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Eagles, Vikings trying to reverse struggles

Oct 28, 2007 - 10:54 AM Philadelphia (2-4) at Minnesota (2-4) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - A stunning setback has the Philadelphia Eagles on the verge of falling out of postseason contention.

The defending NFC East champions look to climb back into the playoff race in Sunday's road clash with the Minnesota Vikings.

Philadelphia entered the season as one of the favorites to emerge from the NFC, but instead is at the bottom of its division following a last-second 19-16 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The Eagles allowed Brian Griese to drive the Bears 97 yards for the winning touchdown with nine seconds to play.

It was the first offensive TD allowed in 10 quarters by the Eagles and left them with a better record than just two other teams in the NFC.

"We feel like we have hope, but we need a drastic change," Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown said. "We need to get on a roll soon. We can't keep going through these inconsistencies as a team. We won't make it to the playoffs like that."

Of course, Philadelphia is having problems of its own getting into the end zone. Since laying a 56-21 beating on the Detroit Lions on September 23, the Eagles have managed just two touchdowns in their last three games.

The only touchdown scored against the Bears came on Donovan McNabb's 13-yard touchdown pass to Matt Schobel with 4:57 left in the fourth quarter.

"As an offense, our goal is to score touchdowns," said Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who had a combined 119 yards from scrimmage. "We can't keep relying on Dave to kick field goals for us. It's frustrating that we can't punch it in."

The Vikings are having similar issues behind second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who completed just just 6-of-19 passes for 72 yards in a 24-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Jackson suffered a fractured index finger on his throwing hand but coach Brad Childress indicated he expected him to play.

Locked in a tie game, Minnesota appeared on the verge of a major upset until Chris Canty blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Longwell and safety Pat Watkins returned it 68 yards for the go-ahead score.

One week after gaining 224 yards against the Chicago Bears, standout rookie running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 63 yards and one touchdown on just 12 carries.

Peterson, who continues to share time in the backfield with Chester Taylor, also had a key fumble late that allowed the Cowboys to extend the lead to the final margin.