By Patrick Del Gaone, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Through the first three games of the season, Eagles’ defensive end Brandon Graham was practically unblockable in his return to the 4-3 defensive end position.
Before yesterday’s game, the former Michigan Wolverine promised a return to dominance coming around Sam Bradford’s blindside.
“He’s a tremendous player, a great team leader.” Pederson said. “He vowed yesterday not to be blocked. And he wanted to redeem himself from the week before, he felt himself personally did not have a good game against Washington, and wanted to make sure that he came out yesterday and helped our team win. He did an outstanding job.
Led by the reemergence of Graham, who hit Bradford six times and recorded one sack, Jim Schwartz’s unit suffocated the Vikings' pedestrian offense throughout the afternoon, as Philadelphia ultimately emerged victorious by a score of 21-10.
Despite the Vikings’ tremendous field position in the 1st quarter, including starting two of their first three drives in the Eagles’ redzone, Philadelphia’s defenders set the tone by holding Minnesota to zero points on their first three possessions.
“Both units really took it upon themselves to play better,” Pederson said. “We saw that right away in the game, and it carried over for four quarters. Our defensive line getting after the offensive line of Minnesota, and putting pressure on Sam [Bradford], and being disruptive there. And our offensive line pass protecting and run blocking against a great defensive front. So, yeah every man, each unit did a nice job.”
Against the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL, Pederson’s offense struggled for a majority of Sunday’s battle, gaining only 239 total yards for the second consecutive week. Having said that, the Philly offensive line, especially right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai, rebounded admirably after a disappointing showing in Washington.
The hog-mollies allowed zero sacks to a Vikings’ unit that ranked 2nd in the NFL with 19 quarterback takedowns prior to yesterday’s game. Today, Pederson attributed Vaitai’s bounce-back performance to having a start under his belt.
“I just think learning from the week before,” Pederson said. “He really detailed his work during the week. He practiced extremely well, he used his hands better, he was able to calm the storm, so to speak. He played a fine football game. He played the type of game that we [expected] he’s very capable of doing. Now it’s something he can build on.”
Pederson announced this afternoon that nickel cornerback Ron Brooks is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a rupture in his right quad tendon in yesterday’s win.
You can watch the full press conference from Pederson below.
