Philadelphia’s Recent Owning of Minnesota
It all started when Sam Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings on September 3rd, 2016. The terms of the trade were simple: Sam Bradford went to the Vikings for a 1st round pick in 2017 and a 4th round pick in 2018.
Up until that point, there really had not been much of a relationship between the two cities. They have only played 5 times total in this decade with the Vikings winning 3 times, per the Football Database. Aside from a couple playoff games in the 2000’s, Philadelphia didn’t really care about Minnesota, and Minnesota didn’t really care about Philadelphia. This trade changed everything, though.
The Philadelphia Eagles are thought to have 3 main rivals: the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and the Washington football team. Although, I won’t argue with the people who also include the Evil Empire up north from Massachusetts. With that said, in the past couple years a new (albeit one-sided) rivalry has emerged - the rivalry between Philadelphia and Minnesota. Please keep reading for a brief history lesson on this surprising rivalry (unless you are a Minnesota fan...then you might want to look away).
The first round pick was used to take Derek Barnett (remember this name), while the Eagles ended up trading that 4th round pick for Jay Ajayi. The terms of the trade gave the Eagles and their fans a clear rooting interest against the Vikings- the worse the Vikings record the higher the Eagles picks would be.
The Vikings made this trade because of the horrific injury suffered by their starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. They had super bowl aspirations and knew they needed a starting-caliber QB to fulfill those dreams. Unfortunately for them, they thought that QB was Sam Bradford. The Eagles, knowing they had a budding superstar in Carson Wentz, saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Trade Bradford to recoup draft capital given away in the Wentz trade, and elevate Wentz to starting QB.
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
The Vikings started off that 2016 season hot, winning their first 5 games. Bradford was playing well and their defense was confirming the belief that they were championship ready. In week 6 they played the Eagles, and their season went downhill from there. The Eagles defensive line destroyed the Vikings offensive line all game, forcing Bradford into 4 total fumbles (two lost), one interception, and he was sacked a total of 5 times. The Eagles won that game 21-10. This started the Vikings slide as they ended up finishing the season with an 8-8 record, going 3-8 after starting 5-0. This meant the Eagles would receive the 14th pick in the 2017 draft. As previously stated, they used this pick on Derek Barnett (still make sure to remember this name.)
These two teams did not play each other in the 2017 regular season but ended up finishing with the top two seeds in the NFC with the Eagles getting home-field advantage. Bradford injured his knee in week 1 but thanks to Case Keenum the Vikings cruised to a 13-3 record. The Eagles, meanwhile, were the best team in the NFL all season locking up the 1 seed a week before the season ended. The Eagles squeaked by the Falcons in the divisional round thanks to a goal-line stand, while the Vikings got even luckier, beating the Saints in the Minneapolis Miracle.
This led to an NFC Championship showdown between the two teams that made the fateful Sam Bradford trade. Ironically enough, neither team had their starting QB in this game. Wentz tore up his knee in week 13 and was replaced by Nick Foles, while Bradford, as stated earlier, hurt his knee and was replaced with Keenum. Heading into this game the Vikings (and their fans) were confident they would win. Hell, they even “took over” the Rocky Statue before the game- a supreme show of confidence and brashness rarely seen by away teams in Philly. They had good reason for this behavior though, as Philly was not the same team after Wentz got hurt. Foles had not played well in his relief and the Eagles offense looked out of sorts.
This confidence was warranted to start the game as the Vikings marched down the field with little resistance to take a 7-0 lead. The Eagles, meanwhile, went 3 and out on their first drive. The Vikings got the ball back hoping to add to their lead, and instead did, well, this. The Patrick Robinson pick-6 ignited the Eagles as they blow-torched the Vikings ending the game on a 38-0 run. Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes said it best, “worst ass-whooping I’ve got in my life.” Eagles:38, Vikings: 7
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
The Vikings did have a chance at the end of the first half to keep the game in check, as they were at the Eagles 16 yard-line only down 7 with a chance to tie the game. Instead, Derek Barnett (remember him?) strip-sacked Keenum and the Eagles recovered. Shortly after that Foles threw a touchdown to Alshon Jeffery and the rout was on. So, to recap, not only did the Vikings lose their own first round pick for a QB that did not start in this game, but the player the Eagles selected with that pick had a huge play in a pivotal moment of the NFC Championship game. If only that were the end of it for the Vikings.
As we all know, the winner of the NFC Championship game goes to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl this year happened to be in….you guessed it…Minnesota. Let’s recap again: The Vikings had a chance to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium, which has never been done before. Instead, they got trounced in the game leading up to it AND had to deal with rowdy, obnoxious, heavily lubricated Eagles fans invading their city for two weeks. Ouch.
I do not need to remind Eagles fans of this, but the Eagles ended up winning that Super Bowl. Derek Barnett (I told you to remember him) happened to be part of arguably the biggest play in the game too as he recovered the strip-sack of Tom Brady.
Photo By ERIC HARTLINE – USA TODAY SPORTS
As the Super Bowl champion, the Eagles headed into the 2018 season with a target on their back, but nobody wanted them more than the Vikings. Luckily, they had their chance in week 5 and to their credit, they beat the Eagles in that game too. The Eagles started the season slow and the Vikings bested them 23-21. Unfortunately for the Vikings, that was not the end of the season.
Fast-forward to week 17 and all but one of the six NFC playoff spots were locked up. Vying for that last spot were the Eagles and the Vikings. All the Vikings had to do was beat a Bears team who had nothing to play for and they were in. The only chance the Eagles had was if they won their last game against the Washington football team coupled with a Vikings loss. As I’m sure you can guess, the Vikings lost (at home) while the Eagles won (in DC) to clinch the last playoff spot.
One final recap: The Eagles used the Sam Bradford trade all the way into a Super Bowl victory in 2017 and another deep playoff run in 2018. The Vikings, with Bradford, missed the playoffs in 2016. Then, Bradford hurt his knee the following season and was benched in favor of Case Keenum. Although the Vikings did go to the NFC championship game in 2017, they lost to the Eagles and had to watch them celebrate a Super Bowl victory (which the Vikings have never won) in their city. In 2018 the Vikings also had a chance to go to the playoffs but lost in week 17 and their spot went to…. The Eagles.
Not to pile onto Minneapolis, but this lopsided rivalry was not limited to just football. These two cities found themselves linked in the NBA as well when the Timberwolves traded Jimmy Butler to the 76ers on November 12th, 2018. Butler lasted one season in Minnesota until he demanded a trade. They found a willing participant in the 76ers who were, to quote head coach Brett Brown, “start hunting,” in an attempt to fill their roster with more talent surrounding Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
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Photo by Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports
These two teams played each other twice after this trade, with the 76ers winning both times. The 76ers, with Butler’s help, ended the season as the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Timberwolves missed the playoffs entirely. Butler’s public trade demand left him the public enemy number in Minnesota as he was booed mercilessly upon his return to the city when the 76ers played the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Unfortunately for these fans, Butler thrived in the playoffs. While the 76ers were unable to make it out of the second round, Butler saved his best basketball for the biggest stage.
The Minnesota fans will find some solace in the fact that Butler might leave Philadelphia in free agency this summer, effectively ending the basketball portion of this rivalry. With that said, it could not have been fun for these fans to have to endure Butler making it to the second round of the playoffs while the Timberwolves finished 10 games below 500.
Looking forward to next season, the Eagles play the Vikings in Minnesota in week 6 on October 13th at 1PM. It will be interesting to see where these two teams stand at this point in the season. It will be year 2 of the Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota, while the Eagles are just hoping Carson Wentz can stay healthy for an entire season. The NBA schedule has not been released for the 2019-2020 season yet, but depending on what happens with Jimmy Butler there might not even be any connection between the 76ers and the Timberwolves.
Final Score Tally
- Philadelphia: 7
- Minnesota: 1
- Ties (I’ll be generous and call the Butler trade itself a tie since the 76ers were hoping to get past the second round of the playoffs.)
Featured Photo: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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