After an unexpectedly blessed season which saw the Vikes go 13-3 despite losing their starting quarterback (Sam Bradford made only two starts) and stud rookie running back (Dalvin Cook blew out his knee Week 4), they picked a horrible time to play their absolute worst game of the season.
But hey, I absolutely need to give the Eagles some credit. After losing their MVP-caliber starting QB Carson Wentz for the season in Week 14, Philly still stumbled into the playoffs as the top NFC seed. However, they were quite agitated at the fact that Vegas declared them underdogs in both playoff games this postseason, and the Vikings definitely felt their wrath. Nick Foles now looks like the guy who, in 2013, compiled an 8-2 record as the Eagles starter (with a ridiculous 119.2 QB rating) while throwing 27 TDs and only 2 interceptions. And as we saw against the Vikings, that Philly defense is legit.
So where does my favorite squad go from here? Well, it appears the first orders of business will be to find a new offensive coordinator (Current OC Pat Shurmur is rumored to be taking the head coaching job with the NY Giants) and decide what to do at quarterback. The three QBs who saw action in 2017 are all unsigned past this season. If I had to guess, Case Keenum, who had a terrific year when Bradford went down after Week 1, will be franchise tagged and Bridgewater might receive a one year deal with an option year. I don't see any scenario where Bradford hangs around.
I still believe the Vikes have a top tier defense despite what it looked like Sunday. As long as Mike Zimmer gets what he needs on that side of the ball, it'll be a solid unit. And with running back Cook supposedly returning in 2018, the Vikes can definitely become even more dynamic on the offensive side of the ball. But as we've seen in the past, a great season like 2017 requires a lot of things to go right. The defense stayed remarkably healthy throughout the season but just one injury to any of their stars totally changes the calculus. So while we can rejoice that all the key players will return next season, there definitely needs to be reinforcements on the offensive line as well as more depth on defense.
I guess the only silver lining was this season didn't end with one of those gut wrenching losses where Vikes' fans felt the game was in hand until a deadly miscue led to a soul-crushing overtime defeat (a la 1998 and 2009 title games). At least that's how I'm trying to console myself.
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