Everything seemed to go wrong for the Vikings in their first loss of the season against the Eagles on Sunday. Not only was the offensive line unable to hold but Sam Bradford tried and failed to protect the football, the result of the game going contrary to a number of online sports betting odds.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer didn’t hold back, heavily criticizing the offensive line, calling them soft and unable to understand why they were so easily overpowered. He was honestly confused by the fact that the Vikings seemed unable to block anybody.
The Vikings were unbeaten going into their game with Philadelphia, yet they didn’t look like such a domineering team; coming off a bye week, they allowed the Eagles to end their two-game losing streak. The Eagles can go into their next five games, against opponents with winning records, with some confidence.
Sam Bradford began the season with some trepidation, returning to the Vikings eight days before the season opener; while he exceeded all expectations in those initial games, Bradford was more or less harassed by the Eagles who sacked him six times.
His three forced turnovers came as a surprise not only to Zimmer but to Bradford as well. There were boos echoing over the field when Bradford ran out and that sort of reception probably contributed to the discomfort he displayed.
Simply put, this wasn’t the Bradford of old; he was making too many ridiculous decisions and he simply couldn’t keep his eyes on the downfield targets. Fortunately for Bradford, he was humble enough to accept his mistakes.
He admitted that his performance was unacceptable and none of the victories they garnered in the first five weeks were reflected in the Vikings that took to the field that night.
Decent as the Eagles were, they definitely got a lot of help from the Vikings who got in their own way and seemed to sabotage their own plays; those numerous self-inflicted wounds are what got Zimmer so riled up.
Jim Schwartz was a standout player, deploying the blitz far more frequently than expected and delivering results. It could be argued that the Eagles were simply well prepared for a player like Bradford.
They understood that the quarterback would get the ball outside right away the moment he felt pressured so they pushed as hard as they could. Bradford missed a lot and got hit a lot. Minnesota’s offensive line as a whole fell apart.
Carson Wentz delivered a better performance; he struggled in the first half where he threw two interceptions, but he eventually settled in and helped the Vikings recover from a disastrous night.
Wentz thinks the Vikings put up a great defense, or maybe it was his own performance he was appreciating. Wentz was definitely one of the smarter players on the Vikings’ side during the match.
Luckily for the Vikings, the Eagles also had a very sloppy turn, otherwise, things could have been even worse. At one point, the two teams were just trading turnovers. The Eagles finally got their act together while the Vikings only seemed to decline, losing momentum and letting the Eagles demolish their morale.
