Inside The Vikings

Eagles' Dominant Win Over Giants is Salt in Vikings' Wound

Philadelphia's romp showed just how far the Vikings were from true contention.
Will Ragatz|
Eagles' Dominant Win Over Giants is Salt in Vikings' Wound
Eagles' Dominant Win Over Giants is Salt in Vikings' Wound

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Minnesota Vikings

The Eagles' 38-7 win over the Giants on Saturday night — five years to the day after a different 38-7 playoff win in Philadelphia — showed just how far this year's Vikings were from true championship contention.

You could argue that blowout losses against the Eagles, Cowboys, and Packers during the regular season already proved that. Still, it was startling to see the ease and precision with which Nick Sirianni's team demolished the Giants to move onto the NFC championship game.

Another conclusion: it's safe to say the Vikings made the right decision in firing defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

Six days earlier, the Giants put up 31 points and 431 yards on the Vikings' abysmal defense. In this game against the Eagles, New York could manage just 227 total yards. Daniel Jones threw for 135 yards and a pick with no touchdowns, taking five sacks. He had just 24 rushing yards. It was quite the change from his performance in Minneapolis, when he threw for 301 yards and two scores and ran for 78.

This weekend showed what the Giants look like when they play an elite team. They never had a chance against the Eagles, which makes the Vikings' loss look even worse. When an offense tears you apart and then can't muster anything the following week, you were probably doing several things wrong.

But it's not just Donatell and the Vikings' defense that look bad. The Eagles completely imposed their will on the Giants' awful run defense, racking up 268 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Vikings last week? 61 rushing yards on 16 attempts (Kirk Cousins dropped back 39 times). That's a tough look for Dalvin Cook, the Vikings' offensive line, Kevin O'Connell, and Minnesota's entire offense.

The cream has risen to the top in these NFL playoffs, with the No. 1 seed Chiefs and Eagles winning on Saturday. The Vikings still have a long ways to go to put themselves in that mix.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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