The morning after every Vikings game, after a few hours of sleep and maybe an early flight back to Minneapolis, Star Tribune beat writer Matt Vensel will empty out his notebook and share a few opinions after getting a chance to gather his thoughts. It's sort of like a Minnesota-centric version of the Monday Morning QB — except it's a few thousand words and one haiku shorter.
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In the days leading to Sam Bradford's return to Philadelphia, the city of brotherly boos, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said that the quarterback's understanding of the Eagles offense was "overrated" by the media when it comes to gleaning something useful they could use against the Eagles.
The Eagles, on the other hand, believed their knowledge of their former starting QB — specifically his weaknesses — would allow them to rattle Bradford and help the Eagles knock off the NFL's lone unbeaten team.
The Eagles ended up being right, as they relied on zone blitzing — and one specific blitz featuring rolled coverage — to confuse Bradford in key spots.
The most glaring example came late in the second quarter when the Vikings, who squandered a pair of prime scoring opportunities in the first quarter, moved into Eagles territory again. On second-and-8, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz went to a look that had given Bradford, who was acquired in a stunning trade last month, trouble in Eagles practices.
"There was one or two looks that we know Sam didn't like," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said after the game. "It was based off of practicing against him and knowing some things that he couldn't pick up in camp."
On that play, the Vikings lined up with wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen to the left and a pair of tight ends on the right side of the line.