Can the Vikings' defense continue to come up clutch?
MINNEAPOLIS — A fourth down run stuff against the Lions. A tackle that forced the Saints to try a field goal from 60-plus. Cam Dantzler’s forced fumble to defeat the Bears.
In three of four wins by the Minnesota Vikings this year they have pulled off defensive stops in the waning moments to hang onto victory despite showing some weakness throughout the game that came very close to costing them. At US Bank Stadium on Sunday, Chicago battled back from down 21-3 behind an uncharacteristically stellar performance by quarterback Justin Fields, who went 12-for-13 passing with a touchdown in the second half and led a fourth quarter field goal drive that put the Bears ahead, forcing Kirk Cousins to respond with a go-ahead score.
Fields looked like he was going to have a chance at tying the game with less than a minute remaining but Dantzler stripped the ball from former Viking receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, securing the 29-22 victory.
“He was kind of loose with the ball and that’s a drill that we work on with our turnover drills, so I saw an opportunity and took it,” Dantzler said following the win.
When you win tight games with key stops in the NFL, the world calls your defense opportunistic. When you don’t come up with those plays — which was so often the case in 2020 and 2021 — you are considered a soft and struggling unit. The Vikings have swung hard to the opportunistic side but will need to remain there in order to stay at the top of the NFC North.
So is there something different with the clutch defense this year or have bounces just gone the Vikings’ way early in the season? Or both?
“Lady luck, the ball is falling our way but we were put in these situations last year and having most of the guys back, they understand how to prevail,” cornerback Patrick Peterson said.
So maybe both. But how do we separate the parts that can continue throughout the season and the parts they will have to improve in order to stave off regression?
The answer could be within the important plays that have been made in recent weeks. Dantzler, for example, has been on the wrong end of a number of last-minute losses early in his career, including last year against Dallas and Detroit but that hasn’t been the case this season with several vital pass breakups coming against the Saints and then Sunday’s strip.
“The coaches had confidence in me when they came in it was like, ‘We want you to be our guy, we have confidence in you,’ and that brought swagger to my game from Day 1,” Dantzler said.
Confidence has been a major part of the conversation from the coaching staff since Kevin O’Connell arrived. Players were not shy about saying this offseason that they believed a focus on improving the environment would make a difference when things were at their toughest and so far there’s no evidence to the contrary.
“I think what we've learned should really help us… have confidence moving forward that we can win football games that are hard-fought and competitive in this league,” O’Connell said.
Defenses also morph throughout the year. The Vikings are all adjusting to a new defensive scheme and each other. And there were overall signs of progress against the Bears, particularly against the run. The Vikings gave up just 3.3 yards per carry to a Chicago team that has been successful on the ground. In the final box score, they only gave up 278 yards.
Harrison Smith thinks that the Vikings making critical plays is a signal that they can improve and become more consistent as a whole as the season goes along.
“If you can learn while you’re winning, it’s pretty awesome,” Smith said. “I think that shows you how good we can be. We’re only scratching the surface.”
But there are other parts of the defense that leave questions about whether it can be changed over time. The lack of pressure allowed Fields time in the pocket and opportunities for receivers to get open in the second half. That has been the case nearly each week. The Vikings have given up the eighth most passing yards, they are allowing nearly eight yards per pass attempt (fourth worst in the NFL) and opposing QBs have a 70% completion percentage (third worst) against them. If that ends up being who they are as a pass defense, it’s hard to believe that they will keep hitting the “clutch” button at the right times over and over.
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said he thinks the Vikings simply have the right mix of personnel to continue to come through when called upon.
“It’s the people we have on the defense, a lot of guys who believe in themselves who have done it before in the league or are emerging as great players in the league,” Phillips said. “And just trusting in each other.”
The defense could have also avoided their sticky situation at the end had the offense put the gas pedal down. The Vikings scored just eight points in the second half and did not pull away from the Bears after blasting their struggling defense in the first half. That happened against the Saints too. They were up early in London but did not produce touchdown drives to bury New Orleans.
“Complementary football…sometimes means picking each other up or playing off of the momentum of those other sides and just continue to want to see more consistency out of our group,” O’Connell said.
It’s also the nature of the game in 2022. This week (prior to Monday Night Football) 10 games separated by one score.
“We know every game is going to come down to a one-score game, nine times out of 10 it’ll come down to the defensive stop or takeaway and we have to take pride in that and relish the opportunity,” Peterson said. “That’s why you play defense, to put your team in position to win.”
Whether the Vikings’ defense continues to find plays at the end of close games could determine whether they turn 4-1 into a special season or a year of highs and lows.
“Across the board, our team continues to show levels of grit and resiliency that should bode well for us,” O’Connell said. “I don't necessarily think we found that four-corner of consistent ball that we're looking for, but as we've learned, it's not easy to do in the NFL… but we're still going to continue to work tirelessly to have that.”
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