Minnesota Vikings defensive MVP vs. Eagles in Week 5

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Philadelphia Eagles with a precise passing game and a defense that looked more like the 2017 version than the one seen this season. With a strip-sack defensive touchdown and several crucial stops in the red zone, Minnesota got back to the .500 mark for 2018.

It may have not looked as much, but the Minnesota Vikings defense bullied the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. This was a game that both teams really wanted–and needed–to win, and Minnesota proved the tougher opponent in the end.

Philly QB Carson Wentz numbers may have looked good in the end (due in large part to 75 yards and a touchdown against a “Prevent” Viking zone defense in the game’s last two minutes), but the young QB took three sacks on the game and numerous hits and hurries from a defense without standout defensive end Everson Griffen.

It wasn’t a perfect win, but for the defense, it was a team win, and the game’s standouts would surely say as much.

Most Valuable Defensive Player vs. the Eagles

Linval Joseph, Defensive Tackle

With four minutes and change left in the game’s first half, the Eagles drove to the Vikings’ 31 with ease on their fourth possession. In the game, Vikings kicker Dan Bailey had missed on two field goals attempts (from 28 and 45 yards) for the game and the score was tied 3-3.

Viking fans were equal parts irritated and anxious. One of the NFL’s most accurate kickers had missed twice from ideal ranges in a game the Vikings needed to win in more ways than one.

We all wondered if there actually was a curse at work here.

Then something very good happened. On first-and-ten for Philadelphia, Viking defensive end Stephen Weatherly sliced inside through the Eagles’ right tackle and hit Carson Wentz like a truck, causing the football to jump out of the pocket like a kernel of popcorn hitting just the right temperature in the pan.

The ball fell straight into the breadbasket of one Linval Joseph, Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle and team captain, who proceeded to hike it 64 yards (followed by a parade of proud Vikings) for a Minnesota touchdown that made the score 10-3.

The Vikings never trailed again in the game, and in fact, played to the tune of a 20-3 lead well into the third quarter.

This 64-yard touchdown run, though both remarkable and entertaining to watch, was not Joseph’s sole contribution to the win. He tallied a drive-killing sack and several QB hurries on Wentz, and lent his big body to a bevy of rallying Viking tackles.

In short, Team Captain Joseph lead by example, and was given a game ball in the locker room by Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer, who knew how important Joseph had been to this win as well as how important the win was to this team.

Honorable Mention

Anthony Barr, Linebacker

Giving up three touchdowns on Thursday Night Football is not something you want on your resume. But as Mike Zimmer would be the first to admit, linebackers are not supposed to be covering wide-receivers.

Anthony Barr certainly suffered at the hands of that game-plan last week, but against the Eagles, he was used more to the level of his talents, chasing the running game, keeping his zone, and finding the football.

Barr played well, and more to the point, played from the position on the field he has the experience and skill for. In the game he had six tackles, a solid quarterback hit on Carson Wentz, and made his place on the field one of the Vikings’ defensive strengths.

The score may have ended up 23-21, but those who watched the game saw the Vikings beat up that Philadelphia Eagles offense. They stopped them on key third-downs and held them to field goals when they needed touchdowns.

They hit them hard and made the ball come out.

Most importantly, the Minnesota Vikings won, and all the beleaguered members of this team–most notably Anthony Barr–were a big part of that win.