The Eagles Defense Tore the Vikings Offensive Line to Shreds

The Minnesota Vikings came into Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles undefeated, but they had one area of weakness: the offensive line. Since the off-season, Minnesota has released center John Sullivan, tackles Andre Smith and Matt Kalil have both been placed on IR, and guard Mike Harris is on the NFI list. While Joe Berger filled in ably at guard last season, and guard Brandon Fusco and off-season signing Alex Boone have solidified the interior, tackle is still a mess.

Undrafted free agent Jeremiah Sirles, free-agent signing Jake Long, and second-year tackle T.J. Clemmings manned the position against Jim Schwartz's Wide Nine schematics on Sunday, and the Vikings quickly fell behind. When they tried to pass some more, it just got uglier.

By the end of the game, there had been 16 different hits on quarterback Sam Bradford—an absurd number. Let's look at some of the most embarrassing whiffs.

First, on Bradford's interception, the ball was completely up for grabs because Brandon Graham bulldozed right past Clemmings (#68) and into Bradford's arm:

On this sack and fumble, two different Vikings—the back and left tackle Jake Long—had no chance. Long (#72) looks like he can barely strafe left.

Here's a zone blitz where the Eagles only send four, but again both a back and a tackle (Sirles, #78) get played by the rushers. Bradford doesn't have a prayer. This is six trying to block four, Kyle Rudolph even gives a chip, and Bradford still had no time.

And, to show you that Bradford was still playing reasonably well despite this, here's a deep play-action drop.

The back, again, gets manhandled. Another rusher is bearing down after beating Clemmings on the left side. A third is coming on a fire blitz. And Bradford still stepped into his throw and weaved a tight ball to Stefon Diggs.

Minnesota had a major weakness exposed on Sunday. It's not one that threatens to ruin their season or anything—after all, the Seahawks and Panthers did pretty well last year without any tackle play—but it does mean that playing from behind is tough for them. The more pass-heavy their game scripts become, the harder this will be to cover up.