Here’s Where the Vikings Defense Ranks Through Week 4
Josh Frey
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Week 4 of the NFL season is officially behind us.
The Vikings defense put together their strongest showing of the year in Minnesota’s first victory of the season against the Carolina Panthers.
Today, we will be breaking down where the Vikings defense ranks as a whole as well as where individual players stand statistically. Shout out to Pro-Football-Reference, Pro Football Focus, and nfeloapp.com for the numbers that went into this article. In case you missed it, go check out the offensive rankings as well.
Team Defense
- Points Allowed: 95 (19th)
- Total Yards Allowed: 1379 (20th)
- Plays: 275 (T-7th)
- Yards per Play Allowed: 5.0 (T-10th)
- First Downs Allowed: 84 (T-21st)
- Takeaways: 3 (T-25th)
- PFF Grade: 71.3 (14th)
- EPA/play: 0.06 (26th)
Before the season started, if it was suggested that the Vikings would be considered a top-20 defense, that would probably be chalked up as a successful first season for Brian Flores as the defensive coordinator of the team.
That’s precisely where the Vikings stand in points allowed, yards allowed, and they even find themselves among the top 10 in yards per play allowed. If they can start creating more turnovers, something the Vikings did a great job of in 2022, that could catapult this team back into contention.
Passing Defense
- Completions Allowed: 105 (29th-fewest)
- Pass Attempts Against: 137 (T-17th-fewest)
- Passing Yards Allowed: 934 (21st)
- Yards per Pass Allowed: 6.3 (21st)
- Passing TDs Allowed: 7 (T-25th)
- Interceptions: 1 (T-25th)
- Sacks: 11 (T-16th)
- Pass-Rush PFF Grade: 56.0 (31st)
- Pass Coverage Grade: 81.2 (6th)
- EPA/pass: 0.15 (24th)
Run Defense
- Carries Against: 127 (29th-fewest)
- Rushing Yards Allowed: 445 (15th)
- Yards per Carry Allowed: 3.5 (6th)
- Rushing TDs Allowed: 3 (T-15th)
- Rushing First Downs Allowed: 33 (26th)
- Run Defense PFF Grade: 63.7 (15th)
- EPA/run: -0.24 (T-7th)
Week 4 saw the Vikings steadily rise through the rankings in pass defense again after a big fall following their loss to the Chargers. The offense remains in a bit of a funk, so they need this defensive unit to carry more weight than they have in years past.
Minnesota has turned things back around against the run as well in the two weeks since their loss to the Eagles. Teams continue to try running the ball against them, but the defensive front is holding up much better than they were before. These are all positive developments moving into Week 5 against the Chiefs.
Individual Players
OLB Danielle Hunter
- Solo Tackles: 15 (T-90th)
- Tackles for Loss: 8 (1st)
- QB Pressures: 13 (T-38th)
- QB Hits: 4 (T-48th)
- Sacks: 5.0 (5th)
- PFF Grade: 67.6 (49th among EDGEs)
OLB D.J. Wonnum
- Solo Tackles: 5 (T-357th)
- Tackles for Loss: 1 (T-166th)
- QB Pressures: 6 (T-123rd)
- QB Hits: 4 (T-48th)
- Sacks: 1.0 (T-87th)
- PFF Grade: 61.0 (76th among EDGEs)
OLB Pat Jones
- Solo Tackles: 4 (T-398th)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-86th)
- QB Pressures: 4 (T-178th)
- QB Hits: 0
- Sacks: 0
- PFF Grade: 28.8 (123rd among EDGEs)
DL Harrison Phillips
- Solo Tackles: 15 (T-90th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- QB Pressures: 7 (T-110th)
- QB Hits: 2 (T-121st)
- Sacks: 0.5 (T-180th)
- PFF Grade: 66.9 (43rd among DL)
DL Jonathan Bullard
- Solo Tackles: 7 (T-289th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- QB Pressures: 1 (T-343rd)
- QB Hits: 0
- Sacks: 0
- PFF Grade: 66.2 (44th among DL)
DL Dean Lowry
- Solo Tackles: 2 (T-528th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- QB Pressures: 1 (T-343rd)
- QB Hits: 0
- Sacks: 0
- PFF Grade: 40.5 (128th among DL)
LB Jordan Hicks
- Solo Tackles: 19 (T-40th)
- Tackles for Loss: 1 (T-166th)
- QB Pressures: 2 (T-276th)
- QB Hits: 0
- Sacks: 0
- PFF Grade: 72.9 (17th among LBs)
LB Ivan Pace
- Solo Tackles: 16 (T-72nd)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- QB Pressures: 6 (T-123rd)
- QB Hits: 3 (T-81st)
- Sacks: 0.5 (T-180th)
- PFF Grade: 80.7 (8th among LBs)
CB Byron Murphy
- Solo Tackles: 14 (T-110th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- Passes Defended: 3 (T-26th)
- Interceptions: 0
- PFF Grade: 48.3 (102nd among CBs)
CB Akayleb Evans
- Solo Tackles: 15 (T-90th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- Passes Defended: 3 (T-26th)
- Interceptions: 0
- PFF Grade: 68.2 (40th among CBs)
S Harrison Smith
- Solo Tackles: 17 (T-59th)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-86th)
- Sacks: 3.0 (T-18th)
- Forced Fumbles: 2 (T-1st)
- Passes Defended: 0
- Interceptions: 0
- PFF Grade: 70.9 (T-31st among safeties)
S Josh Metellus
- Solo Tackles: 16 (T-72nd)
- Tackles for Loss: 1 (T-166th)
- Passes Defended: 2 (T-66th)
- Interceptions: 0
- PFF Grade: 77.6 (14th among safeties)
S Camryn Bynum
- Solo Tackles: 25 (T-7th)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-86th)
- Passes Defended: 1 (T-142nd)
- Interceptions: 0
- PFF Grade: 83.5 (8th among safeties)
NOTE: This article originally appeared on our sister-site, PurplePTSD.com.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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