It's safe to assume most Minnesota Vikings fans knew how this story was going to end with Blake Brandel starting at center.
Last year, Brandel struggled at left guard and was one of the most penalized offensive linemen in the NFL. That led to Minnesota selecting Dononvan Jackson in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to be the replacement.
After starting center Ryan Kelly got hurt, and backup Michael Jurgens was banged up and struggled at times, it opened the door for Brandel to fill in. The results haven't been too terrible with him in the lineup. That was until he faced the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive line.
Minnesota Vikings OL Blake Brandel got exposed in the worst way against the Philadelphia Eagles
It's safe to say that Brandel was bullied on the offensive line against the Eagles. Jalen Carter was giving him fits the whole game, but it was his massive swat on Brandel that caused Carter to rush right in and deliver a hit to Carson Wentz that resulted in the pick-six by Jalyx Hunt in the first half.
Things just didn't seem to get better for Brandel as he was called for a holding penalty while the Vikings were in the red zone, which resulted in a touchdown being taken off the board. There is a legitimate argument that it was a bad call by the referees, but it still took points off the board.
One of the worst plays happened again in the red zone with Minnesota driving, when Brandel made a critical mistake. He was credited with a fumble after a bad snap went over Wentz's head and resulted in a loss of 22 yards.
The game ended with the Eagles taking it 28-22 over the Vikings. Brandel finished the game with a PFF grade of 51.1, the second lowest on Minnesota's offense besides Wentz.
It feels as though many fans knew this was going to end horribly for the Vikings to have Brandel at center. The only hope is that Kelly can be 100 percent from his concussion once he is off injured reserve.
For the time being, there might need to be a conversation about Jurgens potentially starting over Brandel, as this is not working out the way Minnesota would have hoped.