Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Players to watch vs. Vikings in Week 5

In Week 5 the Philadelphia Eagles are facing Minnesota. The Birds will need big performances from key players to win this NFC Championship rematch.

Week 5 of the regular season is upon us and for the Philadelphia Eagles they have a tough task as they face the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings will be back at Lincoln Financial Field looking to exact revenge on the Eagles, who blew them out in last year’s NFC Championship Game.

Both teams are entering this game with a worse record than was expected at the start of the season. The Eagles are 2-2 and coming off a loss in Tennessee where they blew a 14-point, 2nd half lead. The Vikings are entering this game with a 1-2-1 record. They had a couple extra days to prepare as they played on Thursday night last week against the Rams in an exciting 38-31 loss.

The main difference between last seasons playoff matchup and this years regular season face-off will be the quarterback position. Both teams in the NFC Championship game last year were starting quarterbacks who began the season as backups. The Eagles had Nick Foles and the Vikings had Case Keenum. It wasn’t exactly a Brady vs. Manning clash.

This season both teams have significant upgrades at the quarterback position. The Eagles have their starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, back as he has returned from ACL surgery. The Vikings made a big splash in free agency by signing former Redskin Kirk Cousins. Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million deal that made him the highest paid player in NFL history at the time.

Even with the upgrades at the quarterback position for both teams it has been a struggle early in the season. The Eagles have played well at home as they are 2-0 this season at the Linc. But the Vikings come in as the more desperate team. If they fall to 1-3-1 they could be on the outside looking in when it comes time for the playoffs.

In this rematch of last seasons NFC Championship Game here are the three players to keep an eye on.