NFC championship: Three takeaways from Eagles' win over Vikings

Ron Clements

NFC championship: Three takeaways from Eagles' win over Vikings image

The Vikings had the NFL's best defense all season. The Eagles had the best defense Sunday.

Philadelphia forced three Minnesota turnovers and rolled to a 38-7 victory in Sunday's NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Patriots-Eagles-graphic

The Eagles will play the Patriots, who rallied for a 24-20 win over the Jaguars in the AFC championship game, in Super Bowl 52 at Minnesota's U.S. Bank Stadium on Feb. 4. 

The Eagles defense ranked fourth in both yards allowed and points during the regular season and were a big reason Philadelphia won three of four after starting quarterback Carson Wentz was lost for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. 

Vikings quarterback Case Keenum, who had been superb all season, was sacked just once by the Eagles and pestered all night in Philadelphia. Keenum finished 28 of 48 for 271 yards with a touchdown and interception. 

While the Vikings failed to become the first team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl inside their home stadium, the Eagles will have the same opponent they did in their last Super Bowl when Tom Brady and the Patriots won Super Bowl 39.

Three takeaways from the Eagles' win over the Vikings

1. Nick Foles picked apart Vikings defense — While the Eagles used the run-pass option often in last weekend's 15-10 win over the Falcons, Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson put he ball in the hands of quarterback Nick Foles on Sunday. 

Foles had his best game in years, throwing for 352 yards and three touchdowns while completing 26 of his 33 pass attempts. Foles completed just two passes thrown at least 15 yards downfield in the win over the Falcons. He was able to let it rip Sunday as the Eagles were able to get multiple chunk plays against Minnesota's top-ranked defense.

Foles, who struggled in the last two regular-season games, completed passes in a variety of ways on Sunday. He was able to find receivers from the pocket and delivered a strike to Nelson Agholor while on the run late in the third quarter. 

Foles' second touchdown pass was a 41-yard bomb to Torrey Smith off a flea-flicker.

The 456 yards and 38 points put up by the Eagles were easily the most given up by the Vikings defense all season. Pederson has put together two excellent game plans to get the Eagles to the Super Bowl and will have two weeks to come up with a game plan for Bill Belichick's Patriots. 

"I'm a little speechless right now. This is unbelievable," Foles told Fox Sports. "I'm blessed to have amazing teammates."

2. Turnovers were key — Sunday's game got off to a great start for the Vikings, who made things look easy on a nine-play, 75-yard opening drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph.

But the Eagles tied it up after forcing the game's first turnover when Chris Long hit Keenum's arm as he was throwing. The fluttering pass was intercepted by Patrick Robinson, who got a key block from Ronald Darby to help get Robinson into the end zone.

The turnover swung momentum to the Eagles, who grabbed a 14-7 lead on LeGarrette Blount's bruising 11-yard run.

A second Vikings turnover led the another Eagles touchdown. Eagles rookie defensive end Derek Barnett, drafted by Philadelphia with a pick acquired in the trade that sent Sam Bradford to Minnesota, jarred the ball from Keenum on a strip-sack.

The ball was recovered by Long and the Eagles scored when Foles somehow escaped the grasp of Everson Griffen to find a wide-open Alshon Jeffery downfield for a 53-yard touchdown.

3. Eagles offensive line kept Vikings pass rushers at bay — While the Eagles defense pestered Keenum for most of the game, Foles was barely touched. Foles was sacked just once and hit only five times with an offensive line that has been without Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters since October. Halapoulivaati Vaitai has struggled at times while filling in for Peters, but the second-year player from TCU kept Minnesota's sack leader at bay. Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen, who had 13 sacks during the regular season and another in last Sunday's win over the Saints, had just one tackle on Sunday and zero sacks. 

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Against a Patriots defense that lacks a dominant pass rusher, the Eagles have to be feeling pretty good about their chances in Super Bowl 52. 

Ron Clements