Knee-Jerk Reactions: Eagles Stifle Sammy Sleeves
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Welcome back, Sammy Sleeves.
Six sacks and three forced turnovers on Sam Bradford is his return to Philadelphia for the Eagles' defense, en route to a crucial 21-10 victory.
- Two teams that play extremely similar styles of football: Play defense, get to the quarterback, and take care of the football.
- On Sunday, the Eagles and Carson Wentz did that a little bit better than Sam Bradford and the Vikings.
- This was just the third game since 2001 where Eagles posted at least 6 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and one interception.
- Jordan Hicks was everywhere: 11 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 2 passes defended, and a QB hit.
- Rodney McLeod has another outstanding game (7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tfl, 1 interception, 1 pass defended, 1 QB hit). McLeod is quietly putting together an outstanding season (43 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, 3 INTs).
- Malcolm Jenkins quietly had another solid game (top 3 graded Eagles' defensive player per Pro Football Focus). Him and McLeod have truly formed an elite safety tandem in the NFL.
- Connor Barwin had his best game of the season, getting consistent pressure and stripping Bradford early in the game.
- And Brandon Graham continues to pile on the numbers en route to the best season of his career: 1 sack, 1 TFL, SIX QB hits, EIGHT QB pressures.
- Credit to Jim Schwartz, who had his defense hungry and angry. He mentioned Bradford's immobility before the game and blitzed that bejeezus out of him. 19 QB knockdowns!
Related: Eagles' Good, Bad, & Ugly
- Offensively, it was a struggle but the Eagles found a way to get it done.
- Josh Huff had a solid game catching all four of his targets and then, of course, the 98-yard kickoff return that obviously ended with a flip.
- Ryan Mathews was the Eagles' most productive offensive player yet again rushing for 56 yards on 14 carries (4.0) and catching his only target for 27 yards. However, he fumbled again, late in the game. He has to get that corrected, but he remains the Eagles' most talented well-rounded back and needs more than 15 touches per game.
- The Eagles' offensive line did not allow one sack against a tenacious Vikings' defensive front.
- Credit to Doug Pederson for sticking with and behind Big V, who had a solid bounce back game.
- Pederson was also pretty aggressive, converting a 4th down and going for two after a Vikings penalty on the extra point try. We're really starting to like this aggressive Doug guy.
- Zach Ertz was invisible in the passing attack for the second straight game, catching just 1 of 3 targets for 14 yards.
- Carson Wentz got off to a scary start making bad decisions and committing two turnovers in the first quarter. But like a veteran, Wentz responded brilliantly finishing 16-28 and leading his team to a victory.