Stunned Eagles end pursuit of playoff bye

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

The Philadelphia Eagles got their bye a week early — and not the way they wanted.

Joe Webb threw for 195 yards and ran for a touchdown in his first career start filling in for an injured Brett Favre, and the lowly Minnesota Vikings stunned Michael Vick and the NFC East champion Eagles 24-14 in the NFL’s first Tuesday game since 1946.

Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a score, helping the Vikings (6-9) knock Philadelphia out of contention for a first-round playoff bye.

The Eagles (10-5) could’ve secured a first-round bye with a victory over the Vikings and Dallas and with a loss by either Chicago or Atlanta next week.

Now the Eagles are locked into the NFC’s No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed on Jan. 8 or Jan. 9. Their final game against the Cowboys is meaningless in the standings, so it’s likely Vick and most of the starters will rest.

Two days after a winter storm forced a postponement, there wasn’t even a snowflake visible at the Linc. The game was switched from Sunday because of a howling storm that dumped about a foot of snow in the area.

Vick, selected as the NFC Pro Bowl starter shortly before the game, mostly struggled after his 3-yard TD pass to Clay Harbor in the first quarter gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead. He lost two fumbles, threw an interception and was sacked six times.