When Olympic cross-country skiing gold medalist Jessie Diggins visited the Vikings' practice facility Friday, she gave a speech to the team that centered on the theme Vikings coaches had been preaching to players all week: the importance of finishing.
Third-year defensive end Stephen Weatherly was paying rapt attention, knowing he was set for a busy day of work Sunday as one of the Vikings' only two healthy defensive ends heading to Philadelphia. Weatherly and Danielle Hunter had been working on their conditioning all week in preparation for the game, but Diggins' message drove the point home.
"She said she doesn't know much about football; she definitely doesn't know what it's like to go out there and try to maul someone," Weatherly said. "But one thing she does know is the preparation, and what it's like when you're in your moment, for your sport, and there's that crucial time, and you've given everything you have up to that point — but you need more. Everyone has felt that, at every position, when we feel like we've given it all, but now that crucial point is coming up. What will you do?"
Before this season, Weatherly had few chances to showcase himself on an NFL field. But by playing 54 of the Vikings' 59 defensive snaps Sunday, the 2016 seventh-round pick delivered the biggest moment of his career.
Weatherly's second career sack started with an outside rush on right tackle Lane Johnson, before beating him to the inside with an up-and-under move once he got Johnson to shift his weight. Weatherly swatted the ball out of Carson Wentz's hand, and into the waiting arms of Linval Joseph, who rumbled 64 yards for a touchdown.
While Everson Griffen remains away from the team while dealing with mental health issues, the Vikings have turned to Weatherly, installing him as their starting left end while moving Danielle Hunter to Griffen's normal spot on the right side.