The Minnesota Vikings already knew Ben Johnson could give Brian Flores problems. Johnson's history against Flores established that long before this week. What changed in Week 1 is the shape of the problem Flores has to solve in Chicago on Sunday.
Johnson's Bears dropped 59 points on Carolina while rushing for 291 yards and six touchdowns. D'Andre Swift ran for 124 yards and three scores, Kyle Monangai added 100 yards and another touchdown, and Caleb Williams chipped in 65 rushing yards with two scores. Carolina's defense isn't Minnesota's defense, obviously, but that's still a ridiculous amount of damage on the ground.
Then there's what Flores just did against Green Bay. Pro Football Focus's Week 1 blitz rates had Minnesota at a league-high 82.1 percent (55 of 67 plays). Washington was next at only 50.9 percent. Flores essentially spent the afternoon flooring the gas pedal, and now he's facing an offensive coach who has spent years figuring out where that aggression leaves an opening.
Ben Johnson can make the Minnesota Vikings pay for Brian Flores' aggression
The concern isn't as simple as blitzing equals bad run defense. Minnesota held Green Bay to just 66 rushing yards and zero rushing touchdowns despite all that pressure, so Flores has evidence that his defense can attack without completely losing its run fits.
Chicago presents a different stress test.
When linebackers crowd the line, safeties rotate down, and defenders threaten multiple gaps before the snap, Johnson can use motion, option concepts, and misdirection to force those defenders to declare where they're going. One defender gets too eager, and Swift has a cutback lane. Lose contain and Williams can turn a broken play into 20 yards. Get washed out by motion or a puller, and Monangai is already into the second level.
That's exactly why Minnesota can't treat its 82.1 percent blitz rate like some shiny new identity.
Flores learned this the hard way when Johnson coordinated Detroit's offense. The Lions went 4-0 against Flores' Vikings in 2023 and 2024 and scored at least 30 points in all four games. In the 2023 finale, Minnesota blitzed Jared Goff on 26 of his 33 dropbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and Detroit still won 30-20.
Flores did finally flip the matchup in 2025 when Minnesota beat Johnson's Bears 27-24. So this isn't about pretending Flores has never found an answer. It's about recognizing that Johnson has repeatedly shown he can punish defenses that become predictable in their aggression.
The best version of Flores' defense has never been about sending everybody every time anyway. His value is uncertainty. Minnesota brought him back for 2026 because his defense creates that schematic advantage, not because blitz percentage is a scoreboard.
Show Williams six rushers and send four. Mug both linebackers in the A-gaps, then bail one into the throwing lane. Make Chicago account for pressure without handing Johnson easy answers in the run game.
The Vikings can absolutely be better than the Panthers and still get burned Sunday. After watching Chicago rush for 291 yards, Flores' challenge is making sure his own aggression doesn't become Johnson's favorite part of the game plan.
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