Identifying three key problems for the Vikings’ defense after another loss

Through five weeks, the Vikings defense has been off to an incredible start, allowing goals and turnovers at an elite rate while leading the NFL in numerous advanced metrics. But after two losses in five days during which they allowed 59 points, 777 yards and 45 first downs, there are suddenly serious questions about Brian Flores’ group. Let’s look at three key issues during this two-game skid.

Is Cashman the most valuable player on the Vikings defense? Considering how they played without him, maybe so. Through the first five games, the former Gopher excelled in every way as a center fielder; he is their best marking player in this position, defends the attack well and is an effective attacker. However, since the London game, toe problems have sidelined him, forcing Ivan Pace Jr. to transition to a full-time role. And while Pace is a downfield lightning bolt, he simply isn’t on the same level as Cashman when it comes to coverage efficiency.

One of the most important things that Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford took advantage of against the Vikings was the second plane over the middle of the field – the area behind and in front of the defenders. Cashman helps shut down those areas, so it would be great if he could return to action against the Colts in Week 9.

Greenard has been one of the best pass rushers in the NFL this season. He showed up again Thursday night, recorded five pressures (he’s the only player in the league to do that in every game) and posted an 89.8 PFF grade. But outside of him, the Vikings’ pass rush was essentially non-existent in a game where they pressured Matthew Stafford, completing less than 25 percent of his turnovers. Players like Pat Jones II and Jonathan Bullard didn’t play significant roles. Harrison Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jerry Tillery were okay, but not particularly impressive in this respect.

For the most part, Stafford had clean pockets and was able to work picking apart the Vikings’ defense. The lack of pressure from players outside of Greenard is disturbing and reinforces the belief that the team’s biggest need is a defensive tackle who can get to the quarterback. At the rim, Jones slowed down after a hot start and rookie Dallas Turner doesn’t play at all. An example statistic is that Greenard’s 43 pressures this season puts him 24 ahead of all other players on the team.

Pass rush and coverage always go hand in hand. When things are going well, the two complement each other and make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. When this doesn’t work, a vicious circle is created. Corners have a hard time keeping up as the rush of passes fails to reach the goal, but in other cases the rush of passes cannot reach the goal because the corners are not sticky and the ball escapes quickly.

This was the case with the Vikings. Byron Murphy Jr. performed well in this match and bounced back quite nicely from a poor start to the season, but Stephon Gilmore is trending in the opposite direction. The 34-year-old cornerback was credited with 98 receiving yards against the Rams, including 27 on Cooper Kupp’s key third-down conversion late in the game. Corner No. 3 Shaq Griffin was subbed after one of Demarcus Robinson’s two touchdowns (the other was scored by Harrison Smith). They have faced some very good receivers over the last two games, but the Vikings need better corners if the defense is to get back to its old self.

Overall, it will be interesting to hear from Flores next week and see what changes he can make before the Vikings’ next game against the Colts.