Eagles punish Sam Bradford, hand Vikings first loss

PHILADELPHIA — The sloppy, turnover-prone football Eagles fans are used to seeing from Sam Bradford resurfaced Sunday in the quarterback’s Philadelphia homecoming.

The Minnesota Vikings passer – acquired from the Eagles in a September trade after Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury – had been steady so far this season, not committing a single turnover through the first five games.

But in a 21-10 loss to the Eagles — the first of the season for the Vikings — a familiar pattern for Bradford played out before the Philly faithful. Errant passes. Forced throws into double coverage. And lots of stalled drives ending in punts.

Bradford, who entered the game with a sparkling 109.6 passer rating, sputtered as the Vikes compiled just 282 yards of total offense, with the team’s only touchdown coming in garbage time with the game out of hand. The former No. 1 overall pick, whose snakebitten career has been marked by a pair of serious knee injuries, could never get into a rhythm.

He tossed one interception and fumbled four times -- losing two – while under constant duress from an Eagles pass rush that sacked him six times. Bradford finished with 224 yards through the air on 24-of-41 passing.

Carson Wentz, the 2016 No. 2 overall pick who replaced Bradford under center in Philadelphia, wasn’t much better  with 138 yards on 16-of-28 passing for one TD and two INTS. The Eagles, though, returned a kickoff for a score for the second consecutive week  (98 yards from Josh Huff).

It was a mistake-filled game from the start. The teams traded punts before turning the ball over on five consecutive possessions (two from the Vikes; three for the Eagles).

Neither team could capitalize on the opportunities, but it was Wentz who spearheaded a 77-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, capped by a 5-yard grab by Dorial Green-Beckham to effectively put the game out of reach for the anemic Vikings offense.

The Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 4-2, while the Vikes are now 5-1.

PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 7