The Vikings are on the road for the first time since Sept. 25 this weekend as the team heads to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles on Sunday (3-2).
The Eagles, who started the season 3-0 behind the strong play of rookie QB Carson Wentz, have lost their past two games and look to rebound against their former quarterback Kyle Rudolph.
Let's see who the experts pick to win Sunday's Week 7 matchup.
The *Eagles will give the Vikings a game. The question is, how much game will rookie Philly QB Carson Wentz have against a top-shelf defense? By almost every statistical measure, the Vikings are dominating:
» They've allowed 17 points or less in nine straight games, including the playoffs.
» They're giving up a meager 4.4 yards per play, the lowest mark in the league.
» Minnesota is one of two teams boasting three players with four or more sacks.
Maybe the Eagles can slow down that pass rush with Ryan Mathews and the running game -- except for the fact that three times this season, he's had less than 10 carries. Darren Sproles is a change-of-pace player, not a lead back. This will be the fastest defense Wentz has ever seen, although it should be noted that Wentz owns the top completion percentage against the blitz in the league (75.8). The Vikings blitz 25 percent of the time. *#MINvsPHI
Vikings 17, Eagles 13— Elliot Harrison,NFL.com
Emotions will be high at the first annual Bradford Bowl.
Should I be worried about the Vikings? Their momentum was put on pause after a five-week destruction tour. They're now throwing *Sam Bradford out there off a bye week against an Eagles defense that's plenty familiar with his work.*
It won't be easy. But this team is a reflection of Mike Zimmer — calm, composed and collected. It's playing without key offensive pieces and playing well.
Bradford can make six or seven throws against his old team. The rest falls on his defense to exploit Carson Wentz's *right tackle situation. Zimmer knows where to attack.*
Vikings 23, Eagles 20 — Chris Simms, Bleacher Report
*The Vikings come off their bye as the only undefeated team. This is the return of quarterback Sam Bradford to face his former team, who traded him before the season. The Eagles have wilted some on defense the past two weeks, but I think they get back on track here against their former teammate. Upset special. *
Eagles 23, Vikings 20 — Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
The Eagles got off to a great start this season, but they did it against a fairly easy schedule. Now the schedule is getting tougher, and the Eagles are struggling. It won't get any easier against the stout Vikings defense.
Vikings 20, Eagles 10— Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk
Forget about *Carson Wentz vs. the Vikings defense; Sam Bradford's return to Philly is the headline here. And Jim Schwartz will have something cooked up for Bradford. It may not be enough — unless Bradford ends up knocked out of the game.*
Vikings 24, Eagles 10— Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
Weird stat for those Vikings fans ("Skol Vikes") who are riding high about being the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL. None of the previous 13 "last undefeated" teams actually won a Super Bowl. But Vikings fans aren't celebrating anything yet, I know. Trust me, I know enough to know they've been down this path too many times to get too excited about some September success. I am taking the Eagles — that sputtering Wentz Wagon gets back on track — but it's a close one. Sam Bradford, shipped out of Philly a few months ago, falls to the guy who took his place.
Eagles 23, Vikings 19— Peter Schrager, FOX Sports
Each Tuesday, WhatIfSports.com's NFL simulation engine generates predictions and box scores for every NFL game for the coming week. The highly sophisticated algorithms simulate every play of every game to produce each team's likelihood to win. Each matchup is simulated 501 times.
Vikings Win Likelihood Percentage: 71.8 percent, Average Score: Vikings 23.6, Eagles 15.1— WhatIfSports.com
FiveThirtyEight's 2015 NFL forecast uses an Elo-based model to calculate each team's chances of advancing to the playoffs and winning Super Bowl 50. Playoff probabilities are based on 20,000 simulations of the season and will update after each game.
Pre-game win probabilities: Vikings 57 percent— FiveThirtyEight.com
7 of 8 experts pick the Vikings,CBS Sports
4 of 6 experts pick the Vikings,FOX Sports
5 of 5 experts pick the Vikings, USA Today
10 of 10 experts pick the Vikings,ESPN
6 of 10 experts pick the Vikings,SB Nation
