NFL Experts weigh in on Vikings chances of Week 5 win vs Eagles

Will the Minnesota Vikings beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5? The experts have given their opinions on what will happen on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018!

The Minnesota Vikings are struggling this year, heading into week 5 of the 2018 NFL season with only one win on their record. And, to make matters worse, their opponent on Sunday, Oct. 7 is the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

SItting at 1-2-1, a win here would bring Minnesota back to .500 on the season to help them keep pace with the NFC North while the Eagles are sitting in third place in their division hoping to get back to the top of things.

While a loss in Week 5 wouldn’t push either team out of contention, it does make the climb back up to be in the playoff much more challenging. The experts have made their picks for who they believe will be victorious on Sunday and here are their selections with predictions where they given:

Picking the Minnesota Vikings

• Bleacher Report – Staff: “The Eagles were lucky to beat the Falcons in Week 1 and again needed fourth-quarter heroics to beat the Colts in Week 3. Those two teams have combined for two total victories this year.” (Score prediction: Vikings 21, Eagles 20)
• FanSided – Matt Verderame: “Considering how tough the NFC is, the Vikings would be starting to fade from playoff contention with a loss here.” (Score Prediction: Vikings 26, Eagles 22)
• NJ.com – Joe Giglio: “Minnesota (at 1-2-1) is even more desperate than Philadelphia and facing the daunting task of falling behind in a very difficult division” (No prediction)
• NJ.com – Kaye
• Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: “Neither team is what it was a year ago, but the Vikings should be able to exorcise their biggest demon from 2017.” (Score prediction: Vikings 30, Eagles 27)
• SBNation – Geoff Schwartz, David Fucillo
• USA Today – Nate Davis, Mike Jones

It was actually a little surprising to see so many experts going with Minnesota after seeing how far they tumbled down the expert power rankings for the week. However, most are right that this is a Vikings team desperate to get back on the right track and the Eagles don’t look like the same team they were when they went on to win a Super Bowl.

Minnesota Vikings

Picking the Philadelphia Eagles

• CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “The Eagles lost last week at Tennessee, while the Vikings are coming off a blowout loss against the Rams. The Vikings don’t look right on defense and that will show up in this one. ” (Score prediction: Eagles 27, Vikings 20)
• NFL.com – Elliot Harrison: “I’m seeing Philadelphia rebound in front of the home crowd, but this NFC matchup could go either way.” (Score prediction: Eagles 26, Vikings 23)
• NJ.com – Slater, Stypulkoski, Dunleavy, Lombardo
• Pioneer Press – Kevin Cusick: “Minnesota’s Latavius Murray says he’s looking forward to playing in front of Philly’s notoriously hostile fans” (Score prediction: Eagles by 7)
• Pro Football Talk – Michael David Smith: “This is a big one, as the 2-2 Eagles and 1-2-1 Vikings both need to turn things around in a hurry. I like the defending champs.” (Score prediction: Eagles 24, Vikings 17)
• SBNation – RVB, Stephen White, Charles McDonald, Adam Stites, Christian D’Andrea
• Sporting News – David Steele: “The Vikings have had time since Thursday’s loss to the Rams to rest and ponder their fate if they don’t win this game. (Score prediction: Eagles 28, Vikings 24)
• USA Today: Jarrett Bell, Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz, Lorenzo Reyes

The Eagles may be the Super Bowl champions from last season, but they’re fighting just like every other team in the league to keep pace with other teams in the division as well as the conference as a whole.

While this should be a hard-fought game, the Vikings still need to prove they can protect Kirk Cousins, block for Dalvin Cook, and be more consistent on defense before they should be looked at as being serious contenders. While that could happen against the Eagles, for now, this might be another game where Minnesota is competitive but comes up short.

What do you think? Is this the week the Minnesota Vikings get things figured out enough to get a win on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles? Or will the Vikings fall to 1-3-1 on the season and see the odds of returning the playoffs shrink?