12 Knee Jerk Reactions to Vikings-Eagles
Back to even-steven: that’s the verdict for the Minnesota Vikings after a winnable game slipped from their grasp against the world champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The Minnesota Vikings couldn’t get out of their own way — again — in Week 7, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles and sinking to a .500 record.
The purple team attempted to overcome mistakes that should’ve damned it completely, but came up short and goes back to the drawing board with another tough game just a few days away.
Snap Reactions to Vikings’ Loss against Eagles
Minnesota now lives alone in last place in the NFC North.
1. What folks saw from Carson Wentz on Sunday, they’ll get indefinitely, so long as he remains the starting quarterback. He’ll commit ghastly errors at times — he’s done that since 2020 — and do enough to keep everyone interested by driving the ball down the field and moving sticks here and there.
With two youngsters in J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer available or almost available in McCarthy’s case, there is absolutely no point in playing Wentz anymore. Every game will feel like Sunday. He’s the ticket to a 7-10 season, and then he’ll hit free agency and not rejoin the Vikings. He needs to sit. The team gains nothing by playing him.
2. Will Reichard once again delivered a magnificent game, connecting on all five field goals and proving he has regained his 2024 early-season form. The guy is a stud. He will be considered one of the best kickers in the world by this time next year.
3. When the schedule was released in May, no one realistically thought Minnesota would beat Philadelphia five months later. Then, within the last two weeks, not many really thought the Vikings would win over Nick Sirianni’s team. In that regard, Minnesota kind of fulfilled the prophecy.
4. The Vikings haven’t forced a turnover since Week 3. That’s why they’re 3-3 instead of 4-2 or 5-1. Plain and simple.
5. Minnesota successfully contained Saquon Barkley, but for the first time all season, Philadelphia reared back and relied on its passing game. In the season’s first six weeks, that didn’t work for Jalen Hurts and friends. This time, it did. That feels like the Vikings’ longstanding and historic luck in a nutshell.
6. The two guys were supposed to have “revenge games” — Carson Wentz and Isaiah Rodgers — got torched by their former employer. The revengle angle played out backward.
7. In facing a team as talented as Philadelphia — the Super Bowl champions — there is no room for pick-sixes. Minnesota can get away with one against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 or a club like Tennessee or New Orleans. But not the Eagles. The margin for error is so slim against a great team that a single transaction, like an interception return for a touchdown, will ruin everything. And it did. Minnesota lost by six points.
8. Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was benched. He didn’t play on defense. That has intriguing short- and long-term implications. Minnesota may need a high-profile off-ball linebacker in 2026 free agency or the draft.
9. The 3rd Down efficiency on offense improved (46%). So did the penalties (just three). Of course, as soon as those statistics went right side up, the red zone offense went to hell (1 for 6). Kevin O’Connell and Co. just can’t put all facets together — yet another reason to bench Wentz.
10. Jonathan Allen and Dallas Turner had impressive games. Allen, finally, showed up. And Turner’s maturation continued. Hopefully Allen has now arrived. He’s too expensive to be wholly quiet, as he was for the first five games.
11. Overshadowed by a loss, Jordan Addison has another marvelous outing. He captured 9 receptions for 128 yards. Perhaps a Vikings quarterback will hit him in stride next time (the 1st Quarter catch), and he can score. Would’ve been another difference in the game to swing it in the purple’s favor.
12. It is time to get McCarthy on the field. He’s right on schedule with the standard four-to-six-week high ankle sprain timeline for recovery. That is fair. There are no conspiracies.
But the rest of this year — even if it results in a losing record, and it probably will — must be about McCarthy’s development. Everything else — everything — is secondary.
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