Philadelphia Eagles vs Minnesota Vikings: NFL live scores, blog

The NFC Championship game will see the Minnesota Vikings travel to Lincoln Financial Field to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match Monday morning, starting at 10:40am AEDT.

Defensively, these two teams are hard to split. The stats are almost identical. Points allowed per game, passing and rushing yards allowed are all similar. It will be a battle of two backup quarterbacks from Texas, that will determine the last team into the Super Bowl. What’s not to like about that?

We all watched last week as Vikings Quarterback Case Keenum threw the match-winning pass to Stefan Diggs, who stayed in play and scored a 61-yard walk-off touchdown.

Keenum signed a one-year deal with the Vikings back in March as cover for Sam Bradford. Bradford goes down in week two, Keenum takes them to a 13-3 record and the number two seed in the NFC. Not bad for a bloke who went undrafted in 2012 and has since played for four other teams in five seasons.

On the offense, the Vikings are stacked with talent. Wide receivers – Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph have combined for 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns for the season. That is an incredible feat from three players on the same side. Throw in dynamic running back Latavius Murray with 842 yards and eight touchdowns and it’s no wonder this side is averaging 24 points a game.

On the defensive end, they possess some of the most dynamic players in the NFL.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks (113 tackles), defensive backs Harrison Smith (78 Tackles) and Andrew Sendejo (80 tackles) are always hungry for the ball and those numbers show that. As does the Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen with 13 sacks.

They are a formidable line and will be hard to penetrate.

The Eagles are on par when it comes to defense. With 9.5 sacks, defensive end Brandon Graham leads all-comers for the Eagles. But it’s the trio of linebackers who will cause headaches for the Vikings. Mychal Kendricks, Malcolm Jenkins and Nigel Bradham have a combined 250 tackles for the season and will look to inflict pain on the Vikings offense.

The Eagles offense will pull no punches on Monday.

Running back – LeGarrette Blount seems to get better with age. After a stellar year for the Patriots last season, he has backed that up to be one of the Eagles best players.

Wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor have combined for over 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns. Throw in tight end, Zack Ertz with 900 yards and 8 touchdowns, they are a scoring threat all over the field.

The problem for the Eagles lies with quarterback Nick Foles. Unlike the Vikings who have had Keenum in charge since week two of the regular season, Foles has only been at the helm for four games. Regular quarterback Carson Wentz was injured in week 14 against the LA Rams and Foles was thrust into the role.

Foles was drafted in the third round by the Eagles in 2012 but has since had stints with the Rams and the Chiefs before returning to Philly this season as back-up to Wentz. The two talisman are leagues apart in terms of quality and I feel this is where the Eagles will struggle to match it with the Vikings.

Injuries to watch:
Vikings – Andrew Sendejo – concussion protocol and Adam Thielen – lower back (both game-time decisions)
Eagles – linebacker; Dannell Ellerbe – hamstring (questionable)

Prediction
It will be a close contest, but I think Keenum will be too good for Foles.

Vikings to win 24-14

Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting at 10:40am AEDT.