You Wrote One Viking Off Too Soon
The Minnesota Vikings furnished a ferocious bounceback performance in Week 3 over the Cincinnati Bengals, downing the Jake Browning-led club by a score of 48-10.
The Vikings found a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, and reports of one player’s demise were just too premature.
Along the way, Brian Flores’ defense returned to its glorious 2024 form after a few weeks of peculiar struggles with tackling and a general lackluster performance per Flores’ standard.
And on an individual note, linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. stood off the page, reaffirming his status as a quality starting defender that some questioned after two poor games to start the season.
He’s Back; Ivan Pace Jr. Racks Up Sweet Day at the Office
Pace Jr. seemed to be in a funk until Week 3.
Ivan Pace Jr. Storms Back
Few doubted that Minnesota’s defense would rebound after two mundane games versus the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. When the rubber hit the road in Week 3, the whole unit responded, highlighted by cornerback Isaiah Rodgers’ once-in-a-lifetime performance with 2 defensive touchdowns, 2 forced fumbles, and a perfect day in pass coverage.
Pace Jr., too, excelled, logging 12 tackles and 3 quarterback hits on Jake Browning, and by default, 3 quarterback pressures along with the QB hits.
On the afternoon, Pace Jr. banked a 76.2 Pro Football Focus grade, up from a terrible 30.0 in Week 1 and 43.6 in Week 2.
So, yes, Pace Jr. is back.
It Was the Tackling, Stupid
The Vikings missed 22 tackles in the first two games against the Bears and Falcons — an unholy bad mark for any team, but especially one led by Flores. PFF called Minnesota the NFL’s third-worst tackling group after Week 2, so an about-face was needed in Week 3.
That happened.
The moment the tackling returns to Floresian form, the group began scoring touchdowns, snuffing out 3rd Downs, and winning ballgames. The proof was in the pudding with a 48-10 triumph.
Pace Jr. personally missed zero tackles against the Bengals. Funny how that directly translated to his rebound performance, huh?
Vikings Defense from Rags to Riches
Entering Week 3, PFF mashed up all the Vikings’ defenders’ grades, which resulted in a horrible outcome: Minnesota ranked as the NFL’s worst defense per PFF, a severe fall from grace, as Flores’ men were considered a Top 2 or Top 3 bunch a season ago.
Fast forward to Week 3, and per EPA/Play, a statistic that measures expected wins added, the Vikings now rank No. 1 in the NFL.
So, yes, the franchise went from the very worst defense in the world after two weeks per PFF to the very best in the world per EPA/Play following Week 3.
The Steelers Next Up
Minnesota will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Dublin, a club led by a rickety version of Aaron Rodgers, a man who frequented the Vikings’ rumor mill for a couple of months in the spring. Pittsburgh’s offense ranks 17th leaguewide per EPA/Play, so Pace Jr. + his pals will see a decent offense, but not an elite one.
So far in 2025, the Steelers have run and passed the ball at an equal rate of efficiency, both mid-tier per EPA/Play.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor on the Vikings’ Defense
After a losing effort, Taylor said about Pace Jr. and Co.: “It’s a high percentage of Minnesota. They’re a unique defense. They present a lot of different challenges. Getting Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith back makes their defense whole again, which they didn’t have the week before. They’re a really challenging defense. I think that’s gonna take shape over the course of the season.”
“You’re gonna really see that. But again, we’ve got to find ways to attack and put people on their heels, and that starts with momentum down the field, scoring on a possession, and gaining some momentum. Every time we really threatened to do that, we kinda took the wind out of our own sails by allowing them to take the ball away from us. So here you are, kinda having to defend a lot of things in the offense, justly. We didn’t do well enough, and those are fair questions.”
Sunday’s win was Minnesota’s most decisive per point differential in 27 years.
Taylor added, “As a unit, we’ve got to be better in the run game. We have to do a great job identifying the scheme that we’ve got a lot of confidence in to be able to give the running backs opportunity, and our guys need to step up and do a great job with that scheme. I think it’s unfair to put it on a player.”
“It’s on all of us offensively, collectively, to find a better answer. I do think we’ve faced three challenging defenses early in the season. You can’t make any excuse for that. We’ve got to find our way to put pressure on them. And stop saying it’s about the defense. There’s got to be moments where we attack the defense and put them on their heels. We’ve just got to find some momentum in drives to be able to do that, and yesterday we were far from finding momentum on drives.”
Minnesota is a 2.5-point favorite this week in Dublin.
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