Vikings’ biggest nightmare on defense got painfully real in Week 1

Of all the offseason moves made by the Minnesota Vikings — and there were a lot of them — the team’s new-look cornerback group was easily the most concerning among fans.

As fun as Monday night’s fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears was, Week 1 wasn’t exactly a hot start for defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ secondary.

According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, the Vikings ranked dead-last among the NFL’s 32 teams in coverage, earning an overall grade of 40.2.

One of the biggest culprits was Bryon Murphy Jr., who, per PFF, was cooked for five receptions, 64 yards, and a touchdown; Bears QB Caleb Williams had a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting Minnesota’s top cornerback.

It’s important not to read too much into that. Murphy, for example, was charged with Rome Odunze’s touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter — but the real credit goes to Ben Johnson for scheming up a wide-open Luther Burden in the flat; Murphy was left in no man’s land on that play.

With that said, Murphy’s at his best when deployed as a chess piece in Flores’ scheme, evidenced by his Pro Bowl season in 2024. We saw less of that usage in the season opener.

The Vikings played a ton of zone — they only played man coverage on six of their 47 coverage snaps, per PFF’s Bradley Locker — and as a result, Murphy lined up as a true outside cornerback on 50 of his 67 total defensive snaps, his most since Week 12 of 2023.

That’s never really been Murphy’s game. He lined up outside on just 60.5 percent of his snaps last season; the others were spent covering the slot (29%) or other areas around the line of scrimmage.

It’s entirely possible that Monday’s game plan was specific to stopping Johnson’s exotic offense. We’ll find out soon enough, though, if Minnesota’s lack of a true No. 1 corner will haunt this 2025 season, as fans feared.

Minnesota Vikings shaky CB situation will be tested in Week 2 by Drake London and the Atlanta Falcons

The Vikings’ Week 2 home opener against the Atlanta Falcons offers some intriguing matchups, especially in pass coverage.

QB Michael Penix has an array of weapons at his disposal, with No. 1 wide receiver Drake London at the fore. London was peppered with targets in Atlanta’s tight loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, and how Minnesota goes about covering him in this game will be telling.

With No. 3 cornerback Jeff Okudah working through the NFL’s concussion protocol — he was spotted at practice in a red non-contact jersey on Friday, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune — the Vikings could be shorthanded in the secondary.

That’s not to mention other key injuries on defense, like star middle linebacker Blake Cashman (hamstring) and All-Pro edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion). Obviously, that’s less than ideal against a dangerous Falcons offense that also features versatile running back Bijan Robinson and athletic freak tight end Kyle Pitts, among others.

This will be another chess-match game for Flores, only he’ll be down some major pieces from the jump. It feels like your quintessential blitz-heavy, man-to-man, get after the QB type of week for the Vikings, facing a quarterback making his fifth career NFL start.

But Minnesota would need to trust its cover guys to make a plan like that work. As it stands, the concerns fans felt over a shaky cornerback room led by Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers, Okudah, and Dwight McGlothern are very much justified.

The Vikings' biggest red flag is waving vigorously entering Week 2 at The Bank.