Vikings Defense Reverted to Old Ways in Week 16
Ted Schwerzler
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Against the New York Giants the Minnesota Vikings defense found themselves in a similar situation. While they did make a historic comeback against the Indianapolis Colts, a notable development was the ability to hold their opposition under 400 total yards. That didn’t hold for consecutive weeks as the Giants racked up 445 Saturday.
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All season long, the bugaboo for Minnesota has been the performance of their defense. Ed Donatell’s unit has not done a good job limiting production from opposing offenses, and while they’ve prided themselves on a “bend but don’t break” strategy, plenty of points have been scored with opportunity aplenty.
The two largest problem areas for Minnesota have been the revolving door of production in the secondary, and the lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Behind Patrick Peterson, there has been little consistency at the cornerback position. Chandon Sullivan has been mediocre, and while Akayleb Evans flashed as a rookie when healthy, he’s currently on injured reserve. Cam Dantzler has been unhealthy as well, and Duke Shelley has needed to step up out of nowhere.
Although it has been nice to see both Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith rack up sacks, they have been stymied at times and completely taken out of the gameplan. Donatell has failed to scheme them in ways to bring down the quarterback at times, and while their talent has reigned supreme as a whole, consistency hasn’t exactly been key.
Against the Giants, a bit of everything took place. Daniel Jones was able to find Isaiah Hodgins a bit too easy at times, but Peterson came up huge with a late interception that had him getting the last laugh. Despite New York putting up 445 yards, Hunter did bring down Jones twice and the Vikings tallied three sacks on the afternoon.
While the step forward, especially in the second half, was nice to see against the Colts it was certainly short-lived. Detroit put up a terrible performance, being run all over by the Carolina Panthers, and are back in last allowing over 409 yards per game. The Vikings efforts pushed their yards per game total back into the 400’s at 402.3 though, and they’re more than 20 yards per game behind the next worst team.
Over the next two weeks it will be interesting to see how Kevin O’Connell and Donatell respond. The refrain following a Lions loss was that things would be tightened up. That hasn’t exactly been the case, and both the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears should present straightforward opportunities.
While the Packers are playing for their playoff lives, they remain a predictable team that Minnesota limited to just 338 yards in Week 1. The Bears were held to just 271 yards in Week 5, and Justin Fields was basically rendered useless.
Much of the Packers game was decided after Christian Watson dropped a wide-open pass early in the game. Aaron Rodgers and his squad never fully recovered. That likely won’t be the same type of outcome in Week 17, and with weather, Minnesota will certainly need to dial in. The Bears game in Week 18 will also feature a weather component and Fields has come on of late. The Vikings have everything they need to know, but it will be on them to execute.
The current status of the defense may win a first-round playoff game against a six or seven seed. It’s going to be tough for that type of unit to hang with the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles though, and if a Super Bowl is the goal, time is running out to get it right.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.