What is wrong with the Minnesota Vikings’ defense?

Is it already time to worry about the defense of the Minnesota Vikings after an uncharacteristic beginning to the 2018 season?

Prior to Thursday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, the Minnesota Vikings had never allowed an opponent to finish a game with 500 total yards or more since Mike Zimmer became the team’s head coach in 2014,. The Vikings’ defense had not even given up 400 yards or more to an opponent since Week 15 of the 2016 season.

Well, that streak was broken against the Rams on Thursday. Against Minnesota this week, Los Angeles racked up a total of 556 yards, the most the Vikings have given up to an opponent since Week 15 of the 2011 season against the New Orleans Saints.

It was a very poor performance on Thursday from a Minnesota defense that finished on top of the NFL a year ago in total yards allowed per game. The Rams’ offense looked like they were playing on rookie mode in Madden and could basically do whatever they pleased on the field against the Vikings.

Minnesota Vikings

Obviously, it’s a performance that Minnesota would like to forget about. But through four weeks of the 2018 season, is it time to worry about a Vikings defense that was expected to be elite once again this year?

If Minnesota continues to play like they did on Thursday during their next few games, then go ahead and lose faith in the defense being the most reliable part of this season’s team. But for now, put the brakes on the sky falling for the Vikings on the defensive side of the ball.

Take a look at the circumstances Minnesota had to deal with heading into Thursday’s matchup with Los Angeles. The Vikings had less than four days to prepare for an extremely explosive Rams offense, the game was on the road, and Minnesota was missing their top pass rusher in Everson Griffen.

Under Zimmer, the Vikings’ defense has actually never really performed that well in away games on a grass field against teams with a .500 record or better. In these specific matchups since Week 2 of the 2017 season (including the playoffs), Minnesota has allowed an average of 403.6 yards and 31.1 points to their opponents per game.

At home under these same circumstances, the Vikings defense is giving up just 288.9 yards and 15.4 points per matchup. Outside and on the road against a talented opponent has just never really been a time when Minnesota’s defenders live up to their “elite” label.

With this being in mind, the Vikings’ defense could be in for another underwhelming performance when they travel to Philadelphia in Week 5 to take on the Eagles.

But after that matchup, Minnesota plays three of their next four games inside U.S. Bank Stadium, including contests against the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets. The Vikings’ defense should be able to get back on track during that four-game stretch and help settle down the blood pressure of their fan base.

So is there something wrong with Minnesota’s defense after four weeks of the current season? At this point, it really doesn’t seem like there is anything abnormal to be concerned about.

The Vikings have struggled on the road against talented opponents under Zimmer and that trend just continued on Thursday in their loss to the Rams.