3 problems the Vikings need to fix before Week 9 vs. Indianapolis

The Minnesota Vikings scorching start to the season has come to a screeching halt lately, as they have now lost their last 2 games. The team still sits at a solid 5-2 record and is currently a playoff team, but things have not looked the same these past 2 weeks as they did to start the season. The Vikings lost star left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a knee injury in their last game, which throws an even bigger wrench in the season for Minnesota.

The Vikings are still playoff hopefuls, and even without Darrisaw they still have a solid roster, but there will certainly be some fixes for Minnesota that need to be made if they wish to stay as a playoff squad. After a tough loss to the Los Angeles Rams, what holes were exposed in the Vikings team that need to be fixed before their primetime showdown with the 4-4 Indianapolis Colts?

3 problems the Vikings need to fix before week 9 vs. Indianapolis

Defense as a whole

The Minnesota Vikings defense has done a complete 180 this past few weeks, and that is not a good thing. After looking like one of the better defensive units in football, their last two games against the Lions and Rams have made the defense look subpar at best. Even though Sean McVay and Ben Johnson are some of the better play-callers in football, that is still no excuse for Minnesota to be this badly outplayed.

Only a handful of Vikings defenders seem to be winning their matchups lately, after starting the season with the whole defense looking complete. The biggest issue that Minnesota has faced lately is their lack of pressure on the opposing QB. Detroit boasts arguably the best line in football, but the Rams line hasn't been spectacular this season, yet they stonewalled the Vikings pass rush. Greenard and Van Ginkel are still solid, but the lack of blitz success by Minnesota, paired with the ineffectiveness of the defensive line in the middle have given opposing offenses too much time to make plays.

With Minnesota's struggling pass-rush comes Minnesota's struggling secondary, as Vikings corners have looked lackluster lately, and given that the opposing QB's have time in the pocket, it makes the job even harder on Minnesota's secondary to contain their man. Is the answer to Minnesota's struggles to get another CB? Maybe get a disruptive defensive tackle? Whatever the case, Minnesota needs to find a solution to their issues quickly.

Spread the offensive wealth

When you have a superstar like Justin Jefferson, it's hard to want to look anywhere else to pass the ball if you're Sam Darnold, but he needs to move the ball around. This conversation has heated up due to Jordan Addison's social media post saying "Free 3", and while Addison's antics aren't being forgiven, he does make a good point.

Minnesota used a 1st round pick on Jordan Addison, and while his off-the-field results have been undesirable, it's hard to deny that he's been a good player on the field. Addison routinely gets open, but it seems as though Sam Darnold only looks Jefferson's way most of the time, which makes the Vikings offense easy to predict. Spreading the ball to Addison, and T.J. Hockenson upon his return, makes the offense that much harder to scheme around. Minnesota has the weapons to be successful, but if Darnold continues to stare down Justin Jefferson, this high-powered offense can sputter out very quickly.

Simplify the offense

It seems like every week the Vikings get called for "illegal formation" on multiple occasions. While the continuous moving pieces in Minnesota's offense are well thought out, if the team continues to fail in executing the game plan, maybe something needs to change. Especially now with the loss of Christian Darrisaw, the Vikings offense needs some tweaking.

A lot of the Vikings passing game is letting Sam Darnold drop back and find his receivers down the field, but after losing Darrisaw, the Vikings don't have the ability to give Darnold as much time as he needs now. If Minnesota can't go for the bigger chunk plays as often anymore, they certainly can't be behind the sticks as often due to penalties destroying their drives. This isn't calling for Minnesota to completely lose their game plan and create a generic, vanilla offense, but there are fixes to be made. If Minnesota stopped digging themselves into holes with penalties there wouldn't be as much cause for concern, but the Vikings cannot seem to get out of their own way and it's hindering what should be a stellar offense.

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