The Vikings will host the Philadelphia Eagles at noon (CT) Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Both teams are 3-2 on the young 2019 season.
Let's see who the experts are picking to win the game:
Eagles 20, Vikings 17—Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com
Noon CT (FOX) | U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis)
Note: Rosenthal designated this as his "toughest game to pick" this week.
What a delicious matchup of two would-be NFC Super Bowl contenders that know their path grows even more brutal if they lose Sunday. The Vikings will have to call plays against type offensively because the best way to beat the Eagles defense is to throw over the top while using the running game as a side dish. Minnesota's coaches displayed the confidence to pull off that strategy against the Giants last week, but will they show the same faith in Kirk Cousins against a slowly awakening Philly pass rush? There are fewer questions about the Eagles, who are growing healthier and more like the team everyone expected them to be.
Eagles 27, Vikings 23—Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
Is this a big game? It seems like it. That's not good news for Kirk Cousins. The Vikings and Cousins impressed last week against the Giants, but not this week. The Eagles have found themselves and they are getting right. That continues here. Eagles win in an upset.
Vikings 26, Eagles 24—Tadd Haislop, Sporting News
[Vikings pass] offense looked good against the Giants (as it should). The key to this game, though, will be whether Minnesota can generate space for Dalvin Cook against the NFL's best rush defense in terms of yards allowed. The Vikings failed a similar test against the Bears a couple weeks ago, but that was before they rediscovered their passing groove. Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Co. will earn just enough attention for Cook to keep Minnesota's offense balanced.
Eagles 20, Vikings 10—Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk
This feels like a game that we might look back on in December and say it changed the NFC playoff race. I don't trust Kirk Cousins to have two good games in a row.
Vikings 27, Eagles 21—Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
The up-and-down Vikings should be up again this week, since they're playing at home. And since the game isn't in prime time.
Eagles 24, Vikings 21—Staff, Bleacher Report
At this point, it's hard to justify picking Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings in a big game against a winning opponent, especially when they're laying points.
Cousins is 4-27 in his career against teams with a winning record. And after defeating the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets in Weeks 4 and 5, the Philadelphia Eagles have themselves a winning record.
With that in mind, our entire group of analysts expects Philadelphia to cover a three-point spread and win outright Sunday at the site in which they won Super Bowl LII.
"This pick is less an endorsement of Philadelphia than an indictment of Minnesota," [Gary] Davenport said. "I don't buy that the Vikings passing game is suddenly all puppies and rainbows because it lit up a terrible New York Giants secondary. The Eagles are better at throwing the ball, and it's going to take throwing the ball to win this game."
The Vikings were indeed productive through the air in New Jersey, but they've been comically inconsistent in the passing game the last couple of years, and it's clear they want to win by pounding the rock.
Unfortunately for them, the Fletcher Cox-led Eagles have a run defense that ranks fourth in DVOA. This'll be Dalvin Cook's biggest challenge yet, and he might not be well-supported by an unreliable quarterback and a shaky offensive line.
Win Percentage: 67.7%, Average Score: Eagles 25.0, Vikings 18.9—*FOX Sports*
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.
