With soft hands and razor-sharp instincts, the Minnesota Vikings’ starting linebackers are intercepting passes left and right.
Their pace is so remarkable they find themselves in the same historical conversation as Clancy Osborne and Rip Hawkins, Roy Winston and Lonnie Warwick, David Howard and Jesse Solomon.
Wait, who?
That’s the club in which Eric Kendricks and Eric Wilson find themselves: Vikings linebacker duos with three or more interceptions in the same season. Osborne and Hawkins accomplished it in 1961, Winston and Warwick in 1969, Howard and Solomon in 1988.
“I think it’s amazing that we both have that many picks,” Wilson said. “Great plays for not only our defense but our team. It makes a big difference.”
Kendricks was the latest to add to his total with a pick of Teddy Bridgewater in Minnesota’s win last Sunday. On each of his interceptions this year, he’s been standing inside the Vikings’ 20-yard line, foiling red zone possessions with his unmistakable presence in the middle of the field. Elite cornerbacks are known for locking down one sideline, but Kendricks is planting his flag between the hashmarks.
“That’s major,” said Wilson of his teammate. “When you get a stop on defense that takes points off the board for them and gives our offense an opportunity to flip the score. It’s great to do that and contribute. Turnovers are big.”
Wilson has done the same. Two of his interceptions have come in the red zone, and his third came late in the fourth quarter against Russell Wilson in Seattle. The Vikings have always suspected Wilson had this in him because of his history as a college safety at Cincinnati. Given a full season as a starter for the first time because of Anthony Barr‘s season-ending injury, the playmaking ability that made Wilson a coveted undrafted free agent in 2017 is manifesting.
“He’s been that way ever since he’s been here,” said Wilson’s position coach and co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer. “His first preseason game against Buffalo, he was making plays on the ball all over the place. We were actually talking about that today. He was tipping balls, getting interceptions or forcing fumbles, so he’s kind of been like that the whole time we’ve had him. In college, we recruited him heavily to be a college free agent because of his playmaking ability. He had over, I think it was over 120 tackles his senior year. He’s always been around the football and found a way to get to the football, and he works extremely hard at studying and being in the right position.”
It’s fair to wonder where the picks would be coming from if the linebackers weren’t making the plays usually reserved for defensive backs. A year after tying for third as a team with 17 interceptions, the Vikings are tied for 14th with nine. Two-thirds of those are from the linebackers, and the other three belong to Harrison Smith. Last year’s league-leader Anthony Harris hasn’t recorded any in 2020, and the bevy of young cornerbacks have none as a group as they try to grasp the Minnesota defense. The Philadelphia Eagles cornerbacks are the only other group in football not to have an interception through the first 12 weeks.
“Well, the turnovers, we just keep emphasizing them,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “There’s not a whole lot more you can do other than that. That’s a big thing. Usually, the times when we win the turnovers, we typically have a really good chance to win the game.”
The Vikings have a disappointing minus-6 turnover differential that is tied for fourth-worst in football. Their defensive turnover percentage sits at 8.7%, well below their offensive mark which sits at an alarming 15%. Despite recent defensive improvements, they rank 27th in points against, 25th in passing yards against and 29th in passing touchdowns against. Having faced the 10th-most passing attempts in football, one would expect more splash from the oft-targeted secondary, but only the linebackers have risen to that challenge.
For Kendricks, specifically, there was only one thing missing from his All-Pro 2019 season: Interceptions. Kendricks led all linebackers with 12 pass breakups but couldn’t translate any to turnovers. Now he has a career high with five games remaining.
“He’s played really, really well for a few years now,” said Smith, the ninth-year safety. “It’s not shocking or anything. He’s playing well. That’s just what he does.”
And as Wilson sets career high marks across the board, he sets himself up nicely to sign a hefty free agent contract in 2021, whether with the Vikings or an outside suitor. In addition to his three interceptions, Wilson has recovered two fumbles, forced a fumble, recorded three sacks and blocked a kick.
In a season where inexperience surrounds the Vikings linebackers on all sides, their high-level play has kept the Vikings afloat.
“The thing is they’re not one-dimensional either,” said Smith. “They’re really great against the run. They’re great against the pass. They’re involved in the rush game, put pressure on the quarterback, sacks. It does a lot for us. The middle of the field, the underneath areas, you know they’re going to get their run-pass keys really well and get depth on passes, make tackles for no gain or, you know, a loss of yards on run plays. It really settles guys on the back end.”
