Last year, the most commonly recycled excuse for the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive shortcomings was, “But Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce aren’t playing!”
Getting gashed was a weekly occurrence in 2020 — they ranked 27th in stopping the run — and shoring up Minnesota’s defensive line was the No. 1 priority over the offseason for general manager Rick Spielman. Dalvin Tomlinson, Sheldon Richardson, Everson Griffen, Patrick Jones, Janarius Robinson, and Jaylen Twyman were either signed as free agents or drafted as Minnesota underwent a complete overhaul to their defensive front.
With the aforementioned additions joining Hunter, Pierce, and Stephen Weatherly, expectations are high for the Vikings to return to a run defense that approached the top-10, à la 2019.
According to PFF, Week 1 had all the makings of a coming-out party for the new-look Vikings defensive line — going up against a Cincinnati Bengals offensive line that ranked 25th coming into the season. Instead, the Bengals churned out 149 rushing yards on 36 carries, winning the battle up front throughout the afternoon. Cincinnati ran for 149 or more yards only three times last season — two of which came against the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
If the Vikings can’t stop the Bengals and their underwhelming offensive line, the next three weeks could be an extremely rude awakening for this ball club. The defense will have their hands full next week when they visit the desert to take on Kliff Kingsbury, Kyler Murray, and DeAndre Hopkins. Will the Vikings be able to shut down Murray’s unique dual-threat abilities fresh off a 38-point offensive explosion on the road against the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday?
Joe Burrow had a passer rating of 128.8 and completed 74.1% of his passes against the Vikings. Let’s not fool ourselves; the Cardinals and their superior weapons pose a bigger threat than the Bengals.
Or how about the following week when Russell Wilson, D.K. Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett pay a visit to U.S. Bank Stadium? Have we since forgotten that Russell Wilson has a record of 6-0 throughout his career against the Vikings? Hunter and that front-four better get home with some sense of regularity, or else the patented Wilson deep balls will continue to fall from the sky, with Patrick Peterson and/or Bashaud Breeland trailing in coverage.
And with Kevin Stefanski’s homecoming in Week 4, the Cleveland Browns will step into U.S. Bank Stadium with an offensive line and running game that’s one of the best throughout the entire league, spearheaded by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. If the Vikings’ revamped defensive line can’t stop Mixon and the Bengals, do we really expect them to fare much better against one of the heavyweights in the AFC?
It’s no secret that Mike Zimmer is officially on the hot seat. Even before losing to a Bengals team that went 4-11-1 last year, Zimmer was the odds-on favorite to be the first head coach fired this season, per OddsShark.
The Vikings face a gauntlet of offensive juggernauts over the next three weeks. And if Zimmer’s defense doesn’t shape up and fast, don’t be surprised if that hot seat turns into a towering inferno.
