Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings head into Philadelphia for a showdown with the Eagles on Sunday afternoon in the national game for FOX, which gives the team an opportunity to go and get revenge after being blown out by a score of 38-7 in the NFC Championship game last season. The good news for Minnesota is that they have a quarterback in Cousins who, at the very least, should give them a chance to walk out with a victory in Week 5. Cousins was signed to be peace of mind at quarterback for the Vikings and someone that was a known commodity that they could rely upon, but his numbers against his former NFC East rival as the signal-caller of the Washington Redskins does not hurt, either. Here's a look at Cousins' history against Philadelphia and the numbers he has put up in seven career meetings. Sept. 21, 2014 (road): L 34-37, 30-for-48 passing, 427 yards, three touchdowns, one interception Oct. 4, 2015 (home): W 23-20, 31-for-46 passing, 290 yards, one touchdown, rushing touchdown Dec. 26, 2015 (road): W 38-24, 31-for-46 passing, 365 yards, four touchdowns Oct. 16, 2016 (home): W 27-20, 18-for-34 passing, 263 yards, two touchdowns, one interception Dec. 12, 2016 (road): W 27-22, 14-for-21 passing, 234 yards, two touchdowns, one interception Sept. 10, 2017 (home): L 17-30, 23-for-40 passing, 240 yards, one touchdown, one interception Oct. 23, 2017 (road): L 24-34, 30-for-40 passing, 303 yards, three touchdowns, one interception Total: 4-3 record, 177-for-275 passing (64.3 percent), 2122 yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions Overall, the marks from Cousins are very good when looking at the stat sheet and he has fared well against the Eagles in his career so far with all of these bouts coming in the NFC East rivalry. Each year and each team is different, but the current iteration of the Eagles that most closely resembles what he has seen in the past is obviously 2017's Super Bowl champion team. He lost both games to the Eagles last season and in the second game on the road, where the Vikings will be playing on Sunday, Cousins fumbled twice and lost both. His fumbling issues have been a concern in his career and have certainly been a bit of an issue for him early on in Minnesota. Still, the body of work is strong and at the very least, he should be able to put up a performance capable of the Vikings getting a much-needed win against the Eagles this week. The question is if the rest of the team around him will show up, which has been an issue namely in the run game, offensive line and defense as a whole. Cousins was not signed as a secret weapon to beat the Eagles, but his track record against the defending champions certainly does not hurt going into this contest. According to Vegas Insider, the Eagles open up as three-point favorites with the over/under for total points scored set at 44.5. Philadelphia leads the all-time series by a margin of 14-13 with four of those games coming in the playoffs. Minnesota has not won a game against the Eagles since 2013, which was a 48-30 victory. The recent history between these two teams is headlined by last season's NFC Championship game, where the Vikings scored on the opening drive of the contest to take a 7-0 lead before the wheels fell off and the Eagles scored 38 unanswered points. That win would sting a bit more for the Vikings due to the fact that it allowed the Eagles to not only play in the Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, but ultimately win it after a storybook season where they felt they were destined to win before a home crowd. Sunday's game from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia kicks off at 3:25 p.m. CT and will be broadcast via FOX.<doc-sep>Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images Facing a stiff road test against the defending Super Bowl champions Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings got back on track with a 23-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Coming off back-to-back losses in which they allowed 65 points, the Vikings took advantage of an Eagles offense that struggled to find a rhythm until the fourth quarter. Carson Wentz's final stat line—24-of-35 for 311 yards and two touchdowns—masks the amount of pressure he went up against for the second straight week. Minnesota's passing game had no such issues attacking the Eagles defense. Kirk Cousins played a near-perfect game by going 30-of-37 for 301 yards and one touchdown. Adam Thielen continues to be an unstoppable force with five straight 100-yard games to start this season. Thielen's Historic Start Makes Him Strong MVP Candidate If you go searching for early-season NFL MVP candidates, the list is going to be populated mostly by quarterbacks, some running backs and stud defensive players like Khalil Mack and J.J. Watt. Video Play Button Videos you might like Thielen's name belongs among that group after breaking a Vikings record previously held by Randy Moss: If that doesn't convince you of Thielen's MVP credentials, here are some other statistical nuggets that show how dominant he's been: There's also video evidence of how unstoppable Thielen has become to opposing defenses: The Vikings didn't get off to a start anyone expected of them after going 13-3 and reaching the NFC Championship Game in 2017. Beyond the statistical evidence, Thielen steps up in critical moments to keep drives going. Clinging to a 20-14 lead on 2nd-and-5, Cousins was facing immediate pressure from three Eagles defenders and managed to get the ball to his favorite target, who proceeded to pick up the necessary yardage for a first down. The Vikings were able to extend their lead to 23-14 thanks to a 52-yard Dan Bailey field goal with 2:47 remaining at the end of that same drive. There has never been a wide receiver who won the Associated Press NFL MVP award since its inception in 1957. Even in a season with stiff competition, Thielen has put himself on the short list of players deserving of the honor. Eagles' Inability to Protect Wentz Will Ruin Repeat Hopes In 13 games during the 2017 season, Wentz was sacked just 28 times. Pro Football Focus' Michael Renner ranked the Eagles offensive line as the NFL's best coming into this season. Things haven't worked out as expected for Philadelphia in the trenches. Wentz was already sacked nine times in two games since returning from his torn ACL in Week 3. "The reality is we have high expectations because we performed well in the past," center Jason Kelce told Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday. "We had a great season last year. In order to do that, we know the attention to detail has to be on point. And we know we all have to be on the same page. The communication has to be there. The technique has to be there. And it's really not far off." The Vikings were able to sack Wentz three times Sunday. To the Eagles' credit, the offensive line was able to patch things together in the fourth quarter when they scored 15 of their 21 points Wentz accounted for 99 yards over the game's final 15 minutes. Any concern about his ability to play at a high level coming off a serious knee injury should be alleviated. But until the Eagles figure out a combination on the offensive line that gives Wentz time to make plays in and out of the pocket, their hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions will be bleak. Cousins' Poise Proves Vikings Remain Super Bowl Contender The Eagles could take a lesson from Cousins and the Vikings about figuring out how to succeed behind a bad group of pass protectors. In Pro Football Focus' preview of this game, it was noted that Minnesota's offensive line allowed the most quarterback pressures in the NFL (81). Despite rarely having time to examine the field from the pocket, Cousins has now had four straight games with at least 296 passing yards and a completion percentage over 70. He's also thrown nine touchdowns and two interceptions during that span. The Vikings gave Cousins a historic contract in the offseason, hoping he would be the final piece that got them over the hump in the NFC playoffs. A 2-2-1 start isn't what the Vikings envisioned for 2018, but Cousins has given them a dimension in the passing game that makes them a dangerous threat to anyone in the NFC for a spot in the Super Bowl when January rolls around. What's Next? The Vikings will return home on Oct. 14 to host the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m. ET. The Eagles have a quick turnaround as they head to MetLife Stadium for a Thursday night showdown against the New York Giants at 8:20 p.m. ET.<doc-sep>
It might not have been the Conference Championship Game, but you know. . .it still feels pretty nice. Kirk Cousins had another outstanding game, and the Vikings’ defense did just enough to knock off the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field by a final score of 23-21. After the teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter, the Vikings were the first team to find the end zone, and it came courtesy of the defense. Stephen Weatherly sliced through the Philadelphia line and hit Carson Wentz, who had the ball flutter out of his hands and into the waiting arms of defensive tackle Linval Joseph. Joseph did the rest, as he rumbled 64 yards for a touchdown, with Dan Bailey’s extra point putting the Vikings up by a score of 10-3. The Vikings’ offense got into the act at the end of the first half, as Kirk Cousins found Adam Thielen for a 3-yard touchdown pass just before the break. That made the score 17-3 in favor of the Vikings, and things were going well for the Vikings in the early going. Each team put up a field goal in the third quarter, and the Vikings took a 20-6 lead into the final quarter of play. The Eagles struck back in the early stages of the fourth quarter, as Wentz found running back Wendell Smallwood for a 12-yard score, and then Smallwood converted a 2-point run to cut the deficit to 20-14 with 12 minutes remaining in the game. The Vikings then made a costly mistake, as an attempted screen pass from Cousins to Roc Thomas wound up being a backward pass that was fumbled by Thomas, with the Eagles recovering the loose ball. An intentional grounding penalty on Wentz helped to derail the Eagles’ drive, and the lead remained 20-14 with just over nine minutes remaining. Minnesota then put together a solid drive, and pushed into Philadelphia territory to set up a 52-yard field goal attempt for Bailey. Bailey, who had missed two field goals earlier in the game, split the uprights and gave the Vikings back a two-score lead at 23-14. The Eagles then answered with a big drive of their own, as the Vikings allowed a lot of cushion on defense and Philadelphia took advantage. Wentz hit Zach Ertz in the back left corner of the end zone, and with the extra point from Jake Elliott the score went to 23-21. There was a bit of a scare at the end of the game, as the Eagles attempted an onside kick and it appeared to bounce off of the hands of Adam Thielen, but he jumped back on it and, because the Eagles had no timeouts remaining, the Vikings were able to just kneel out the clock. Kirk Cousins had yet another brilliant performance for the Vikings, completing completing 30-of-37 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown. The Vikings’ receivers, as you’d expect, had big games as well, particularly Adam Thielen. Thielen hauled in seven catches for 116 yards and a score, and became the first receiver since the AFL/NFL merger to begin a season with five consecutive 100-yard performances. Stefon Diggs chipped in with ten catches for 91 yards. The Vikings even their season record at 2-2-1, and next week return to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles fall to 2-3 on the season, and will have a short week as they travel to take on the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. The Minnesota Vikings even their record with a big victory over the Philadelphia Eagles by a final score of 23-21. We’ll have more on this game over the next day or two, and we appreciate all of you that got your coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!