It might not have always been pretty, but it damn sure was fun to watch when it was all said and done.
Paced by four touchdown passes from Kirk Cousins, three of them to Stefon Diggs, the Vikings pulled out of a mid-game nosedive to blow out the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium by a final score of 38-20.
The Vikings got the scoring started, taking the opening kickoff and marching 75 yards in 13 plays. The drive concluded with a beautiful 6-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen, and Dan Bailey’s extra point put the Vikings ahead 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
How's that for a start?#Skol pic.twitter.com/trk2sbt5j3
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 13, 2019
Minnesota got a 39-yard field goal from Dan Bailey on their second possession, and the Vikings finished the first quarter with a 10-0 lead.
Philadelphia got their first points early in the second quarter, as Jake Elliott connected on a 53-yard field goal to make the score 10-3.
The Vikings needed just two plays on their next possession to add to their lead, as Kirk Cousins connected with Stefon Diggs on a beautiful 62-yard scoring pass. That made the score 17-3 before the midway point of the second quarter.
Crosser from Thielen holds the safety so Diggs has single coverage and a bunch of inside space. Diggs celebrates by pretending to take off his helmet pic.twitter.com/VgFuj6qC2j
— Arif Hasan, but spooky (@ArifHasanNFL) October 13, 2019
After stopping the Eagles at a fourth down near midfield, Cousins and Diggs connected again, this time on a 51-yard catch by Diggs to make the score 24-3.
Diggs 51-yard TD. Bisi Johnson open as hell lmao pic.twitter.com/C8Ex2bFuqr
— Arif Hasan, but spooky (@ArifHasanNFL) October 13, 2019
The Eagles finally managed to answer one after that, as Carson Wentz connected with Miles Sanders for a 32-yard touchdown, cutting the Minnesota lead to 24-10 midway through the second quarter.
Philadelphia had a chance to add more points at the end of the half, but a 39-yard field goal attempt turned into a fake, with Jake Elliott’s pass being intercepted by Everson Griffen to close out the half.
Absolutely phenomenal awareness from Anthony Harris on this play. Incredible -- Everson Griffen picks off Jake Elliott on a fake FG attempt pic.twitter.com/VNzS11eeZR
— Arif Hasan, but spooky (@ArifHasanNFL) October 13, 2019
Philadelphia got some points to start the third quarter, marching down the field in rapid fashion. The drive ended with Wentz finding Alshon Jeffery for a 3-yard touchdown, and quickly the Minnesota lead was down to one score at 24-17.
The Eagles got another Elliott field goal midway through the third quarter, a 40-yarder to cut the Vikings’ lead to 24-20. The Vikings answered with a huge drive, capped by the third Cousins-to-Diggs touchdown pass of the afternoon. This one was an 11-yarder, and it extended the Minnesota lead back to 11 points at 31-20.
Diggs' third touchdown pic.twitter.com/pYygdl3JbO
— Arif Hasan, but spooky (@ArifHasanNFL) October 13, 2019
The Vikings put the game away midway through the fourth quarter, thanks to a 1-yard run by Dalvin Cook to make the score 38-20 with just over eight minutes remaining. The big play on the drive was a huge 35-yard run by rookie Alexander Mattison to get the Vikings into the Philadelphia red zone.
Thielen
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 13, 2019
Diggs
Cook
Who's next? pic.twitter.com/yqXwRU4454
The Vikings generated two fourth-quarter turnovers as well. The first came from Eric Kendricks stripping Zach Ertz and Anthony Barr recovering the fumble. The second came from the returning Mackensie Alexander intercepting Wentz on the first play following a great punt by Britton Colquitt.
Also in this game, Danielle Hunter collected a sack of Wentz in the fourth quarter. With that sack, he as 46 in his career, giving him the NFL record for the most sacks by a player before the age of 25.
The Vikings’ offense was firing on all cylinders for most of the afternoon, thanks in large part to the play of Kirk Cousins. He completed 22-of-29 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns (along with an interception that really wasn’t on him). Stefon Diggs had the biggest day of the receivers, catching seven passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Adam Thielen contributed six catches for 57 yards and a score. Kyle Rudolph had three grabs for 36 yards, and Irv Smith had 29 yards on a pair of catches. Olabisi Johnson (16 yards) and Laquon Treadwell (15 yards). . .yes, Laquon Treadwell. . .each had a catch.
Dalvin Cook had two catches for 13 yards, and was relatively silent for the most part against the NFL’s #1 rush defense, carrying the ball 16 times for 41 yards and a score. Alexander Mattison actually paced the Vikings in rushing in this one, carrying the ball 14 times for 63 yards. He did have a fumble late in the game as the Vikings were trying to run out the clock, but it didn’t hurt too much. Stefon Diggs had 18 yards on a pair of rushes, while Thielen had one carry for no gain and Cousins was credited with no yards on two carries.
The Vikings move their record to 4-2, putting together their first winning streak of the season. They’ll play their final NFC North road game of the season next week, as they’ll travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions. The Eagles fall to 3-3, and they’ll travel to take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football next week.
The Minnesota Vikings stomp the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6 NFL action, triumphing by a final score of 38-20. Thank you to everyone that got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!