The Minnesota Vikings have had an up and down season on offense, but their defense has lived up to it’s billing in the first half.
Overall, the Minnesota Vikings have had a successful first half of their 2019 season as they currently sit at 6-2 and are in the middle of the NFC playoff race. While the offensive side of the ball has had plenty of ups and downs in the first eight games, the Vikings’ defense has been much less dramatic as we hit the midway point.
The defense has been among the league’s best since Mike Zimmer took over in Minnesota in 2014 and it’s just been business as usual for the unit this year.
The Vikings have gotten a tremendous effort from their front seven and while the cornerbacks have had some issues shutting down opposing receivers, the safety tandem of Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris has turned out to be a perfect fit.
Overall, the defense has arguably had just one bad quarter this season after allowing 14 points (and a touchdown shortly into the second quarter) against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. Other than that, Minnesota’s defensive unit has been impressive in 2019, allowing 16.5 points per game and ranking 14th in total defense after Week 8.
With the Vikings looking to finalize their playoff push during the second half of their schedule, we’ll take a look at the defensive side of the ball and hand out some midseason grades by measuring the performance of each position group and their ability to meet preseason expectations.