Wild Card Weekend Recap
Philadelphia Eagles 26 -  Minnesota Vikings 14
Sunday, Jan 4, 2009 - 4:30pm EST on FOX

Preview: Six weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles weren't even thinking about the playoffs, as they tied a game and had their star quarterback benched in successive weeks. While it wasn't looking promising at the time, those events proved to be pivotal in getting the Eagles to the postseason.

In Sunday's NFC wild-card game, Philadelphia looks to carry its strong regular-season finish into the playoffs as it visits the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings, who are also surging into the postseason.

The Eagles (9-6-1) are making their seventh playoff appearance in nine years, but this one happened after a chain of surprising results in Week 17. Philadelphia avoided elimination when Oakland upset Tampa Bay and Houston beat Chicago in the early games. The Eagles then completed their unlikely journey to the playoffs with a 44-6 victory over Dallas to clinch the final NFC wild-card spot....more

Prediction: This is a classic game as it is the Eagles defense against Adrian Peterson. Stop Peterson, and the Vikings are generally out of the running. Easier said than done though, and we think its time for Peterson to step up in a big game situation and take the next step.
Vikings 24 - Eagles 23

Watch out for this: This game is all about one thing. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson confused Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo last week with his multitude of coverages and blitzes. He wants to do the same thing this week to Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson, but he knows that first, his defense must neutralize NFL rushing champion Adrian Peterson. Peterson is the key to this game. If the Eagles can stop him, they win going away. If he controls the game, look for the Vikings to prevail. One more thing. He has to hang on to the damn ball.

Video Preview: The Eagles travel to Minnesota to take on the NFC North Champion Vikings. Join Jason Horowitz and Charley Casserly for an in depth look at this NFC Wildcard showdown

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Statistically Speaking:

Head to Head Eagles Average Team Rankings Vikings 13.3 Total Offense 16.4 9.1 Total Defense 6.5 11.0 Passing Offense 22.3 6.3 Passing Defense 13.9 17.8 Rushing Offense 11.0 7.2 Rushing Defense 2.3 9.7 Receiving Offense 18.5 9.5 Receiving Defense 13.3 21.5 Punting 17.7 13.5 Return 21.7 10.3 Kicking 22.0

Team Rankings Eagles OFFENSE Rush Yds/Gm 106.1 (22nd) Pass Yds/Gm 244.4 (6th) Total Yds/Gm 350.5 (9th) DEFENSE Rush Yds/Gm 92.3 (4th) Pass Yds/Gm 182.1 (3rd) Total Yds/Gm 274.3 (3rd)   Vikings OFFENSE Rush Yds/Gm 145.8 (5th) Pass Yds/Gm 184.8 (25th) Total Yds/Gm 330.5 (17th) DEFENSE Rush Yds/Gm 76.9 (1st) Pass Yds/Gm 215.6 (18th) Total Yds/Gm 292.4 (6th)

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