Vikings Stun the Eagles 24-14

They said it couldn’t be done – all right, I said it couldn’t be done – but they were wrong.  Tonight the Minnesota Vikings shut up all the doubters by hanging a stunning 24-14 victory on the playoff bound Philadelphia Eagles.

Maybe it was the two-day blizzard-created lay-off or maybe it was just the Vikings defense, but Michael Vick was not his MVP-level self in the first half tonight.  The Vikings rushed Vick relentlessly, bringing Antoine Winfield on blitzes, and forced him to commit two first-half turnovers, one of which resulted in a Winfield TD return.  In the second half the defense backed off, giving Vick more room to work, but still the Eagles were not able to get their offense on track.

Meanwhile, rookie Joe Webb flashed his potential, passing and running and leading the Vikings to 17 second half points.  Webb found Percy Harvin 7 times for 100 yards, and handed off to Adrian Peterson 22 times for 118 yards.  His own feet were a weapon as well:  he ran 6 times for 31 yards and a touchdown.  Most importantly, Webb never made the big rookie mistake that might have cost the Vikings the game.  Instead he played with amazing poise, even with the Eagles trying to mount a comeback.

It’s still too early to declare Webb the QB of the future for the Vikings, but tonight he took a big step toward guaranteeing a spot for himself in the 2011 mix.  And the Vikings as a whole gave their fans some reassurance that maybe this team can turn it around quickly, with the right personnel tweaks and coaching hires.

Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.

Site5 and Fansided Holiday Season Charity Drive: Give to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.