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Eagles-Vikings an NFC championship rematch of two teams looking to reverse course

Week 5 has arrived, except neither team is entering this game as they hoped. Both teams need a win to try to point their season in the right direction.

First down catch by Eagles tight end Zach Ertz late in the second quarter, and Minnesota Vikings strong safety Andrew Sendejo, #34 on the ground, during the NFC Championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Philadelphia. DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
First down catch by Eagles tight end Zach Ertz late in the second quarter, and Minnesota Vikings strong safety Andrew Sendejo, #34 on the ground, during the NFC Championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Philadelphia. DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff PhotographerRead more / File Photograph

When the Eagles' schedule was released in April, Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings was circled as a marquee game. It is a rematch of January's NFC championship, both teams entered the season as bona fide Super Bowl contenders, and the Vikings spent an offseason bolstering their lineup by adding quarterback Kirk Cousins – not to mention hiring former Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo as their play-caller.

Week 5 has arrived, but neither team is entering this game as it hoped. The Vikings are 1-2-1, including an ugly home loss to the lowly Buffalo Bills. The Eagles are 2-2 and coming off an overtime loss in Tennessee, in which they allowed three fourth-down conversions on the final drive. Each team needs a win to try to point its season in the right direction.

"We still know they're a great team, record aside," quarterback Carson Wentz said Wednesday. "Obviously, with the way it ended last year, we know we're going to get their best. So it should be a fun one on Sunday."

Neither team is overstating its plight. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer noted that his team started 2-2 last season. It finished 13-3 and, as Eagles fans remember, was one win from the Super Bowl. Two years ago, the Vikings opened 5-0 and failed to make the playoffs.

"I know the NFL is a week-to-week proposition," Zimmer said. "It's a long season. It's a grind."

But success raises expectations. The Eagles are experiencing that now. The last six times the Eagles started the season 2-2, they reached the postseason. That's not a popular talking point amid debate about whether Jalen Mills should be benched.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson emphasized that "the sky is not falling" and there's "a lot of football ahead of us." Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz told the defense that they must realize they're "one play away from being 3-1," but "also two plays away from being 0-4." That shows just how thin the margin can be in the NFL.

Wentz said the Eagles and Vikings are familiar with each other. In addition to the NFC championship game, they played in 2016. The Vikings have the same defensive scheme, although they haven't played to their standard this season. They're ranked No. 21 in total defense and No. 22 in scoring defense. They're missing pass rusher Everson Griffen, who's been absent for personal reasons, but they otherwise have most of the key personnel who made them one of the NFL's best units last season.

"I'm not looking at the first four games and saying that these guys can't play defense; I know the players that they have, I know they're good players," center Jason Kelce said. "This league, there's ups and downs. Some weeks, you got it; some weeks, you don't. We faced them last year in the playoffs and put up a lot of points on them. We can't expect that they're not going to give us their best game coming up this week."

On offense, the addition of Cousins and the introduction of DeFilippo's play-calling gives them some differences from last season. But the Eagles played against Cousins in the NFC East and know DeFilippo well, so they won't be stunned by what they see. Game situations have forced the Vikings to pass often this season – Cousins leads the league with 189 pass attempts – and Schwartz thinks their league-worst rushing offense is deceiving.

"They have a defensive coach, he's not going to stand for that very long," Schwartz said. "They want to establish the run. It's our job to keep them from doing that and keep big plays off the board."

Kelce said the Eagles would be foolish not to acknowledge that there will be "added motivation" for the Vikings after the postseason. The Eagles' internal message this year has been to "embrace the target" after winning the Super Bowl. Tight end Zach Ertz said opponents have wanted to knock off the champions each game this season. The Vikings have likely been targeting the Eagles since flying home disappointed in January.

>> READ MORE: Carson Wentz not concerned with the Eagles' 2-2 start, says 'knee thing is behind me'

Safety Malcolm Jenkins said, "Last time they came to the Linc wasn't the best showing for them, so they'll be ready to redeem that. For us, we're in a position where we need a win."

The "one-game-at-a-time" mantra is heard in locker rooms each week, but this is a pivotal stretch in the Eagles' season. They have four games until the bye week: Sunday against Minnesota, a Thursday night visit to the New York Giants, a home game against the Carolina Panthers, and then a meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Three of those teams made the playoffs last season. Two made the championship game. The Eagles need to win two to remain .500, and go at least 3-1 to enter the back stretch of the season with a winning record.

It's a long season for the Eagles, and it won't be determined in Week 5. But if they expect to return to the NFC championship game, they'll need to protect their home field and go on a run as they did last season. They'll try to start it against the championship game opponent.

"I expect it to be just as everybody thought it would be in the preseason," Ertz said. "We've got to be dialed in. We've got to be successful this game."