Yannick Ngakoue was supposed to flank the defensive line for a panic-fueled final product aimed at quarterbacks. The acquisition of Michael Pierce was a clock reset on Linval Joseph as both men are big-bodied nose tackles.
Would he take a while to settle into the Vikings offense? How does receiving yards for the totality of sound? Instead, Jefferson has positively answered all questions surrounding his youthful name while the rest of the aforementioned items fell by the wayside.
The Vikings possess a stale record. Seven teams will make the playoffs from each conference going forward. And, if the coronavirus causes more games to cancel, the NFL might even add two more teams to the mix. Winning — obviously — will make this journey stress-free. If the Vikings run the table and topple the Panthers, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Bears, Saints, and Lions — they will be going to the playoffs. In a year with six teams per conference reaching the postseason, a squad missing the big dance would be odd.
The expansion to seven teams per conference nearly guarantees a team will play meaningful January football. The most realistic pathway to the postseason for Minnesota is a mini-collapse by the Arizona Cardinals. Vikings RB Dalvin Cook allegedly the victim of domestic abuse, extortion. The Vikings should not try and sign Odell Beckham Jr.
Vikings slight underdogs in Week 10 game against the Chargers Will the Vikings pull off the upset in Week 10? Error Please enter an email address. Success Thanks for signing up. Please check your email for a confirmation. Error Something went wrong.
Offseason changes at coordinator, kicker, punter, and both returner spots were generally looking good. Then came the Panthers game, where the Vikings missed two game-sealing field goals, had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown, and committed two penalties on punt returns.
That performance dropped them all the way from 15th to 29th in special teams DVOA, which is only two spots above their No. So yeah, that phase of the game is still a serious concern, if not an outright weakness. Joseph's four missed field goals lead the league, although he does also lead all kickers in attempts.
He notably missed an extra point and a short game-winner against the Cardinals, and his two misses against the Panthers weren't close. I'm not sure the Vikings have found their answer at kicker yet.
New punter Jordan Berry has been fine, but the return game still hasn't provided much of a spark outside of a nice gain last week by Ameer Abdullah Perhaps rookie Kene Nwangwu, recently activated off IR, can be a boost in that area.
Ryan Ficken and the Vikings have a lot to prove on special teams going forward. It's an oversimplification, but it contains a lot of truth: the Vikings are always going to go as far as Cousins takes them. So far, the veteran quarterback has been great. Cousins hasn't been particularly aggressive pushing the ball downfield, resulting in low numbers in average depth of target and yards per attempt. But he's not taking sacks, he's not turning the ball over, and he is continually showing up in big moments late in games and putting the Vikings in position to win.
As long as that continues, the Vikings are going to be in just about every game they play, even against great teams. Cousins has plenty of help, which is key. Dalvin Cook has missed a couple games to injury but clearly remains one of the league's top running backs, going over yards from scrimmage in three of his four starts. Justin Jefferson's second season is proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's here to stay as a legit top-ten, maybe top-five receiver in the game.
He's currently sixth in receiving yardage. Adam Thielen is an elite red zone weapon whose big games against the Bengals and Panthers showed he can still get it done at a high level. Perhaps most exciting is the emergence of K. Osborn, who is already the Vikings' most productive WR3 in five years. Osborn's versatility, route-running, hands, and blocking ability have all been major assets.
Tyler Conklin has been solid stepping in for Irv Smith Jr. If the line holds up — a notable if, as referenced in the first section of this piece — this offense should continue putting up yards and points all year. Heading into this season, one of the biggest reasons why I was bullish on the Vikings was their rebuilt defense. With a combination of guys coming back from injury or opt-out and a huge free agent class, this defense had all the makings of a top unit with Zimmer leading the way.
Things didn't get off to such a hot start. The Bengals were effective through the air and on the ground in the season-opening overtime loss. Cincinnati's two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half would go on to become a troubling theme for the Vikings defense, for some reason.
The Cardinals then racked up 34 points and nearly yards against Minnesota the following week, with Kyler Murray throwing for of those. Those struggles continued in Week 3, as the Seahawks scored on each of their first three possessions in getting out to a lead. Something must have flipped at halftime of that game, because the Vikings' defense has been dominant ever since.
They shut out Russell Wilson and Seattle in the second half and put clamps on the Browns, Lions, and Panthers over the past three weeks. They've gotten contributions from all over, but the catalyst has been the defensive line. Eric Kendricks is still one of the best all-around linebackers in the league, and Anthony Barr should only get better as time goes on after getting over his knee injury a few weeks ago. Losing their top outside corner in Peterson hurts, but getting great play at every other position should help make the jobs of Breeland and Dantzler easier.
This defense looks legit. It better be, with a string of games against some of the league's best offenses around the corner.
Having good players on defense is only one part of the equation. Pairing those players with great coaching is why the Vikings have been as strong on that side of the ball in recent weeks as they have. Zimmer may have lost some of his shine as one of the league's top defensive minds after last year's disaster, but he shouldn't have.
No coach in NFL history could've turned the Vikings' defensive personnel into a quality unit. The Vikings have a quality roster again, and we're once again seeing what Zimmer is capable of as a game-planner, schemer, and play-caller.
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