Led by Za'Darius Smith and Patrick Peterson, Vikings' Defense Steps Up in Miami
"Defense, first and foremost, you were our backbone today," Kevin O'Connell said during his postgame speech in the visitors' locker room at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
"On a hot day, to be on the field as much as we put you on the field, and to answer the bell over and over again and then go finish it off, fellas, I'm so damn proud of what you guys just did right there. There's a lot of individual accolades over there, but when I went through it, I said you know what, every defensive player gets a game ball."
On Monday, O'Connell clarified that he didn't actually give a physical game ball to the 17 players who saw defensive snaps in the Vikings' win over the Dolphins. It was more of a symbolic gesture, one necessitated by the sheer number of defensive players who stepped up with big-time performances under the South Florida sun. It's easy to hand out game balls when a few players really shine in a victory. It's harder to do when you get major contributions across the board.
"I was sitting in my office (at the stadium), I get a couple of minutes to get ready to address the team after a win like that," O'Connell said. "And I was kind of charting ‘OK, Patrick Peterson, Harrison Smith, Za’Darius (Smith), Pat Jones, Danielle (Hunter), D.T. (Dalvin Tomlinson)...You know what? Everybody gets a game ball.'"
The Vikings' offense did just enough in the team's fourth consecutive victory, mixing three quick-strike touchdown drives in with a barrage of three and outs. The special teams units got back to playing well after a tough game against the Bears in Week 5.
But it was the defense that won this game for the Vikings.
NFL teams always talk about playing complementary football, which means each of the three phases helping out the two others. By going three and out a whopping ten times on Sunday, the Vikings' offense didn't do much to help out its defensive counterparts. The Dolphins ran 23 more plays and had 11 more minutes of possession in this game, which put a lot of pressure on Minnesota's defense. That would be tough in any environment, but factor in the 86-degree heat and additional humidity and you start to understand how impressive of a collective performance it really was.
Yes, the Vikings gave up 458 yards of offense to the Dolphins. But that number is a bit misleading. Over 100 of those yards came after the Vikings had taken a late 24-10 lead, and the Dolphins' offense losing 75 yards to penalties allowed them to stuff the stat sheet a bit more.
Most importantly, the Vikings' defense — led by a quartet of veteran stars — came up with big play after big play. They recorded six sacks, came up with three huge takeaways, and held the Dolphins to a 4-of-14 conversion rate on third down.
"Defensively, to force the turnovers and be responsible for a lot of game-winning plays even in times where it seemed like we were giving up some yards here and there, that’s a tough, tough team to play against with those skill players that they have," O'Connell said. "Certainly, we didn’t do enough to help them on offense, so with them being able to respond the way they did, I felt really strongly about that."
Let's dive into the four players who led this defensive effort, along with notes on a few others at the end.
Za'Darius Smith
The Vikings' marquee free agent pickup of the offseason has been everything they were hoping for and more. Through five weeks, Smith led the Vikings with 18 pressures and 3.5 sacks despite being limited in London with a knee injury.
On Sunday against the Dolphins, he was simply unstoppable. Smith recorded 11 pressures, second-most by any player in the NFL this season and the second highest single-game total of his career. Two of them ended in sacks, giving him 5.5 in six games. Smith received an elite 92.0 grade from Pro Football Focus.
It's worth acknowledging that the Vikings were going up against a very depleted Dolphins offensive line, with Greg Little struggling endlessly at left tackle. But Smith is a big reason why Little had a miserable afternoon. He was dominant.
"He’s been huge for our team, and I cannot say enough about his mentality, his approach every week," O'Connell said. "I think he affects the quarterback and he dictates protections that other teams run against us because you can tell people have an awareness of where 55 is and the types of ways we want to use him. He’s shown up each and every Sunday and been a real factor for us."
As a defense, the Vikings generated more pressure than they had in a single game since 2016, according to Next Gen Stats. Smith was at the forefront of that. He's been the Vikings' defensive MVP this season and is playing like one of the best pass rushers in the league. In other words, he's right back to the form he showed with the Packers in 2019 and 2020 before missing last season with an injury.
Danielle Hunter
The Vikings' other marquee edge rusher has been the subject of some criticism and concern after a slow start to his season. While making the adjustment to Ed Donatell's 3-4 defense, Hunter had just ten pressures (with a low pressure rate) and two sacks through five games.
Whether it was him taking advantage of a weakened offensive line or a sign of things to come, Hunter had his best game of the season in Miami. He had six pressures, a sack, a tackle for loss, and three QB hits, earning an elite 90.7 PFF grade of his own.
If the Vikings can get Hunter going to complement what Smith has been doing, this pass rush will start to look awfully scary.
Patrick Peterson
Dalvin Cook got plenty of attention for his return to his hometown of Miami — and the 53-yard touchdown that helped seal the game — but he wasn't the only one who made a trip home this weekend. Hard Rock Stadium is just 30 minutes south of Peterson's hometown of Pompano Beach.
Like Cook, Peterson balled out in his home state. The 32-year-old veteran, now in his 12th NFL season, played his best game since signing with the Vikings in 2021. He allowed just three catches all game and made a trio of impressive plays. Midway through the third quarter, with the Dolphins trailing 10-3, Teddy Bridgewater decided to test Peterson twice in a row on targets to young speedster Jaylen Waddle.
It didn't work. Peterson broke up both passes, nearly jumping the first one for a pick-six. One play later, the Dolphins had to punt.
Then, late in the fourth quarter, Peterson struck again. Two plays after Cook's touchdown gave the Vikings a 24-10 lead, he baited Bridgewater into an ill-advised throw. Peterson read it perfectly, coming off of his assignment to jump in front of Trent Sherfield for his second interception as a Viking — the 30th of his career.
"I thought Patrick Peterson played his best football game to date," O'Connell said. "He was all over the place and really kind of set the tone defending two really, really premier wideouts. I just thought, all day long, he was one step ahead, making some critical plays that resulted in us getting the football back."
Harrison Smith
The Vikings have a pair of potential Hall of Famers in the back end of their secondary with Peterson and Smith. The latter has spent his entire career in Minnesota and remains one of the game's most impactful safeties in his 11th season.
That was on full display on Sunday, as Smith created two of the Vikings' three takeaways. Late in the first half, he came up with a circus interception while laying on the ground, with some help from teammates Camryn Bynum and Eric Kendricks. That set up a field goal to make it 10-3 at the break.
His second big play was even more critical. With the Dolphins trailing 16-10 late in the fourth quarter, Bridgewater hit Waddle for a chunk gain inside the Vikings' 30. But Smith was there to get his hand on the football as Waddle ran past him, forcing a fumble that Bynum recovered. Two plays later, Cook made it a two-score game.
"One thing we touch on on a daily basis ... is getting the ball and taking a shot when you can," Smith said. "I don’t know if that was exactly the time to take it, but as you’re tackling, if you’re tackling at the ball level, sometimes good things happen."
It's not just the big plays that stand out. What makes Smith and Peterson special is their knowledge of the game and their ability to communicate things to their younger teammates on the back end. This play, with Smith signaling to Bynum that he should go up in run support, is a great example.
Other defensive players who stood out
It wasn't just those four players. This was a full team effort by the Vikings' defense.
- Dalvin Tomlinson is probably second behind Za'Darius Smith in the Vikings' defensive MVP conversation right now. He's been an absolute force in the middle all season long, and he added another three pressures in Miami. "I hope around the league he starts getting some accolades just for the impact he has on games, both in the run and pass," O'Connell said on Monday. "Every time we go in postgame as a staff and talk about the game, I consistently hear 94’s had another good game and another impactful game. Doesn’t always show up for those interior guys with statistics, but I can tell you, when you turn on the tape, he shows up."
- Patrick Jones II, who played a career-high 38 snaps with D.J. Wonnum out, recorded four pressures and his first two NFL sacks. It was a very impressive outing for the second-year player.
- Linebackers Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks led the team with 11 tackles apiece. Hicks had a sack and a PBU, while Kendricks made a key tackle for loss on third down (the clip right above this).
- Bynum had the PBU on Smith's interception, recovered the fumble Smith forced, and fell on the Dolphins' onside kick to seal the victory.
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