Eagles must dig out of snow game; also, Bears game flexed
As amazing and historic as the victory over Detroit was, it's Tuesday now and the Eagles are getting ready to play the Vikings, who might or might not be without Adrian Peterson. The Dec. 22 home game against the Bears is now an 8:30 start.
Refocusing has not been much of a problem for the Eagles lately, which is one reason they've won their last five games, and seven of their last nine. But this week they're coming off a game everyone is still buzzing about, preparing to visit a banged-up opponent that has already been eliminated from postseason consideration.
"We've been doing it all along," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said Tuesday. He said that even though the Birds have won 5 in a row, "there's a lot out there still, and it all starts with staying focused on playing the Vikings ... There's nothing really in our sights other than playing Minnesota. Our guys have done it, and displayed to us in the last few weeks that they can do it, so it's just, hit the reset button and let's go.
"It was a good win. We beat a very good opponent. We found a way to come back from a (14-point) deficit. There were some lead changes, and we battled through it -- all things we weren't surprised at, we saw from our team. And so now we put that to bed and we move forward."
They move forward not knowing if they will face running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson, who suffered a foot injury in Sunday's loss to Baltimore, said Monday he intends to try to play, but an ESPN report later in the day cast doubt on that. Obviously, Peterson has to be cleared medically, and the Vikings might be more interested in not getting him hurt any worse.
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The Eagles' Dec. 22 home game against Chicago, the last of the season at the Linc, has been flexed from 1 p.m. to 8:30. Bundle up.
This is an inevitable consequence of the Birds taking over the lead in the NFC East. They haven't played in prime time since Andy Reid visited back in September.