Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!
In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.
It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.
On the twelfth SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: Joe Webb dominating the Philadelphia Eagles on a Tuesday night.
The Vikings had quite the 2010 season. After waiting until the preseason was nearly over to get their starting quarterback on the team in Brett Favre, things did not go according to plan. The team had dealt with some interesting circumstances throughout the season. They had traded for and then released Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, fired their head coach Brad Childress for the move and the Metrodome roof collapsed.
This doesn’t even include that Brett Favre sustained an injury the week prior to this game against the Chicago Bears and it forced Favre to miss his second-consecutive start, which broke his streak of 297 consecutive starts dating all the way back to 1992.
With the Metrodome’s roof collapsing, the Vikings already saw one of their games get moved to Detroit where they played the New York Giants on a Monday night two weeks prior to this game.
For the week 16 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles, they moved it back from Sunday night to Tuesday night due to the Philadelphia area getting bombarded with more than a foot of snow and blizzard-like conditions. Because of that, the Eagles won the NFC East sitting at home, as the New York Giants beat the Green Bay Packers to secure the crown for Andy Reid’s team.
When the game happened, it was a much-better game than you would have thought that the 5-9 Vikings would give the Eagles their fifth loss of the season, dropping their record to 10-5
There were two major factors in the game: the Vikings forced three turnovers including scoring their first touchdown on an Antoine Winfield 45-yard scoop-and-score.
The biggest performance of the night was from backup quarterback Joe Webb. The Vikings initially drafted the former UAB quarterback as a wide receiver, but they kept him at quarterback after he performed so well in minicamp.
The Vikings crafted a really good game plan to stop the Eagles’ highly potent passing attack and maximize a dual-threat Webb. He finished throwing 17-26 for 195 yards along with six carries for 31 yards. His presence was excellent on many levels and much-needed for the Vikings after such a tumultuous season. The dual-threat ability of the rookie quarterback proved to be too much for the Eagles on that fateful Tuesday night and we can all celebrate Webb for his beyond-impressive performance.
Previous SKOL’s of Christmas:
Drafting Randy Moss
Vikings 1997 Wild Card Comeback
Jarius Wright Walks Off the Jets
Jared Allen traded to Vikings
Adrian Peterson Sets Rushing Record
Brett Favre Revenge Tour
Bud Grant Rocks a Polo in Freezing Temperatures
Adrian Peterson Stiff Arms Defender to Oblivion
Anthony Carter Dominates the 1987 Playoffs
Kirk Cousins’ First Major Comeback
Randy Moss Dominates Monday Night Football