Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles: Third Quarter Open Thread

To start the second quarter of play, the Philadelphia Eagles picked up a quick first down on a 14-yard pass from Carson Wentz to Zach Ertz. That put the Eagles on the edge of Minnesota Vikings' territory at midfield, but a false start on Jason Kelce pushed the home team back a bit and ultimately caused the drive to stall out. Donnie Jones came in to punt the ball away, and it bounced into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Vikings the ball on their own 20-yard line.

Jerick McKinnon got the drive going for the Vikings with a 9-yard run, and Matt Asiata picked up seven more to give the Vikings a first down. Bradford then had a nice third-down conversion to Stefon Diggs to get the Vikings near midfield and keep the chains moving. Bradford then got another big third down conversion, finding Kyle Rudolph over the middle to the Philadelphia 30-yard line, a 22-yard pickup. The Vikings' drive stalled out there, and the Vikings brought in Blair Walsh for a 48-yard field goal attempt. Walsh knocked the ball through to put the first points of the game on the board, giving the Vikings a 3-0 lead.

The Vikings then held the lead for all of about ten seconds, as Walsh's kickoff went into the hands of Josh Huff, who took the return back 98 yards for a touchdown. Huff found an opening on the right side of the return, made it around Walsh's tackle "attempt," and went the distance. That gave the Eagles a 6-3 lead, and it looked to be 7-3 after Caleb Sturgis hit the extra point. However, a roughing the kicker penalty was called on the Vikings, and the Eagles then chose to attempt a 2-point conversion from the 1-yard line. Carson Wentz then ran it in from a yard out to give the Eagles an 8-3 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the half.

Sturgis put the kickoff out of the end zone for a touchback, giving the Vikings the football at their own 25-yard line. Ronnie Hillman got his first carry as a Viking on the first play, and he celebrated by losing five yards. Minnesota wound up going three-and-out, and Jeff Locke was brought in to punt again, and it was not his best effort, as he only managed to put it down to the Philadelphia 36-yard line, a 38-yard punt.

The Eagles went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, thanks to Brian Robison doing an outstanding job on a wide receiver screen to get a big stop. Marcus Sherels fair caught the punt from Donnie Jones at the Minnesota 24 to start the Vikings' next drive. It looked like the Vikings might go three-and-out, but Sam Bradford found Adam Thielen on a very nice pass to move the Vikings to midfield. A quick screen to Cordarrelle Patterson then got the Vikings near another first down, Bradford then found Rudolph again for a first down to the Eagles' 33-yard line. With the Vikings in field goal range, Bradford was strip-sacked again, this time by Rodney McLeod. The Eagles recovered the loose ball to get possession back, and that gave each team three turnovers.

It looked like the Vikings were going to force another three-and-out, but on 4th-and-2 from the Vikings' 44-yard line, the Eagles chose to go for it. Wentz bobbled the snap, but recovered enough to pick up six yards and keep the drive moving for Philadelphia. Ryan Mathews then blasted one down to the 17-yard line on a 3rd-and-9, a 20-yard gain. That put them into position for a Caleb Sturgis field goal attempt, as he came in to attempt one from 35 yards out. He put the ball through the uprights, and the Eagles took a 11-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

This was the Vikings' worst half of football this season, even counting the first half at Tennessee in the season opener. Sam Bradford, who had been so great for the first four starts he made as a Viking, has been under siege all day, losing two fumbles and throwing an interception. So far, he's completed just 10-of-22 passes for 93 yards and an interception. Kyle Rudolph is leading the Vikings in receiving with three grabs for 37 yards, and Matt Asiata has 20 yards rushing on eight carries, while Jerick McKinnon has added 19 yards on four carries.

For the Eagles, it hasn't been much prettier. Wentz has completed just 9-of-20 passes for 53 yards and two interceptions. Ryan Mathews has carried the ball nine times for 45 yards for the Eagles, while Josh Huff and Zach Ertz are leading the home team in receiving with 14 yards each.

It's been an ugly, ugly first half of football, particularly if you're a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. They currently trail the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 11-3 at Lincoln Financial Field. Can they get themselves together in the second half? Let's watch it together and find out.