History shows the Eagles must execute now.
After demolishing the New York Jets at home 31-6, the Eagles now sit atop the NFC East at 3-2.
The Eagles felt helpless early on this year after dropping two games to the Lions and Falcons, while watching the Cowboys take a concerning 3-0 lead on the division. Much similar to last year, the Eagles had crucial losses early on which led them to be playing on wild card weekend instead of the divisional round.
The Eagles are a “November-December” football team and it can be seen the past few years to be true. They normally struggle early on in the season against lesser opponents, only to defeat teams they have no business beating later on in the year, causing a conflict as to why we lost those “easy” games early on and where we could have been if we had won them.
This is why now more than ever, the Eagles need to control their own destiny. Sure, they dropped two winnable games, but they now have a chance to prove themselves.
The Eagles travel to the site of Super Bowl 52, U.S. Bank Stadium, to play the 3-2 Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
This game originally was of little concern to the Eagles, as the Vikings had been struggling, and star receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs both publicly aired their disappointment with the Vikings $84 million-dollar-man and quarterback, Kirk Cousins. Now, however, with the Eagles two starting cornerbacks in Avonte Maddox and Ronald Darby going down, the birds are in trouble.
Thielen and Diggs are game breakers, as seen last year when they combined for 207 yards and one touchdown against the Eagles in Philadelphia. With Craig James and former Cowboys and Chiefs cornerback, Orlando Scandrick, set to headline the Eagles secondary, we can only say a prayer to Buddy Ryan, Reggie White and the man wearing #7 down in Jacksonville to give us whatever divine intervention they can this week.
I expect the Eagles to draw up the blitz repeatedly on Sunday, and it will be do or die as it will most assuredly be an Eagles sack on the play, or a big pass play for Cousins and the Vikings.
The Eagles can’t let this game get out of hand, as it is being played in a dome in a hostile territory due to the 38-7 walloping and utter disrespecting in the NFC Championship Game two years ago, which barred the Vikings from a “Home Superbowl.”
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz returns to the field where he was sidelined in Superbowl 52, and I think that will offer him some extra motivation.
This game is a toss-up, and if the Eagles don’t get the run game going and fail to capitalize on offense, the defense will break from shear tiredness.
My Prediction: Vikings 23, Eagles 21.
The Eagles play the Vikings Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. on FOX.
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