The Indianapolis Colts offensive line gathers before a play Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. © Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK.
Teams can’t really penetrate the Indianapolis Colts’ trenches.
Indianapolis’ offensive line is its calling card — and that could be a major problem for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9. Minnesota hosts Indianapolis on Sunday Night Football and is favored to prevail by six points.
Still, the Colts’ offensive trenches take care of business. And inconveniently, the Vikings have encountered pass-rushing woes in back-to-back weeks against the Detroit Lions and [especially} Los Angeles Rams. So, this is the state of play: Minnesota is a team that desperately needs to repair its defensive pass rush — and it will match up versus the best offensive line in all of football.
Not a good mix.
Through eight weeks, the Colts’ offensive line boasts a collective 81.3 pass-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus, a slight notch ahead of the Green Bay Packers at 81.0. For curious minds, Minnesota ranks 15th per the same metric — a 70.0 team grade.
Last Thursday, the purple team faced the league’s second-to-worst offensive line per PFF pass-blocking grade and was eaten alive by the Rams. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted the Vikings’ pass rush as the biggest hole in the gameplan during Minnesota’s loss at Los Angeles. “The Vikings couldn’t find a way to get to Rams QB Matthew Stafford. They pressured him on only three of his 34 dropbacks; that 9% pressure rate was their lowest in a game since 2020,” he wrote.
“And even then, Stafford completed a pass against all three of those pressures, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to WR Cooper Kupp after eluding DT Harrison Phillips and LB Jonathan Greenard. The pass rush had been key to the Vikings’ hot start this season, and before Thursday they had posted at least a 24.6% pressure rate in every game.”
These are some glaring Vikings defensive numbers from 2024:
Vikings Defense,
NFL Ranking,
per EPA/Play:
Week 1-5: 1st
Week 6-8: 28th
The problem? The pass rush. A lack of pressure on Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) and Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams) has caused the passing defense to plunge — from first to worst in a hurry.
Vikings Defense,
NFL Ranking,
per DEF Passing EPA/Play:
First 5 Games: 1st
Last 2 Games: 32nd
Solutions? Perhaps Minnesota will finally cut rookie pass rusher Dallas Turner loose. Oddly, defensive coordinator Brian Flores hasn’t really deployed Turner since Week 1, instead fancying snaps for Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel — who are fantastic — plus backup outside linebacker Patrick Jones II. Maybe it’s time to afford Turner the Jones II snaps.
Overall, Minnesota must fix its pass rush, and the mission will begin against the best offensive line in the league. Not ideal.
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.