The Vikings’ Calling Card Is Back

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.

In Weeks 7 and 8, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense disappeared.

The Vikings’ Calling Card Is Back

That factoid is not debatable — Brian Flores’ group stunk against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. The good news, though, is that the team’s keynote calling card is back.

Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center on October 16th, 2024. Flores was hired in February 2023 to take over for Ed Donatell after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed.

How? Why? Well, since the start of Week 9 — games against the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars — the defense has returned statistically to its dominant form. The general takeaway is that the Vikings currently rank tops in the NFL per EPA/Play on defense. The best in the business.

Yet, the journey to stay in front of the NFL pack hasn’t been smooth. Many feared that the Lions and Rams had fundamentally solved the Vikings’ spooky defense, and those arguments actually didn’t seem silly in the heat of the moment. It’s what happened to the purple defense last year — Brian Flores and Co. lost its mojo in a game at Cincinnati last December and never recovered.

But that isn’t happening this year.

Vikings Defense,
NFL Ranking,
per EPA/Play:

Week 1-5: 1st
Week 6-8: 28th
Week 9-10: 2nd
Overall: 1st

Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum (24) catches an interception to effectively end the game during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Vikings defeated the Jaguars 12-7. © Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

In short, the Vikings’ defense ranked as the NFL’s best in the first five weeks of 2024, tumbled to fifth worst from Weeks 6 to 8, and rebounded in the last two games to second-best in the two-game sample. Although facing Joe Flacco and Mac Jones, the Flores defense has returned to September form.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters after Sunday’s win at Jacksonville: “I cannot say enough about our defense and the way they battled. Time and time again answering the call and getting the ball back in the second half.”

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

And O’Connell is right. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Minnesota’s defense won the game for the purple team at Jacksonville. A defense reminiscent of the Lions or Rams games would’ve caused a 6-3 record, not the fancy 7-2 that Minnesota possesses.

The Vikings’ top EDGE rusher, Jonathan Greenard, said about his unit’s deeds in Week 10: “Man, we don’t flinch. We don’t care what happens on offense. We don’t care about what happens on special teams. We care about us on the defensive side. We know it doesn’t matter what happened. We still have to go out there and put a fire out. So we take that mentality and then just carry on with it — ’cause somebody gotta do it, and it’s got to be us. We’re selfless players.”

Coach Already a Hot
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores takes over the team’s defense at an introductory press conference on February 15th, 2023, in Eagan, Minnesota.

The road will eventually get bumpier when the Vikings face offenses led by Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Jordan Love, and Jared Goff, but for now, the foremost calling card — Flores’ defense — has returned to its peak form.

It’s why Minnesota is 7-2 and in the driver’s seat to reach the playoffs.


Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.