The 7-1 Minnesota Vikings find themselves in Week 10’s “Game of the Week” against the 6-2 Buffalo Bills. Although MVP candidate Josh Allen is questionable to play due to an elbow injury, the Vikings are still 3.5-point underdogs for Sunday’s game in Western New York. If Allen sits, Skoldiers are preparing to square off against none other than the connection responsible for The Minneapolis Miracle — Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs. Keenum signed with Buffalo to be Allen’s backup this past offseason. This will also be the first time Diggs plays his former team since requesting a trade following the 2019 season.
Minnesota’s 27th-ranked pass defense will need all the help it can get against Diggs — regardless of who’s slinging him the pill on Sunday. Diggs is currently third in receiving yards and leads all NFL wide receivers with a 138.4 passer rating when targeted.
If the Vikings want to make a statement against the AFC’s elite — we’ll see how the football world feels about giving the Vikings their flowers if they beat an Allen-less Bills team — their dynamic pass rush will need to maintain its high-level of play.
Following Week 6’s victory at Miami, edge rusher Za’Darius Smith coined Minnesota’s edge rushers as “B.M.F…We some Bad Mother F*ckers.”
Indeed you are, Za’Darius.
Since Week 6, Minnesota’s pass rush has experienced a substantial boost following the rise of Danielle Hunter‘s play. Despite a slow start to the year, Hunter has really stepped up his game and made a habit out of getting after opposing quarterbacks. Check out his pressure numbers over the first five games and then how he’s responded over the past three.
Weeks 1-5:
- 8.4% pressure rate
- two sacks
Weeks 6-9:
- 15.9% pressure rate
- three sacks
On the year, Hunter has amassed an 11.8% pressure rate, and his recent play has lived up to the hype that accompanied Minnesota’s pass rush following the addition of Smith.
Hunter’s surge over the past three games has brought the Vikings into rarified air regarding edge-rusher rooms throughout the NFL. If you were to ask most NFL fans who has the best edge rushers, more often than not, the Dallas Cowboys with Micah Parsons or San Francisco 49ers with Nick Bosa would be among the first teams mentioned. As well they should be.
In fact, the Cowboys and 49ers are just two of six teams with three different edge rushers who exceed a 10% pressure rate while playing at least 142 pass-rush snaps. You know who else is on that list? None other than your beloved B.M.F. crew with Smith, Hunter, and D.J. Wonnum.
Anytime your edge rushers are in the same sentence as the Dallas or San Francisco’s, you know you’re doing something right and playing at an elite level.
Let’s take a look at the “Big Three” of each of these six teams’ edge rushers. That way, we’ll be able to determine who’s been playing the best as we pass the midway point of the 2022 NFL season.
The numbers below will highlight each individual player’s pressure rate so far this year. I’ll also calculate all three of their combined pressures into a singular pressure rate to show who’s getting after opposing quarterbacks with the most regularity.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
- Josh Allen: 12.4% pressure rate
- Dawuane Smoot: 11.7% pressure rate
- Arden Key: 10.8% pressure rate
- Total combined pressure rate of these three: 11.8% pressure rate
Indianapolis Colts:
- Yannick Ngakoue: 12.9% pressure rate
- Kwity Paye: 11.6% pressure rate
- Tyquan Lewis: 11.0% pressure rate
- Total combined pressure rate of these three: 12.0% pressure rate
Miami Dolphins:
- Bradley Chubb: 11.1% pressure rate
- Jaelan Phillips: 14.9% pressure rate
- Melvin Ingram: 11.0% pressure rate
- Total combined pressure rate of these three: 12.5% pressure rate
San Francisco 49ers:
- Nick Bosa: 17.9% pressure rate
- Charles Omenihu: 12.6% pressure rate
- Samson Ebukam: 11.4% pressure rate
- Total combined pressure rate of these three: 14.0% pressure rate
Dallas Cowboys:
- Micah Parsons: 16.9% pressure rate
- Demarcus Lawrence: 13.2% pressure rate
- Dorance Armstrong: 12.4% pressure rate
- Total combined pressure rate of these three: 14.4% pressure rate
Minnesota Vikings:
- Za’Darius Smith: 18.5% pressure rate (second-best in the NFL)
- Danielle Hunter: 11.8% pressure rate
- D.J. Wonnum: 14.1% pressure rate
- Total combined pressure rate of these three: 14.8% pressure rate
There you have it, folks. With nearly a combined 15% pressure rate, Minnesota’s B.M.F. crew is currently generating the most-frequent pressure on opposing quarterbacks throughout the league. Minnesota’s edge rushers are unique because all three get to share the field together. On obvious passing situations, Za’Darius Smith slides inside and attacks the opponent’s weak spot on the interior, freeing up Hunter and Wonnum to go to work on the outside.
In order to come out of Buffalo with their seventh-straight victory, Minnesota’s pass rush will need to be the reason why. The Bills currently rank 28th with 14 giveaways. Creating a constant state of pressure within the pocket will likely provide Ed Donatell’s defense with multiple opportunities to come away with turnovers.
As we’ve seen throughout much of the season, Minnesota’s defense has a unique ability to generate timely turnovers in critical moments; they currently rank fifth with 14 turnovers forced. Regardless of who the Vikings draw at quarterback on Sunday, winning the battle at the line of scrimmage will be paramount. The Bills love to attack defenses vertically with route concepts that require time for its offensive line to hold up in protection. If Minnesota’s B.M.F.ers can be a constant thorn in Buffalo’s side when they decide to dial up their big-play opportunities, it will go a long way in coming out of New York with a win.
You won’t find a better trio of edge rushers throughout the NFL than what the Vikings currently have with Smith, Hunter, and Wonnum. Now it’s up to them to confirm their standing atop the NFL’s edge rushers with yet another dominant performance on Week 10’s big stage.
