Minnesota Vikings vs New York Giants: Winners and losers from week 4

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Oct 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Giants running back Orleans Darkwa (26) beats the tackle of Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks (54) for a touchdown in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /

Eric Kendricks’ up and down day

The Vikings’ defense has been playing out of this world, but Eric Kendricks might have been the weak link against the Giants. The usually reliable tackler missed four tackles on Monday, which is a problem for a middle linebacker.

Kendricks is the highest graded linebacker on the Vikings, but his run defense could definitely use some improvement. Out of the 81 eligible linebackers in the NFL, Pro Football Focus only has one with a lower run defense grade than Kendricks’ 35.2 (James Laurinaitis, 29.8).

To be honest, at this point I’m really just nitpicking. The Vikings played a fantastic game against the Giants, so there really weren’t any horrible performances. But Kendricks’ poor run defense grade is worrisome, and something I’ll be keeping an eye on.

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