Lost in the madness of the Minnesota Vikings getting a wild Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears was a game-changing stat that had nothing to do with quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
While McCarthy was wowing the NFL world with a money fourth quarter, Minnesota’s defense was buzzing around Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at an elite rate. The Vikings only sacked Williams twice, but they piled up 30 pressures and 25 hurries, per Pro Football Focus, setting the stage for McCarthy and the offense to figure things out.
To the chagrin of Vikings fans, Week 2 was a different story for defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ crew.
Down some key pieces, like middle linebacker Blake Cashman (hamstring) and EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion), the Atlanta Falcons knew exactly how to neutralize one of the Vikings' top strengths. The Falcons fed the Vikings a heavy dose of running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier early and often.
The Vikings deserve credit for holding Atlanta out of the end zone until the fourth quarter, but they were gashed on the ground all night for 218 yards and a 5.6 per-carry average.
Atlanta Falcons exposed a potential fatal flaw in Minnesota Vikings stout defense
Potential matchup nightmares, like Atlanta’s Drake London vs. Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., wound up being less of an issue than anticipated on Sunday night. The Falcons were more than happy to take the easy money both on the ground and in the quick passing game.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. only attempted 21 passes against the Vikings. According to PFF, 15 of those attempts were either behind the line of scrimmage or within 10 yards. The quick game allowed Penix to avoid Minnesota’s elite pass rush by getting rid of the football quickly.
The Vikings were able to sack Penix three times, but their overall QB pressure (22) and hurry (10) numbers failed in comparison to Week 1. The Falcons scored points on six of their 10 possessions and only punted the ball away three times.
Minnesota’s defense will get a boost once Van Ginkel returns to practice. The bigger issue is the loss of Cashman, who will miss at least the next three games.
The Vikings’ tackling on the second level was brutal against Robinson, Allgeier, and the Falcons. PFF charted five missed tackles in the game for linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. alone — and a whopping 16 for the team.
That’s not going to fly for Flores. The Vikings could face a run-heavy game plan from the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 with star quarterback Joe Burrow on the shelf with turf toe.
Upcoming games against the Steelers, Browns, Eagles, Chargers, Ravens, and Lions could all go sideways in a hurry if Minnesota can’t tackle better and stop the run.
It was easy to be concerned about the secondary entering the season, with safety Cam Bynum now in Indianapolis and Murphy Jr. now firmly supplanted as the team’s No. 1 outside corner.
But the Falcons effortlessly got the ball in space between the 20s on Sunday night, and muddying those waters has to be priority No. 1 for Flores entering Week 3.