Eagles punch ticket to Super Bowl LII with blow out of Vikings

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Eagles defied their underdog label and blew out the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game by a score of 38-7, sending the Eagles to their third Super Bowl in franchise history. 

The Vikings received the opening kickoff and – to much surprise – found success running the ball. Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray combined for 27-yards on just six carries. 

The opening drive was capped off by a gorgeous over the shoulder throw from Case Keenum to Kyle Rudolph for a 22-yard touchdown. Najee Goode got beat in coverage. Goode is the fourth player to start at middle linebacker for the Eagles this season. 

After the Eagles stalled on their first drive the Vikings took over at their own 29-yard line. After converting a third-and-10 the Vikings were confronted with a third-and-eight. 

Chris Long bent the edge and hit Case Keenum's arm as he attempted a pass. The ball fluttered and Patrick Robinson came up with the interception. Robinson let his teammates build a wall as he switched sides of the field and returned the pick 50-yards for a touchdown. 

A Jake Elliott extra point tied the game with six minutes left in the first quarter. 

On the Eagles next drive the offense got settled in. Nick Foles executed the run-pass option to perfection on a 12-play 75-yard drive. Jay Ajayi bullied his way for 20-yards on three carries on the drive, but it was LeGarrette Blount who put the exclamation point on the drive by bulldozing his way across the goal line from 11 yards out. 

The Vikings would respond with a strong drive to march deep into Eagles territory. On a third-and-five Case Keenum dropped back and was stripped from behind by Derek Barnett – who was drafted with the pick acquired in the trade that sent Sam Bradford to the Vikings – and the Chris Long pounced on the loose ball to give possession back to the Eagles. 

The Eagles wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover. Foles would uncork a 53-yard bomb to Alshon Jeffery to make it a 21-7 Eagles lead. 

The Eagles defense forced Minnesota to punt with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Instead of kneeling to go into halftime with a two-score lead Doug Pederson put the pedal to the medal and tried to put more points on the board before halftime. 

Two big screen passes to Jay Ajayi and a huge gain by Zach Ertz got the Eagles into Jake Elliott's field goal range and the rookie kicker knocked a 38-yard field goal through the uprights to send the Eagles into halftime with a 24-7 lead.

The Eagles received to start the second half and orchestrated another incredible drive. The Eagles picked up yards in small increments, using all three downs to move the chains. Once they lulled the Vikings to sleep Doug Pederson dialed up a trick play. 

Pederson called the flea flicker, and Nick Foles launched a ball deep to Torrey Smith for a 41-yard touchdown. The Eagles led 31-7 early in the third quarter. It is the first time in over two years that the Vikings' defense allowed to touchdowns of 40 yards or more in one game. 

The Vikings would threaten on the next drive, but were forced to convert in a goal-to-go situation. Just like last week the Eagles' defense would force a turnover on downs while backed up on their goal line. 

The Eagles would tack on another touchdown by driving the length of the field with a 13-play 88-yard drive that resulted in a five-yard touchdown from Foles to Jeffery. 

The Eagles became the first team in the Super Bowl era with three touchdowns of 40 or more yards in a conference championship game.

After surrendering a touchdown on the opening drive, the Eagles scored 38 unanswered points. 

The Vikings' lauded defense allowed an average of 192.4 passing yards and 83.6 rushing yards per game. The Eagles gained 352 in the air and 111 on the ground. 

The Vikings' defense only allowed opposing offenses to convert 25% of third-down opportunities in the regular season. The Eagles converted 10-14 for a 71.4% success rate.

The Eagles will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.