Minnesota Vikings pass defense solid with or without quarterback pressure

The Minnesota Vikings are known for hard-nosed defense with a strong pass rush and statistics show that they get respect from opposing quarterbacks.

Being a fan of the Minnesota Vikings is a rollercoaster. There have been some amazing seasons in franchise history and there have been some which are better forgotten. One thing for certain is that the team is pretty good right now.

The Vikings offense boasts great weapons in Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Dalvin Cook, and more, but where Minnesota truly shines is their powerful defense under head coach Mike Zimmer.

Zimmer’s formula is pretty simple: pair a strong pass rush with good coverage in the secondary and mix in solid tackling. That formula has helped the team win quite a few games over the years and create stars like Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr, Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, and Eric Kendricks.

Recently, Football Outsiders released a ranking where each team stands when it comes to success when achieving pressure and when the team doesn’t get to the quarterback. The results for the Minnesota Vikings were quite interesting. Here are the values along with the league ranking from 2018:

• Pressure rate: 33.7% (fifth)
• DVOA with pressure: 82.7% (fourth)
• DVOA with no pressure: 35.3% (eleventh)
• DVOA differential: -117.9% (fifth)

First, we have to take a look at what DVOA means. According to FO, it is the “defense-adjusted value over average” which takes into account the opponent’s success against a defense compared to the league average as well as the situational factors regarding each play.

It is easy to tell from the numbers that Minnesota is among the elite units in the league at getting pressure and making it count. With a high rate of pressure as well as when achieving pressure, Zimmer’s defense is doing its job…even in a year where the team was considered to have a disappointing year.

What is interesting though is that when the team doesn’t get pressure on opposing teams that they still have a really good record of success defensively. That means that even if the pass rush doesn’t succeed, the coverage of the secondary and surefire tackling of linebackers can stop a play dead in its tracks.

This is a testament to how strong the individual play in the secondary is. Sending a heavy pass rush isn’t always successful, but Minnesota can not only feel comfortable going after quarterbacks but they can create interesting looks to get pressure from different directions and make their defense harder to read.

What is an even bigger bonus when looking at these statistics is now they are bound to improve in 2019. If the Minnesota Vikings can improve upon their time of possession and give opposing offenses fewer opportunities, the sky is the limit for just how good the team’s defense could be.