Minnesota Vikings MVPs: Week 11 vs. the Dallas Cowboys

Defensive MVP – Honorable Mentions

Although the Vikings offense was a great unit on Sunday, the same can’t be said for the defense. The team wasn’t able to get a lot of pressure on Andy Dalton and that resulted in him having time to pick apart a young Minnesota secondary.

In addition, the Cowboys offense made some great plays. CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper were hard to cover and Tony Pollard broke a big 42-yard run for a score. In the end, Minnesota couldn’t capitalize on Dallas’ mistakes and that was the difference-maker in this game.

Here are some Vikings defenders who had great games, but didn’t quite earn MVP status.

Jalyn Holmes – DL

Jalyn Holmes had two of the four total pressures the Vikings were able to get on Dalton in this game and he was the only consistent force able to disrupt the Cowboys quarterback. Plus, he had six tackles on the day (three solo).

Harrison Smith – S

While the secondary struggled in general, Harrison Smith was busy making plays. Although he will be 32-years-old in February, the safety continues to be a dominant force among the defensive backs and an asset in all phases of the defense. He had eight tackles on Sunday, four of those being solo efforts.

Jaleel Johnson – DT

This has been a weird year for the big man on the defensive line. With Linval Joseph gone and Michael Pierce opting out, Jaleel Johnson was thrust into the starting lineup. His big frame paid off pretty well against Dallas, allowing him to get eight tackles with three of those being solo efforts and one being a sack on Dalton.