Philadelphia Eagles: Three Keys To Victory against the Minnesota Vikings in NFC Championship

The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Minnesota Vikings Sunday night in the NFC Championship with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Both teams are almost mirror images of one another which should give fans of both teams the chills going in. For the Eagles to win, they will need to find balance in the passing and ground game. However, the defense will need to be just as unforgiving as it was against the Falcons last week.

Here Are Three Keys To the Philadelphia Eagles Beating the Minnesota Vikings

Run, Run, and Run Some More: If the Eagles are to advance to the Super Bowl Sunday night, they will have to force the issue on the ground. This has nothing to do with Nick Foles’ struggles in the passing game but more to the fact that the Eagles have three backs who can carry the weight. For the season, the Vikings surrendered just 83 yards per game on the ground, however, the  Eagles are unlike any other the Vikings have faced besides the Carolina Panthers. In that Week 14 game, the Vikings vaunted defense surrendered 216 yards rushing to the Panthers. The Eagles are diverse in their rushing attack with LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, and Corey Clement. If they can rush the ball 30+ times, the Eagles will win.

Hit Case Keenum As Much As Possible: There’s no secret that Keenum has had a magical season since taking over for Sam Bradford. No one saw this coming, probably not even Keenum himself. But here’s the key to defeating Keenum, make him think he’s back in Houston or with the Rams. Prior to this season, Keenum was a “break in case of emergency” quarterback. He was the guy you called on when there was no one else. He’s hot now as he has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 3547 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions. However, beneath all that is still the player who threw 20 interceptions against 24 touchdowns in his career prior to 2017. That timid quarterback is still in the Vikings uniform and the Philadelphia Eagles hard-hitting defense must make him reveal his true self.

Stick To What Won Them 13 Games This Season: There’s no need for the Eagles to try new things. Now is not the time to be Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints. This is what almost cost the Eagles the game against the Atlanta Falcons last week. The whole game, up to the last 4 minutes of the 4th quarter, the Eagles defense held Julio Jones and Matt Ryan in check. But with the lead and the closing minutes winding down, the Eagles decided to tweak their defense and give Jones cushion to catch the ball, just not beat them deep. What happened? The Falcons marched down to the goal line and almost knocked the Eagles out the playoffs. This cannot happen Sunday. The Eagles have played receivers tight all season and Jim Schwartz must stick to what got them here.

Mark Wilson

Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.