Vikings Need to Contain Familiar Foes Alshon Jeffery, Jordan Howard

When the Philadelphia Eagles come to U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend, they'll bring with them a host of bad memories for Vikings fans.

Nothing needs to be said about Jan 21, 2018, when the Vikings' dreams of winning a Super Bowl in their home stadium were mercilessly crushed. All week, Vikings players who took part in that game have said that it's a distant memory.

"That's long and done," said Xavier Rhodes.

While that may be true – and is the correct way to approach it – it's hard to think of the Eagles as just "any other opponent." Though the Vikings enacted a small matter of revenge by winning on that same field last season, there is surely still some lingering embarrassment for those who were on the receiving end of such a shocking blowout.

Beyond the bitter taste created by the sight of Philadelphia's midnight green jerseys, there are two players on the Eagles' roster who have been tormenting the Vikings for years, dating back to their time with the Chicago Bears: Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Howard.

Jeffery is in his third season with the Eagles. He signed with them as a free agent before the 2017 season, and wound up being a major part of a championship team. He caught 5 passes for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns in the aforementioned NFC title game, a 53-yarder late in the first half to put the Eagles up 14 and an exclamation point in the fourth quarter to seal a final score no Vikings fan wants to be reminded of: 38-7.

Before joining the Eagles, Jeffery spent five seasons playing the Vikings twice a year as a star receiver for the Bears. It was pre-Mike Zimmer, but it's hard to forget a 23-year-old Jeffery exploding for 12 catches, a Bears-record 249 yards, and 2 touchdowns at the Metrodome in 2013. In 11 career games against the Vikings, Jeffery has caught 9 touchdown passes.

"Jeffery’s been a pain for us all the time," said George Edwards, who has been the Vikings' defensive coordinator since 2014.

However, it's worth noting that Rhodes has gotten the best of Jeffery at times. Neither of Jeffery's two touchdowns in the NFC Championship game came while Rhodes was covering him, and he was basically a non-factor in the Vikings' win last season.

We're getting Xavier Rhodes vs Alshon Jeffrey again. Underrated rivalry. Results of the last 5:

2/5 for 39 (2018, Vikings W)
3/3 for 27 (2017, let's not talk about it)
1/2 for 10, INT (2016, Vikings W)
3/7 for 52 (2016, Bears W)
0/2 (2015, Vikings W)
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) October 9, 2019

Rhodes has had an up-and-down season and hasn't consistently shadowed one receiver as he usually does, but expect the two to see a lot of each other on Sunday. It should be a fascinating matchup, as both players have great size and athleticism and know each other well.

Another player the Vikings are all too familiar with is Howard, who was drafted by the Bears in 2016. This March, Chicago flipped him to the Eagles for a future sixth-rounder, then drafted David Montgomery in the third round to be their early-down running back.

During his rookie season with the Bears, Howard totaled 327 scrimmage yards in two games against the Vikings. Last season, in his final regular season game with the franchise, Howard ran for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns in Minneapolis to keep the Vikings out of the playoffs.

"He’s very physical, he’s got really good feet," Mike Zimmer said. "He runs with his pads forward, so you make contact with him on second and eight and it ends up being second and four. So we’re going to have to do a great job tackling him, being in the right place, and getting extra hats on the ball. He’s a physical, physical runner."

Like the Bears, the Eagles used an early pick on a running back in April, taking Penn State's Miles Sanders 53rd overall. Coming into this season, the plan was for Sanders to be the main early-down back in Philadelphia, with the ageless Darren Sproles retaining his passing-downs role. Sanders out-snapped Howard 36 to 17 in Week 1 and 35 to 18 in Week 2.

Since then, Howard has begun to emerge. He was the hot hand in Week 4 against Green Bay, finishing with 115 yards from scrimmage and 3 touchdowns while out-snapping Sanders 33-22. Last week they played 29 snaps each and Howard scored another touchdown.

Sanders is the better receiver of the two, so he will still see time against the Vikings, especially with Sproles hurt and unlikely to play. Howard has simply established himself as the superior runner, averaging 4.7 yards per carry to Sanders' 3.6.

Even with Sproles and DeSean Jackson likely out, Jeffery and Howard are far from the Eagles' only offensive weapons; tight end Zach Ertz is one of the best in the league and Sanders is dangerous. But for the Vikings, preventing the two former Bears from burning them again would go a long way towards picking up a big victory on Sunday.