Vikings Excel to Take Down NFC East Champion Eagles (Part 2)
Frazier said, "It was a great effort by our players to battle the way that they had to all week and they showed perseverance that has become the hallmark of our team over the last few weeks." He added, "I can't say enough about our players and the attitude
they showed this week and I'm glad they were rewarded for it."
The Vikes are playing much worse than last year, when they almost reached the Super Bowl. The Eagles are also playing much more differently than they were during the rest of this season. Vick had been selected as the starting quarterback for the NFC squad
in January’s Pro Bowl in Hawaii, but struggled in this game.
He didn’t play very well after the first touchdown of the game, which was a three yard pass to Clay Harbor to give Philly a 7-0 lead. He was sacked six times, threw an interception, and lost two fumbles; one of which was returned 45 yards for a touchdown
by Winfield. Vick has been beaten and bruised in recent games and looked rather stiff. He sustained a quadriceps contusion on the first play of the game.
Vick said after the game, "I just tried to tolerate it throughout the game and I did. I have a strong will to win and I'll do anything to win a football game. I just tried to go out and get through it."
Behind 17-7 at the start of the fourth, the Eagles brought themselves up to 14 with Vick scoring on a ten yard run. However the Vikings wouldn’t let them win, with Peterson running in for a one yard touchdown to make the score 24-14 with less than seven
minutes left. At this time Eagles fans were hoping for a comeback like that against the Giants. It didn’t happen though.
With the talent that Webb showed on Tuesday the Vikings don’t need Favre, who suffered a concussion two weeks ago against the Chicago Bears. "He came out and did his job and did it well," Peterson said.
The Vikings tied that game with less than a minute left in the first half. Winfield sacked Vick, picked up the fumble and ran for a 45 yard touchdown. Minnesota then almost had another touchdown at the start of the second half. Webb passed to Sidney Rice
for a two yard touchdown, but the play was reversed when replays showed that he went out of bounds. Webb was sacked on the next play, forcing the Vikes to settle for a field goal by Ryan Longwell to make the score 10-7.
The Vikes put themselves 17-7 up with Webb making a Vick-like run for a touchdown, weaving in and out of defenders to the end zone. Vick lost his second fumble late into the second quarter at the Minnesota 23 yard line, ending their drive. Many people believed
that the game should have taken place on its original date and time; Sunday night. Even Ed Rendell, the Governor of Pennsylvania, said that Vince Lombardi would be mocking us and that "We've become a nation of wusses.” He went on to say that we should be more
like the Chinese, because “the Chinese are kicking our butt in everything."
The Vikings were also pleased to have time to eat Philly’s famous cheese steaks and act like normal tourists, spending the two extra days in a hotel. But the extra time just made them better."There's no excuses," Eagles cornerback Dimitri Patterson said.
"They were more inconvenienced than we were. They had to stay two extra days in a hotel."
The Eagles will play the ‘Boys next Sunday at home, while the Vikes will be going to Detroit's Ford Field to play against the Detroit Lions on the same day.
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