the league on notice by outperforming it.
Grade: A-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Group | Grade |
| QB | C- |
| RB | C+ |
| WR/TE | C |
| OL | B+ |
| DL | A+ |
| LB | A |
| Secondary | A |
| Special Teams | A- |
| Coaching | A- |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
The Eagles outplayed the Vikings to earn a 21-10 victory. The Eagles defense came to play and outperformed a Vikings defense that gets a lot more national praise. Special teams, the run game and stout defense were key for the Eagles.
It wasn't the prettiest game of football, especially for the Eagles offense, but the team found a way to right the ship and get a win. The Eagles now stand at 4-2 on the season and head to Dallas next week to take on the Cowboys. It will be a battle of rookie quarterbacks, and the Eagles' run defense will be tested again against Ezekiel Elliott.
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