Daily Norseman
The Minnesota Vikings host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Noon. This will be the 32nd meeting of the two teams. The Vikings have the edge in the regular season with 15 wins to Philly’s 12, but the Eagles are 4-0 against the Vikings in the playoffs. The Eagles and the Vikings are the only two NFC teams with 13 or more wins in two of the past three seasons. The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs match that in the AFC.
Surprisingly, this is a matchup of two bottom-10 offenses. The Eagles are 30th in the NFL with 274.5 total yards per game. The Vikings aren’t much better at 25th with 305.0 total yards per game. The difference might be in the defenses. Neither team excels against the run, with both allowing more than 130 rushing yards per game. However, the Vikings have the second-best pass defense in the league, allowing only 157.6 yards per game. The Eagles are middle of the pack with 208.5 yards per game allowed.
It sounds like the return of J.J. McCarthy will be delayed by a week or two based on the recent interviews. I picked the Eagles in our staff picks because I thought he would be back and might struggle against their defensive front. With the anticipation of Carson Wentz playing against his former team, I believe that result will be flipped. I’m not condemning J.J. McCarthy as the future of this franchise—it’s just that it would have been only his third game ever. Wentz will be able to lead the offense enough to get past the formerly formidable Eagles defense. Jordan Mason will get plenty of opportunities on the ground, and the Vikings will win 24-20. If it doesn’t go the Vikings’ way, it will likely be because Saquon Barkley looks like the 2024 version of himself and the porous Vikings run defense can’t stop him or the tush push.
Series Record: Eagles lead 16-15, (Eagles 4-0 in the playoffs)
Vikings Home Record – 8-4
