There is no secret that the Minnesota Vikings didn’t play their best football on Sunday afternoon. The 34-23 score was not completely reflective of the Vikings’ performance, as there were more negative performances than there were positive ones.
This is a crossroads for the Vikings. While they still remain one win or Lions loss away from winning the NFC North title for the first time since 2017, there are some real issues with this team.
Everybody can be a Monday morning quarterback, but sleeping on things can help bring some clarity. Here are the main storylines coming out of Sunday’s loss to the Lions.
The Vikings cannot run the football
The Vikings tried to establish the run against the Lions on Sunday and it was an utter failure. They ran the ball 17 times for 22 yards and failed to do much of anything. The biggest example of this was in the first half when the Vikings got a fourth and one after an offsides penalty. They ran a handoff out of the shotgun and ended up getting stuffed for no gain. That theme continued throughout and it has been a struggle in multiple games this season.
The Vikings could not get pressure all day
One of the easiest ways to impact the Lions offense is by pressuring quarterback Jared Goff. He plays really well in rhythm and plays really well from within the pocket. When pressured, Goff can get rattled and make some poor decisions. The Vikings weren’t able to see that side of Goff because they couldn’t get pressure on the former first-overall pick. That explains a lot about the success of the Lions offense.
The secondary is a problem
The idea of how the Vikings wanted to build this defense is sound in nature. Keep things in front of you and don’t let the receivers get behind you. The big problem with that is poor communication can ruin that style of defense.
The Vikings had that happen on the first Lions touchdown where Camryn Bynum was supposed to carry Jameson Williams on the deep post but got caught up with the dig route underneath. That is one major issue with the other being talent and awareness. Cameron Dantzler allowed D.J. Chark to get behind him in cover-3 which is a big no-no. If Josh Metellus disguises the look as 2-high coverage a little better before rotating down, that could have been avoided as well.
The Vikings have secondary issues, but how much of it can be fixed? Right now, not a whole lot can be done. The three secondary players that the Vikings’ drafted to help fortify the defense are all on injured reserve and the Vikings can’t get them valuable experience while they continue to go through these growing pains. They will also need to look at fortifying the unit going into next season, likely with a free agent or two.
The offense won't always be enough
Despite the issues on the defensive side of the football, the offense was pretty good. Kirk Cousins threw for over 400 yards and Justin Jefferson set a team record with 223 yards receiving, a number that could have been higher if he was awarded the touchdown where he was ruled out of bounds.
The concern is that the offense isn’t enough anymore to overcome the defensive struggles. Cousins and Jefferson have the ability to have great games each week, but it’s now at a point where they can’t be expected to carry the team each week. Putting up 30 points every week isn’t sustainable, as it showed against the Lions and they need some help. The return of Christian Darrisaw to the offense should make an impact, as the rushing game is nearly twice as effective with him in the lineup.
Vikings with Christian Darrisaw on the field:
— 4.67 yards per rush
— 1.35 yards per rush before contact
— 21.3% runs for 0 or negativesVikings with Darrisaw off the field:
— 2.88 yards per rush
— 0.71 yards per rush before contact
— 37.5% runs for 0 or negatives— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) December 12, 2022
Is it time to hit the panic button?
Without being too hyperbolic, the answer is yes.
We knew coming into the year that the defense didn’t have the talent to be a great unit this season, but it’s turning out to be a bigger disaster than we anticipated. The secondary is struggling to play with any form of consistency and the pass rush can’t get to the quarterback either.
It’s not a long-term panic button, especially with the offense flush with pieces to be successful for years to come, but rather just for the success of this season. They need to have some form of defensive renaissance and that is extremely unlikely considering the personnel that they have at their disposal.
We will be talking more about this on Monday night’s episode of The Real Forno Show, including a preview of Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts with Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star.
