Add Peters and Bradham to growing list of injured
The Eagles continued to be hammered by injuries, losing the services of offensive tackle Jason Peters and linebacker Nigel Bradham in their 38-20 loss to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Peters hobbled off twice in the first half with an ailing right knee. He didn’t return for the second half.
Rookie first-round pick Andre Dillard got run over by defensive end Everson Griffen on the first play in place of Peters, quarterback Carson Wentz somehow escaping the rush and throwing a three-yard completion.
Bradham was shelved after injuring his left ankle in the first half. It had to be significant in that Bradham has played through several injuries.
The Eagles scratched receiver DeSean Jackson (abdominal muscle), cornerbacks Ronald Darby (hamstring) and Avonte Maddox (neck), running back Darren Sproles (quad), defensive linemen Timmy Jernigan and Shareef Miller, and center Nate Herbig.
• • • Former Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo was named one of the Eagles’ captains. He intercepted a deflected pass late in the first half.
That was the only turnover for Kirk Cousins, who threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns, three to Stefon Diggs.
• • •
You could begin questioning the Eagles’ playcalling on their first possession.
After runs by Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders, the Eagles had a third-andtwo. Howard was stopped cold. That gave the Eagles their first three-and-out in the first quarter this season.
The Eagles trailed, 24-10, with 20 seconds remaining in the first half when Jake Elliott lined up for an easy field goal.
Instead long-snapper Rick Lovato sent the ball straight to Elliott, who was supposed to connect with Dallas Goedert, who would step out of bounds after the first down and with the Eagles out of timeouts, give Carson Wentz one more shot at the end zone.
Great snap but the Vikings sniffed it out from the beginning, Everson Griffen intercepting the deflection.
A field goal would have cut the deficit to 11 points with the Eagles receiving the kickoff in the second half. Elliott made field goals of 53 and 40 yards and is 7-of-7 in that department on the season.
• • •
The Vikings scored on their first four possessions to grab a 24-3 lead.
The Eagles stopped them on their next four before Stefon Diggs got his third TD giving the team a 31-20 lead late in the third quarter.
• • • Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook is second in the NFL in rushing, trailing only Carolina’s Christian McCaffery. Cook has rushed for 542 yards, averages 5.9 yards a carry, has four 100-yard games this season and five rushing touchdowns.
• • •
You knew it was going to be a long day for the Eagles when Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer won a challenge of a spot on the first series of the game. Cook originally was credited with just one yard, bringing up fourth-and-one at the sixyard line of the Eagles.
But referee Scott Novak and the folks in New York overruled the spot giving the Vikings a first down at the five. Two plays later Diggs scored his first TD.
Though Cook was held to 41 yards on 16 carries, just the second time this season he’s been under 100 yards, the Eagles allowed
122 rushing yards, the first time the opposition has gone over the century mark on them in nine regular season games.
The Vikings are 9-1 in their last 10 starts rushing for 100 or more yards.
• • • NOTES » The Eagles are 1415 versus the Vikings. Cousins is 6-4 against the Eagles, including his stint with the Redskins … Wentz is 1-2 versus the Vikings, the victory coming in his rookie season against Sam Bradford … The Eagles fell to 23-7 when they force at least one turnover dating to the start of the 2017 season … The Eagles rushed for 108 yards. They’re now 15-2 rushing for 100 or more in their last
17 games … The Vikings are
23-0 leading at the end of third quarter since the start of the 2017 season. They’re
14-0 leading after one quarter in that time.