After seven weeks of action in this 2026 NFL regular season, the last of the unbeatens finally fell this past Sunday, as the Minnesota Vikings took a 19-15 defeat at the hands of the rival Detroit Lions.
Naturally, Kevin O'Connell's offense remains a concern, as Minnesota failed to hit the 300-yard mark for the second straight week and the fourth time in six games this season, gaining just 266 total yards.
Also for the second straight week and the fourth time in six games, the Vikings failed to score 20 points. And this was against a Detroit defense that came into Week 8 having surrendered the most total yards per game (391.0) in the entire league and the seventh-most points (27.5).
As for Minnesota's defense, it continued its strong play against the pass, holding Jared Goff to a season-low 176 yards, with James Pierre tallying the first interception against the five-time Pro Bowler all year.
Not that it mattered, as Kyler Murray & Co. went three-and-out and gained only two yards on the ensuing possession, but that's not the point here.
The point is that Brian Flores' unit has struggled something fierce against the run since coming back from the bye, allowing an average of 192 yards on the ground over the last two weeks.
Vikings need to figure out how to stop the run with the list of RBs they're about to face
Over the first five weeks of the season, the Vikings only surrendered an average of 86.6 rushing yards per game, with the Chicago Bears picking up the most yardage against them in Week 2 with 134.
Even then, though, it wasn't one guy doing the damage, as Kyle Monangai led the way for Chicago with 47 yards, with D'Andre Swift going for 45 and quarterback Caleb Williams adding 42.
A small crack started to form in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins, as Ollie Gordon rushed for 100 yards on just nine carries.
Yes, one 53-yard run helped, but beyond just that, he averaged close to 5.9 yards per carry on the other eight. But Flores patched up the leak the following week, as Minnesota surrendered only 3.2 yards per carry, while holding the Saints to just 55 yards on the ground.
But coming off the bye week in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts, the patch fell off, and the crack got bigger, as Jonathan Taylor, who many hope will be wearing purple soon, rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on just 18 carries while the Colts as a whole posted 154 rushing yards, with Seth McGowan chipping in with 46 and Daniel Jones adding 18.
And in the loss to the Lions, the floodgates flew wide open, as Detroit posted a whopping 230 rushing yards, with Jahmyr Gibbs naturally leading the way with 153 yards on 23 carries. Sione Vaki added 65 yards on only 11 runs, with wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown tacking on a 10-yard run, and even tight end Sam LaPorta added a 2-yarder.
Gibbs is just going to be Gibbs, of course, as Sunday marked the third time this season and the second time in three games that he's hit the 150-yard mark. Nevertheless, the Lions have now provided a blueprint for how to attack Minnesota's defense, and it basically boils down to using extra tight ends.
In the first half on Sunday, Detroit used 13 personnel (one RB, one WR, three TE) just 8.3 percent of the time. But in the second half, when much of the damage on the ground was done, that figure jumped to 46.9 percent.
By adding tight ends in the backfield to create what's called a "sidecar" look, they added more gaps for the defense to account for, and the Lions pulled it off to perfection.
Flores and his staff will undoubtedly look at this film and attempt to make the necessary adjustments, but those will have to be big adjustments, as the Vikings are set to face some of the best backs this league has to offer over the next four weeks.
This upcoming Monday night, of course, Minnesota squares off with the Buffalo Bills, who not only have James Cook but also one of the best running QBs of all time in Josh Allen.
In Week 10, they've got their rematch with the Green Bay Packers, who haven't run the ball well for most of this season but now have Josh Jacobs back in the fold.
In Week 11, the Vikings get the San Francisco 49ers and Christian McCaffrey, and in Week 12, they get the Atlanta Falcons and Bijan Robinson.
So, this obviously isn't the most ideal time to have issues against the run. We'll now just have to wait and see if Minnesota makes the necessary changes needed to get back on track.
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