The Minnesota Vikings scored a hard-fought victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon by a score of 29-22.
During Sunday’s game, the performances of both individual players and the team were mostly really good. The Vikings proved once again that the offensive line is better than they have had in years.
Let’s take a look at the PFF grades against the Bears.
Top 3 offense
- LG Ezra Cleveland 90.0
- WR Justin Jefferson 86.4
- LT Christian Darrisaw 82.9
The offensive line has been a real renaissance. The unit is ranked in the top 10 in multiple metrics across both ESPN and PFF. Both Cleveland and Darrisaw didn’t allow one pressure on Sunday against the Bears and quite frankly dominated. As far as Jefferson, his success has been nothing short of outstanding. He set team the team record for most catches in the first half with 10 and a career-high with 12.
Bottom 3 offense
- TE Johnny Mundt 55.3
- WR K.J. Osborn 56.9
- WR Adam Thielen 59.1
It’s really hard to classify any of these as bad for the Vikings. All three players graded out just below average and weren’t all that involved in the offense with Jefferson being otherworldly. The Vikings have to be happy with their worst offensive grades being right below the average.
Top 3 defense
- CB Cameron Dantzler 86.3
- NT Harrison Phillips 79.1
- OLB D.J. Wonnum 77.0
Dantzler holding the top spot makes all the sense in the world. He was the player that secured the win over the Bears by stripping Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Phillips only played 28 total snaps but did get two pressures on 16 total pass rush reps. He has been really solid in the middle of the Vikings’ defense. Wonnum has really shown some improvement this season. He tied for a team-high with five pressures and did so in only 15 pass-rush snaps.
Bottom 3 defense
- S Camryn Bynum 30.2
- OLB Danielle Hunter 47.9
- OLB Za’Darius Smith 49.9
Bynum didn’t make many plays on Sunday. He only had one tackle while allowing both targets to be caught for 19 yards and a touchdown. Tough game for him. With Hunter and Smith, it’s a slightly different story. Smith had five pressures and sack while Hunter had two pressures and a sack. They just weren’t the most consistent players on Sunday afternoon against a porous offensive line.
Other notables
- RB Dalvin Cook 75.3
- RT Brian O’Neill 73.9
- C Garrett Bradbury 72.1
- QB Kirk Cousins 71.3
- DE Dalvin Tomlinson 69.8
- CB Patrick Peterson 53.1
