The Vikings and Eagles each have two losses and will look to right themselves Sunday afternoon at Philadelphia.

Minnesota is coming off of consecutive losses and will hit the road for its second straight away contest after playing the Rams on Thursday Night Football last week.

ESPN's Tim McManus wrote recently that the Super Bowl LII Champion Eagles are realizing the "**harsh reality of a new season** in which nothing is guaranteed." The Vikings struggled in some areas over the first quarter of the season, but Philadelphia has not been without problems itself.

According to McManus, Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson has emphasized the mantra "Embrace the target" to his team, reminding that the Eagles "are going to get their opponent's best shot week after week." McManus wrote:

That theory has largely held up through four games. The Eagles haven't always been ready for it, or maybe equipped to handle it, and sit at 2-2 as a result.

Right now, the Eagles are a .500 football team with an offense that ranks 26th in points per game (20.5) and [with the third-most] penalty yards (343). The offensive line, touted as one of the best in the sport, has been leaky at times and was partly responsible for the 11 hits and four sacks Carson Wentz absorbed last week in an overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans. The defense has been unreliable on the road and is coming off a performance in which it allowed three fourth-down conversions on a single drive in overtime.

McManus pointed out that injuries are accruing in Philadelphia – four players have been added to the Injured Reserve list this season, and running back Jay Ajayi has been hampered with a back injury suffered against the Buccaneers.

That being said, however, quarterback Carson Wentz and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery have returned to action and will need to be accounted for by Minnesota.

McManus said the Eagles face an "early crossroad" in a "desperate Minnesota Vikings team" who was defeated by Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game in January.

Greenway opens up on farm life & football

Former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway may have walked away from the football field, but he continues to **support his former team** and stay active in the Twin Cities community.

Recently, Greenway **shared part of his story** via Linklete, a website celebrating youth sports that was created by former Twins third baseman Corey Koskie.

In his first-hand account of growing up on his family farm in South Dakota, Greenway explained the intertwinement of athletics into his daily life. He recalled eating dinner at 9:30 or 10 p.m., after responsibilities were taken care of, and said "this was just normal." Greenway wrote:

The next morning, I would usually pop up around 6 a.m. and start loading pigs before I left for school. We had to fill those trailers with about 180 pigs, at 280 pounds each. After working in the confinement barn before school, the smell of ammonia not only stuck on my clothes, but it would seep into my skin. The ongoing joke was that I would take a tube of toothpaste into the shower with me. It helped to take some of the ammonia smell out, especially on the areas that were used more often when loading, like my hands. I'm sure there is a better solution now, but back then, that's what we used.

As sports became more and more important, and more and more a part of my life, there wasn't a moment that went by on the farm, doing chores, that I didn't have a football in my hand or would play basketball on my 20-minute break. My "workouts" consisted of sprinting to grab a tool my dad needed or running through the fields. I didn't lift weights or "train." I was out on the farm, and that was the only option available to me. I had such a want to be in sports all the time, that I made it work.

Want more of Greenway's story? Visit the **Linklete website** or listen to the podcast after the Vikings-Eagles game Sunday night.