5 biggest takeaways from the Vikings loss to the Browns in Week 4
By Adam Carlson
Minnesota needs to get better at stopping the run
149, 103, 106, and184. Those are the rushing yardage of teams the Vikings have played in the first four weeks of the NFL season. Every team so far has gained over 100 yards on the ground and that’s a huge disappointment.
The Vikings paid a lot of money to bring in two big run-stuffing defensive tackles that were given the name “meaty boys” before the start of the season. Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson have yet to earn that moniker this season,
Minnesota is eighth in running yards allowed per game at 135.5 and allows the fourth-most yards per carry at 4.8. For a team that invested so much money into their defensive line, those numbers are unacceptable.
Once ball carriers get into the second layer of the defense, it’s already too late. Eric Kendricks and the other linebackers or defensive backs have done a good job of limiting damage, but the team needs to get a hand on the ball carrier earlier.