Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 18 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at ARI | BAL at MIA | IND at SD | PHI at MIN | ||||
Week 18 Game Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 26, Minnesota Vikings 14
What you need to know
| Philadelphia Eagles |
While the Eagles struggled to finish off drives with touchdowns in the first half, they played well enough to get into field goal range, where K David Akers came through on three attempts. DB Asante Samuel came up with the first big play of the game for Philadelphia when he picked off a Tarvaris Jackson pass and took it 44 yards for a touchdown, and gave the Eagles a 16-14 lead at half.
The Philadelphia defense came up big in the second half, where they shut out Minnesota, and the offense finally came through with a game changing play when Brian Westbrook took a Donovan McNabb screen pass 71 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown that gave the Eagles the cushion they needed to pin the ears back on defense and go after the Vikings. A late Akers field goal ended the scoring for the game at 26-14.
| Minnesota Vikings |
The Vikings just did not have enough offense to keep up with the Eagles. While their defense played well throughout the whole game, the Minnesota offense was able to put up just 14 points, all of which came in the first half on the shoulders of RB Adrian Peterson, who took in runs of 40 and three yards for scores. However, they were completely shut out in the second half, and watched the Eagles run away with the wildcard win.
QB Tarvaris Jackson had a game he'd soon like to forget, as he completed just 15 of 35 passes for 164 yards. The Vikings had slim chances late in the game, but went three and out on one crucial possession and lost a fumble on a bad snap exchange on the next possession.
What you ought to know
| QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 23 - 34 - 300 - 1 TD / 1 INT |
Donovan McNabb and the Eagles offense struggled to finish drives in the first half, where they capped off three drives that ended in David Akers field goals. However, in the second half, McNabb and the Eagles started to make plays and did just enough to put away the Vikings and end their season. McNabb's numbers were helped by a 71 yard screen pass that Brian Westbrook caught in the flat and took for McNabb's only passing score of the game, but McNabb did have an efficient game, as he completed passes to eight different receivers. On the negative side, McNabb did throw an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked three times. Also, the Eagles were just five of 14 on third downs.
| RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 20 - 38 - 0, Rec: 3 - 83 - 1 (5 targets) |
Brian Westbrook was held in check for most of the game, especially on the ground, where he ran the ball 20 times for just 38 yards and zero scores. However, Westbrook proved you can only hold him down for short periods of time when he took a fourth quarter screen pass from Donovan McNabb 71 yards for a touchdown and virtually ended any comeback hopes the Minnesota Vikings may have had. He finished with a total of 83 yards on three receptions in the passing game, where he was targeted five times.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 2 - 27 - 0 |
Buckhalter was used sparingly in the running game, where he carried two times for 27 yards, and had a long run of 27. He was not targeted in the passing game.
| WR Jason Avant, Rec: 5 - 47 - 0 (6 targets) |
Avant was targeted six times, and responded with five receptions for 47 yards. Three of his targets came on third downs, and four of his receptions resulted in first downs.
| WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 4 - 49 - 0 (7 targets) |
Curtis was targeted a team high seven times and finished with four receptions for 49 yards. Three of his targets came on third downs, and one third down pass thrown his way was picked off by Minnesota. Three of his receptions netted Philadelphia first downs.
| WR DeSean Jackson, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 34 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jackson received three targets in the passing game, but finished with just one reception for 34 yards. He was used on an end around, but carried the ball for just two yards on the play.
| TE Brent Celek, Rec: 6 - 56 - 0 (6 targets) |
Celek put up respectable numbers as he filled in for L.J. Smith as he caught all six balls thrown his way for 56 yards. Three of his receptions resulted in first downs.
| PK David Akers 4 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 14 points |
Akers came through for the Eagles as he connected on all four field goal attempts from distances of 43, 51, 31 and 45 yards and added two extra points to finish with 14 points in the game.
| PHI Rush Defense |
The Eagles allowed 148 yards on 34 carries on the ground, for a 4.4 ypc average, and allowed two rushing scores, one of which came on a 40 yard run.
DL Trent Cole finished with seven solos and six assists and Quintin Mikell added seven solos and one assist for Philadelphia.
| PHI Pass Defense |
Philadelphia allowed just 153 net passing yards and forced Minnesota QB Tarvaris Jackson into completing just 15 of 35 passes and a 45.4 QB rating. They did not give up a score through the air, had one sack, and took their only interception of the game back for a touchdown.
DB Brian Dawkins finished with five solos, one assist, a sack and a forced fumble and DB Asante Samuel took an interception back for a touchdown.
| QB Tarvaris Jackson, Pass: 15 - 35 - 164 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 17 - 0 |
Tarvaris Jackson had the type of game you would expect from a QB in his first playoff start against an experienced, well coached, blitzing defense. He finished 15 of 35 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception and just could not make any plays downfield against the Eagles. He had a long pass of just 27 yards and just nine passing first downs. Jackson did run the ball twice for 17 yards, but really did not look to run after being flushed out of the pocket throughout the game. He was sacked just one time, but the Eagles pressure forced a lot of poorly thrown balls.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 20 - 83 - 2 (1 targets) |
Adrian Peterson put up good, but not great numbers against Philadelphia, as he ran the ball 20 times for 83 yards, and a 4.2 ypc average. Fortunately for the Vikings, Peterson was able to make two big plays as he ran for touchdown runs of 40 and 3 yards that accounted for all of Minnesota's scoring in the game. Peterson did have his bell rung in the game, but bounced back up and returned quickly. He was targeted one time in the passing game, but did not record a reception.
| RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 12 - 48 - 0, Rec: 5 - 36 - 0 (6 targets) |
Taylor contributed 12 rushes for 48 yards on the ground and added another 36 yards receiving on five receptions in the passing game, where he received six targets.
| WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (7 targets) |
Wade finished with just three receptions for 24 yards but was targeted seven times.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 2 - 36 - 0 (8 targets) |
Bernard Berrian led Minnesota in targets, with eight, but finished with just two receptions for 36 yards. Berrian, like the rest of the Viking receiving corps, struggled to put up big numbers with such shaky QB play.
| WR Sidney Rice, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (7 targets) |
Rice was targeted seven times, but came down with just two receptions for 27 yards.
| TE Jim Kleinsasser, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (4 targets) |
Kleinsasser was targeted four times and finished with two receptions for 34 yards, both of which resulted in Minnesota first downs.
| PK Ryan Longwell 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Longwell did not attempt a field goal and made his two extra point attempts to finish with two points.
| MIN Rush Defense |
The Vikings defense played well against the run, as they have all year long. For the game, they held the Eagles to just 67 yards on 23 carries, and were able to contain RB Brian Westbrook, who accounted for 38 yards on 20 attempts. Minnesota also allowed just two rushing first downs.
LB Chad Greenway led the defense with eight solo tackles and one assist and DB Antoine Winfield added five solos and three assists.
| MIN Pass Defense |
Minnesota did allow a 300 yard passing game, but played well defending the pass for most of the game. They held the Eagles to five of 14 on third downs, intercepted a pass, caused and recovered a fumble and totaled three sacks. Unfortunately, they gave up a big play at the wrong time in the third quarter, when RB Brian Westbrook took a screen pass 71 yards for a score to put the game out of reach.
DL Jared Allen had two sacks, three tackles and a forced fumble for the Vikings and DB Cedric Griffin finished with five solo tackles, one assist and an interception.
