Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said the other day that whichever highly regarded defense steps up in Sunday’s NFC championship game, that team will prevail. And looking at the matchup, it is hard to disagree.
Both teams are capable of shutting down the run – the Eagles ranked first there, the visiting Minnesota Vikings ranked second – but the place where the Eagles really must perform is in pass defense, to narrow a seeming disparity with their visitors. The Vikings’ 3,078 passing yards allowed were the NFL’s second-fewest, and their 13 touchdown passes allowed were the fewest. The Eagles’ defense ranked 17th in passing yardage, 3,637, though opponents often had a hard time turning those yards into points, particularly at Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles have allowed just five touchdown passes in their last six home games.