The Vikings should feel elated to come out of Lambeau Field with a 28-22 win considering the state of their secondary. Rarely can a defense give Harrison Hand, Mark Fields and Josh Metellus critical snaps against Aaron Rodgers and do enough to come away with a victory.
But it’s hard to get optimistic about the effort being sustainable. Rodgers met his match Sunday, but it wasn’t because of the Vikings’ UDFAs and late-round picks playing pass defense. In large part, the wind neutralized Rodgers’ downfield passing attack, prevented Green Bay field goal attempts and made the Packers more one-dimensional. Since it’s unclear how many healthy bodies Minnesota will have in their injury-ravaged cornerback group going forward, it’s hard to see real signs of progress in Zimmer’s ailing secondary.
“We kind of ran out of DBs there in the third and fourth quarters,” Zimmer said.
That about sums it up. The Vikings entered play without Mike Hughes (IR, neck) and Holton Hill (foot) but were happy to get Cameron Dantzler back from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Dantzler only lasted one quarter, however, after leaving on a stretcher with a scary neck injury. His backup Mark Fields departed in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury, and Kris Boyd left in the fourth with a non-contact right leg injury.
In Week 1, Hughes, Hill and Dantzler started against Rodgers at U.S. Bank Stadium, and none were on the field in the second half in Sunday’s win. For the second time this year, the Vikings were forced to use safeties in the nickel corner spot with Josh Metellus and Anthony Harris (in Week 4 it was George Iloka, but he’s out for the year with a torn ACL). Only Jeff Gladney and Hand were left standing.
Amazingly, the Packers only scored one time in the second half thanks to a pass rush that made Rodgers uncomfortable, a virtuoso performance by Eric Kendricks and a bend-don’t-break coverage scheme. There’s no denying that the secondary deserves a pat on the back.
“Shout out to those guys,” Kendricks said. “Obviously, getting hurt is terrible. We had guys that shuffled in. It was almost like a revolving door. There were different people in at different times. We just had to communicate and see who’s where and act calm. Let plays that happened happen and then get back to it.”
Yet despite the win, Zimmer was, in his words, “worn out” after the game.
“What’s that hair for men stuff called to get the gray hairs back out?” Zimmer joked. “It was very, very hectic on the sideline today.
“We had corners that were gone, hurt. We had to play with a nickel back that wasn’t there. Tried to manufacture all those things and get the calls they could execute, as well. But there’s so many things I see during the game: Rodgers is scrambling around, and the corner’s underneath the receiver, and he’s staring at Rodgers instead of getting underneath the receiver. So many things hopefully we can teach off of this tape and be better for it in the future.”
Players’ ears may be more receptive to criticism after a win, which could lead to an upbeat week of practice for the Vikings after beating their fiercest rival on the road. But through almost half the season Zimmer has essentially been starting from scratch each week with his cornerback group, a position that has continually been exploited by opposing offenses. Hand was never meant to see the field this year, but the rookie fifth-round pick could shape up as a starter in Week 9. The same could be said about Fields and Boyd, both of whom will need to rehab injuries.
Thank goodness for Gladney, the first-round pick, who’s yet to miss a game since being inserted into the starting lineup in Week 2. His development is the most sustainable element of the Vikings’ secondary right now. His rookie season has been mistake-prone — just see his touchdown allowed to Davante Adams in the first quarter that visibly irritated Zimmer on the sideline — but he’s brought the type of toughness Zimmer is looking for.
“Execute and give great effort,” Zimmer said about his expectations. “If that happens and they’re better than us, then they’re better than us.”
Next week’s cornerback depth chart may include Chris Jones, recently claimed off waivers, and practice-squadder Marcus Sayles from the CFL. These probably aren’t Vikings stars of the future. Zimmer’s coaching acumen will be tested going forward, as will his patience. In a year that was supposed to be all about growing the next generation of cornerbacks, Zimmer and Co. have been stuck patching things together with duct tape, and the outlook isn’t getting any sunnier.
“I never felt like the game was in our grasp,” Zimmer said Sunday afternoon. “Even with 57 seconds left and [Rodgers] has the ball in his hands and no timeouts and all the young guys I got playing in different spots. Yeah, it was pretty rough.”
