{"id":45225,"date":"2018-10-09T03:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T07:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=45225"},"modified":"2018-10-08T16:54:52","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T20:54:52","slug":"vikings-hopefully-got-back-on-track-with-sundays-win-over-the-eagles-23-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2018\/10\/09\/vikings-hopefully-got-back-on-track-with-sundays-win-over-the-eagles-23-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings (hopefully) got back on track with Sunday’s win over the Eagles, 23-21"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"There were a lot of doubters (ahem<\/a>) about the Vikings getting the ship back on course after the team’s struggles in the first four games, but going to Philadelphia and beating the defending champions on their own field is a nice sign that they’re making the right adjustments. Back from his African safari, the Daily Norseman<\/em>‘s Ted Glover<\/a> offers his post-game Stock Market Report:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the end. It\u2019s certainly not the beginning of the end. Perhaps it\u2019s the end of the beginning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to call the fifth game of the season a must win game, but that\u2019s exactly what the Minnesota Vikings were facing in Philadelphia Sunday. A porous defense and a one dimensional offense had the Vikings looking into the abyss of one win in five games with a loss, and a shot at the playoffs would have seemed like a pipe dream.<\/p>\n

But the Vikings would not go gentle into the good night. They planted their flag and made a stand, and quite possibly saved their season with an inspired 23-21 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

And no Stock Market Report is complete without the Buy\/Sell recommendations…<\/p>\n

Buy\/Sell:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buy: Rashod Hill, LT<\/strong>. I thought Hill played pretty well on the left side on Sunday. I don\u2019t remember Kirk Cousins getting a lot of pressure from his blind side once Hill took over for Reiff, and I thought he played a pretty clean game.<\/p>\n

Sell: Rashod Hill, RT<\/strong>. Brian O\u2019Neill played much better than Hill did on the right side yesterday, though. In fact, it seems to me that O\u2019Neill has outplayed Hill whenever he\u2019s been put in to the lineup, and I\u2019d like to see him start.<\/p>\n

Buy: The running game was good enough today<\/strong>. 23 carries for 77 yards total isn\u2019t great, but the Vikings stuck with the running game for four quarters instead of abandoning it early or ignoring it completely, and it paid off in the fourth quarter. There\u2019s still a lot of work to do to get better, but it felt that the Vikings took a step in the right direction against Philly.<\/p>\n

Sell: The running game issues are solved<\/strong>. The Vikings still can\u2019t run the ball effectively though. Murray is the team\u2019s leading rusher, with a paltry 106 yards and a YPC average of 3.5. I don\u2019t know if o-line changes are in order, but I\u2019d look at putting Hill at LT until Reiff is healthy, I\u2019d swap out Brett Jones for Compton, and I\u2019d put O\u2019Neill at RT. Maybe that will help things out, maybe it won\u2019t, but the Vikings need to do something to try and get the running game untracked.<\/p>\n

Buy: Dan Bailey\u2019s 52 yard field goal was clutch<\/strong>. That fourth quarter drive to seal the game was something the Vikings got really good at last year. They had a slim lead, but were able to run the clock down, get some points, and seal the game. They started from their 11 after the defense forced a punt on the Thomas fumble, and ate up over six minutes of game clock by effectively running and throwing the ball. It culminated with Bailey nailing a 52 yard field goal, right down the middle. Ball game.<\/p>\n

Sell: The rest of Dan Bailey\u2019s game was clutch<\/strong>. Yeah, I guess kickers missing kicks are just going to be part of this team from now on, though. He hit three field goals, but doinked a 28 yarder off the left upright on the first drive of the game, and went wide right from 48. Both misses were in the first half, and if he makes one of those, the 52 yarder isn\u2019t necessary. I really am getting tired of the kicking issues with this team, and I\u2019d like just one guy to come in and stop the bleeding. And if the second most accurate kicker in NFL history can\u2019t fix this issue, who can?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a separate post<\/a>, Ted also pointed out just how well the new Kirk Cousins-to-Adam Thielen connection is working out:<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Thielen and Cousins set a couple records, and they\u2019re unique ones in NFL history. First up, Thielen:<\/p>\n

\n
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Adam Thielen is first WR in Super Bowl era to record 100+ receiving yards in team's first 5 games of season. #MINvsPHI<\/a><\/p>\n

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) October 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n