The Minnesota Vikings have their only appearance on Monday Night Football as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the second game of the night kicking off at 7:30 central time on ABC.
After both teams beat NFC North foes in week one, they are in a tight matchup with the opening line set at the Eagles -2.5 points.
When you look at the position groups, the teams are eerily similar. Let’s see who has the advantage.
Quarterback: Vikings
This matchup is closer than you might think but Cousins takes this. Hurts has the ability to be a true dual-threat with his excellent running ability. The ability to drive the ball down the field is not quite there. Hurts is very inconsistent getting past his first read and doesn’t have the strongest arm. Cousins is a consistently accurate passer who can spread the ball across the field to his excellent group of wide receivers led by Justin Jefferson.
Running back: Vikings
Truth be told, this is a pretty even position group. The Eagles go three deep with Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott. They are can catch the ball out of the backfield and run in their scheme. The Vikings are in a similar boat with Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu. The thing that tips the scales in the Vikings favor is having Cook who has an argument for being the best running back in the league.
Wide receiver: Vikings
This is a good position group for both teams. The Eagles strengthened their group by trading for A.J. Brown during the NFL draft. They also took DeVonta Smith at 10th overall last year and played at a very high level for the Eagles. The Vikings match both of those two with two players that are slightly better in Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. K.J. Osborn is also better than Quez Watkins which helps tilt the scales.
Tight end: Eagles
The tight end position is where the Eagles have their first true advantage. The backup tight ends for each team cancel each other out but at the top Dallas Goedert is definitely better than Irv Smith Jr. at this point. One of the best tight ends in the league, Goedert is excellent up the seam and in run blocking making him a true dual-threat.
Offensive line: Eagles
This one is pretty easy as the Eagles have solid starters across the line. Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are arguably the best tackle duo in the NFL. Having Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce and Isaac Seumalo on the interior give them a starting five without a true weakness. For the Vikings, they still have a big one with Garrett Bradbury making this an easy call.
Defensive line/pass rushers: Vikings
On the interior, the Eagles are stronger with Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave and Jordan Davis being multi-faceted are a better group than Dalvin Tomlinson, Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard. The Vikings get the edge because Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith are quite a bit better than the edge duo of Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat. Overall, its pretty close but the Vikings take it.
Linebackers: Tie
These groups are pretty similar. Eric Kendricks is the best player in the group. He plays the run and covers receivers really well and is a consistent player. Haason Reddick is a dynamic player that can do a little bit of everything as a hybrid linebacker/edge rusher. After those two players, the Eagles have better depth at the position with Nakobe Dean being a big wild card as a rookie with all-world ability and insticts.
Secondary: Eagles
Even though Harrison Smith is the best player on either team in this group, the Eagles are really deep. Darius Slay, James Bradbury and Avonte Maddox at corner with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on the back end give the Eagles a lot of diverse skill sets which allows them to be multiple on the back end. The Vikings have a lot of potential but guys like Cameron Dantzler and Andrew Booth Jr. need to take that next step for them to be on the level of the Eagles secondary.
Specialists: Tie
Coach: Tie
This group has a bunch of good players on each side but nobody that stands out above the rest. Jake Elliott and Greg Joseph are similar and Ryan Wright and Arryn Siposs are as well. Some good players in this group but there isn’t anyone that stands out above the rest.
Coach: Tie
The two head coaches are on pretty equal ground. Nick Sirianni did a nice job maneuvering the Philadelphia Eagles to the playoffs last season. In all honesty, despite not having been a head coach, Kevin O’Connell is on equal footing with him.
