When the Eagles were 3-0, the schedule called for a bye. They haven’t won since.
Into Philadelphia on Sunday come the Minnesota Vikings, the NFL’s only unbeaten team. They are coming off a bye.
“I think it’s 0-0 now, and we start a new season,” says Mike Zimmer , coach of the 5-0 Vikings. “You just forget about what has happened in the past, and we start moving on. So, now it’s, for us, I think it’s an 11-game season, and we’ll see where we’re at then.”
Where they are at now is the Linc, and the Eagles have looked weak in dropping to 3-2. They were particularly unsightly last week at Washington.
But they are 2-0 at home. Among their biggest challenges is slowing down a guy named Sam Bradford, who until just before the regular season was their starting quarterback. Then he was dealt to Minnesota, where he has been superb.
“I think it’s been a win-win, honestly,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson says. “In our case, our first-round (and) second overall pick (Carson Wentz) getting a chance to play this early; getting his feet wet, learning, putting us in a great spot. … He’s played a lot of football. He’s getting better every week.
“And from their standpoint, they got a good quarterback. He went to a playoff-caliber football team with a tremendous defense.”
The action began Thursday night with Aaron Rodgers throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns in Green Bay’s 26-10 home victory over Chicago.
Rodgers was 39 of 56, setting a franchise record for completions in a game. The Packers are 4-2.
The Bears (1-6) lost quarterback Brian Hoyer to a broken left arm in the second quarter. With Jay Cutler already out with a right thumb injury, Chicago turned to third-stringer Matt Barkley.
Off this week are Dallas (5-1 ) and Carolina (1-5).