The Vikings did have their opportunities for a better outcome. They just didn't take advantage of those opportunities.
On the Eagles second possession of the game, Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo intercepted quarterback Carson Wentz at the Philadelphia 18-yard line. The return set the Vikings offense up nicely at the two. Three plays later Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford returned the Eagles generosity by throwing an interception at the back of the end zone. The interception was Bradford's first of the season.
The Eagles offense gave the ball right back when Wentz bobbled a handoff and Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr recovered at the Philadelphia 17-yard line.
The Vikings handled their second opportunity in the red zone by giving the ball right back to the Eagles. Bradford had the ball slapped out of his hands by Connor Barwin and Malcolm Jenkins recovered.
The Eagles gave it right back when Wentz was intercepted by Xavier Rhodes at the Vikings 39-yard line. It wasn't in the red zone but the Vikings had an opportunity. They didn't do anything with it as they punted the ball back to the Eagles after a single first down.
The flurry of turnovers covered five consecutive possessions and about three minutes of game time. Two interceptions and a fumble for the Eagles. An interception and fumble for the Vikings. The Vikings three takeaways were takeaways of opportunity. The Eagles two takeaways were takeaways of preservation. The Vikings had significant scoring opportunities and the Eagles took them away. The Vikings should have had a nice early lead. Instead it was 0-0.
As poorly as the Vikings offense played throughout the game missing on those two first quarter possessions in the red zone were a big reason for their first loss.
Just as it's done all season the Vikings defense did their job. The Eagles first touchdown was a 98-yard kick return by Josh Huff. Both field goals came from Vikings fumbles at midfield. Another Bradford fumble and a muffed punt by Marcus Sherels. The Eagles lone touchdown drive (a 77-yard drive on the Eagles first possession of the third quarter) was greatly assisted by holding leniency on the part of the officials. Eagles right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai probably still has a firm grip on Brian Robison's jersey and pads.
The Vikings inability to protect Sam Bradford is the biggest reason for their first loss. The offensive line, especially the tackles, were overrun by Eagles way too often. The statistics show that Bradford was sacked six times. Bradford actually wasn't tackled behind the line of scrimmage six times. Most of those sacks were the result of the ball being knocked out of his hands before he had the chance to throw it. Bradford was hit a whopping 19 times. That simply can't happen. The Vikings signed tackle Jake Long before their Week 6 bye. It's expected that he'll eventually take over for current left tackle T.J. Clemmings. Long was worked into the lineup on occasion yesterday. The first time being the prime scoring opportunity following Sendejo's interception and return. Hindsight often isn't a fair judge but in hindsight inserting Long might have been a mistake. Maybe the Vikings assumed that they had an easy score with multiple shots from the two-yard line. What could go wrong? Why not give Long some playing time? The Vikings offensive line hasn't played well all year but they have played together for most of it. Maybe getting that "easy" score should have been a greater priority than getting Long playing time. Clemmings struggled against the Eagles. Long struggled. Right tackle Jeremiah Sirles struggled. The Vikings simply have to protect Bradford better.
I don't think that I've ever seen the football slapped out of a quarterback's hand that many times in a single game. There was a season's worth in this game. Hopefully the Vikings quota for this season is now filled.
The Vikings opened the fourth quarter with a third-and-one from the Eagles six-yard line. Despite being their third opportunity in the red zone it was the first time that the offense had arrived there as a result of their own work. Two runs for no gain resulted in the third time that the Vikings had been held scoreless in the red zone. 21 potential points became 0 points. It's real tough to win when you fail to score a single point on three red zone opportunities. Two of which were inside the six-yard line.
The Vikings fourth trip to that barren red zone did result in their lone touchdown. A 14-yard Bradford throw to Cordarrelle Patterson. Unfortunately that score came with 37 seconds to play.
Sendejo injured his ankle on his interception return. He didn't return the game. Rookie Jayron Kearse replaced him.
This is one of those games that the Vikings simply have to put behind them. They have to get the offensive in better functioning order but they have to put this game behind them. They are 5-1 and lead the 4-2 Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.
The 11-3 score at the half was the first 11-3 halftime score in NFL history. So, there was that.
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We had to suffer through another sloppy London game. This time with the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants. These oh-so early game starts might be a real treat for the east coast (despite the quality of the games) but they are a real chore for the west coast. 6:30 in the AM.
The Giants made a few fewer mistakes than the Rams and won a scorcher in London 17-10. Giants safety Landon Collins was the star of the game with two interceptions on tipped passes. One of which he turned into a dynamite 44-yard return for a touchdown.
Rams quarterback Case Keenum has had some nice stretches this season but his accuracy sure is a question mark. It often looks like he's just flinging the ball to a general area rather than throwing to a target or a spot. The Giants defense came into this game with three takeaways on the season. They intercepted four of Keenum's London throws. The two taken away by Collins were on tipped passes so that's hardly the fault of the thrower but maybe a more accurate pass is caught rather than tipped. Giants corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had the other two interceptions. The last one sealed the win. Keenum and Brian Quick clearly weren't on the same page. Quick stopped short. Keenum threw to the end zone. The throw looked more like a punt than a throw. I doubt that spot-on quarterback-receiver communication would have made that throw successful.
Hey, how about those New York Jets? Geno Smith started in place of Ryan Fitzpatrick against the Baltimore Ravens. Fitzpatrick replaced the injured Smith in the second quarter and led the Jets offense to three consecutive scores. The Jets defense returned to preserve the win.
If Fitzpatrick the starter again? Smith did lead the Jets to a first quarter touchdown.
The efficient Kansas City Chiefs held on against the explosive New Orleans Saints for a 27-21 win. Offensive numbers belonged to the Saints. The score belonged to the Chiefs.
The Cleveland Browns dropped to 0-7 on the season after their 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals offensive stars had all kinds of nice numbers. A.J. Green had eight catches for 168 yards. His 48-yard, juggling, touchdown catch to close the first half turned a tight 14-10 lead at intermission into a comfortable 21-10 lead. Jeremy Hill complimented Green's 168 receiving yards with 169 rushing yards on only nine carries. 74 of Hill's rushing yards came on a third quarter touchdown run. Hill also added 24 yards receiving. Quarterback Andy Dalton completed 19 of 28 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdowns were 44 and 48 yards. Big play Bengals.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threaded an 18-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 16 seconds remaining to pull out a 20-17 win over the Washington Redskins.
The Lions are quietly sitting nicely at 4-3. 20 points isn't really explosive but their offense is starting to gain some momentum.
Two weeks ago the Miami Dolphins were throwing a serious challenge at the Cleveland Browns for title of worst team in the league. They stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Yesterday they held off the surging Buffalo Bills 28-25. After the Steelers game Dolphins head coach Adam Gase pointed out that it was the first time that they had their top offensive line together this season. Maybe the first-year head coach is on to something. Jay Ajayi ran for over 200 yards for the second consecutive week behind that top line.
Playing at home might also be a reason for the Dolphins sudden success. Stadium work forced the Dolphins to play their first four games on the road. A 30-24 Week 3 win over the winless Browns was their lone success during that stretch. A four game road trip is a long haul. They are now 2-1 on their four-game home stand and feeling much better about themselves.
The Indianapolis Colts tightened up the AFC South race with their 34-26 win over the Tennessee Titans. Both teams have had some difficulties in some of their earlier games. If the Denver Broncos can take care of the Houston Texans tonight the 3-4 Colts and Titans will only be a game back of the Texans.
Maybe the Oakland Raiders should play all of their games on the road. They are a strong 5-2 on the season after their decisive 33-16 win over the Jaguars in Jacksonville. The Raiders are 4-0 on the road. They are only 1-2 in Oakland.
The San Diego Chargers have found a new way to lose games in each of their four losses. Against the Atlanta Falcons yesterday they found a way to win in overtime 33-30. The Chargers received a generous overtime assist from Falcons head coach Dan Quinn when he chose to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 45-yard line. Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman stopped Devonta Freeman before he could even get back to the line of scrimmage let alone the one yard that he needed to gain. The Chargers only had to gain 19 yards to set up a game-winning 42-yard Josh Lambo field goal.
The Chargers were down 27-10 in the second quarter and 30-20 in the fourth quarter. They are playing as well as any team in the league. Their 3-4 doesn't show that because of the sometimes bumbling manner in which they have closed games.
With Landry Jones playing in place of Ben Roethlisberger the Pittsburgh Steelers were a little out-manned against the New England Patriots. Strong play by playmakers Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown kept the Steelers competitive. The Patriots still had enough to take the game 27-16.
The San Francisco 49ers were happy with their first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 14-0 49ers after the first 15 minutes. The Buccaneers scored 17 in the second. Another 10 in the third. They scored 27 points before the 49ers responded with a field goal in the fourth quarter. That wasn't nearly enough in the Buccaneers 34-17 win.
San Francisco's defense is helping a string of running backs feel pretty good about themselves. Jacquizz Rodgers was the sixth straight back to gain over 100 yards against the 49ers. Rodgers gained 154 yards on 26 carries.
In the nightcap, the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals were locked in an entertaining, defensive battle. Each team could only manage a single field goal in regulation. 3-3 after 60 minutes. Each team scored a field goal on their first overtime possessions. This game looked like it was going to be one of those wacky overtime games with three scores. The Cardinals had the first excellent chance to win the game but kicker Chandler Cantazaro bounced his 24-yard attempt off the upright. The Seahawks had the next excellent chance to win the game but kicker Stephen Hauschka wasn't close on his 27-yard attempt.
It wasn't fun for anyone closely associated with the respective teams but it was pretty entertaining to watch the swing of emotions among the coaches and players after each missed gimmee-field goals. It was especially entertaining to watch the emotional swing in that gum-chomping elf that coaches the Seahawks.
The Denver Broncos host the Houston Texans tonight to close out Week 7.
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