I think we can safely assume the weather will be slightly better inside the dome in Minnesota on Sunday than it was at the Linc last Sunday.
In one of the epic football games in Eagles history, the Birds woke up from a snow-induced coma to lay 34 second-half points on the Lions and blitz Motown.
This Sunday’s game has all the makings of a classic trap game. The Vikings are 3-9, and looking at the likelihood of facing the Eagles without All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson.
Then there’s the ‘jinx.’ Yes, that is a snowy Nick Foles gracing the regional cover of Sports Illustrated this week. That would scare me except for one thing: If there is one athlete that such an honor will not faze, it is Foles, the Forrest Gump of the NFL. Foles has the perfect temperament for a quarterback, he doesn’t get too high with the successes, nor too low with a flurry of missed connections. Instead, he’s more the cool, calm, confident gunslinger.
Then there’s the Chip Kelly factor. So far the coach has been pushing all the right buttons in his new approach to the NFL. I don’t think he’ll allow his young team to get caught looking past the Vikings.
And finally, the Birds have something no other team in the league has. They have the best running back in the league in LeSean McCoy. All that plus a defense that once again should be successful in keeping an opponent under 21 points adds up to another win for the Birds.
The Pick: Make it Eagles 31, Vikings 19. The key to the game will again be Foles’ ability to avoid turnovers, and an increasingly opportunistic defense picking on the Vikings. That trend continues and the Eagles roll.
Last Week: Foles and the Eagles offense did nothing in the first half in the Blizzard Bowl against the Lions. Then they came out for the second half, flipped the switch, and torched the vaunted Detroit defense. Maybe the most impressive feat of the day was the way the Eagles’ offensive line controlled the game in the second half.
Season Record: I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen in those weather conditions, but I was still riding the Birds to beat the Lions and it paid off. I’m on a serious roll 9-4, while the Birds have now won five straight themselves to get to 8-5, alone atop the NFC East.
Game by Game: Eagles 33, Redskins 27 (My Pick: Redskins 31, Eagles 23)
Chargers 33, Eagles 30 (My Pick: Eagles 33, Chargers 17)
Chiefs 26, Eagles 16 (My Pick: Eagles 31, Chiefs 23)
Broncos 52, Eagles 20 (My Pick: Broncos 41, Eagles 27)
Eagles 36, Giants 21 (My Pick: Eagles 29, Giants 26)
Eagles 31, Buccaneers 20 (My Pick: Eagles 26, Buccaneers 17)
Cowboys 17, Eagles 3 (My Pick: Cowboys 33, Eagles 23)
Giants 15, Eagles 7 (My Pick: Giants 26, Eagles 23)
Eagles 49, Raiders 20 (My Pick: Raiders 23, Eagles 13)
Eagles 27, Packers 13 (My Pick: Eagles 29. Packers 16)
Eagles 24, Redskins 16 (My Pick: Eagles 33, Redskins 27)
Eagles 24, Cardinals 21 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Cardinals 19)
Eagles 34, Lions 20 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Lions 23)
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