All aboard!
In the NFL Week 4 "Fact or Fiction" game, writer Kevin Patra hopped on the Vikings hype train.
Patra proposed two topics that involved Minnesota. Up first: "The NFC North is the NFL's best division."
Immediately, he rules it a fact because of multiple factors.
It's the only division with three teams above .500. It's the only division with three teams ranked in the top eight in total DVOA. It's the only division that doesn't have a club with double-digit negative net points.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Patra runs through the division, addressing the four clubs and what they've done so far.
Choosing to focus later on the Vikings, who "have come screaming out of the gate," Patra is blunt about the 1-2 Bears who are playing well under expectations offensively after pairing No. 1 overall draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams with a surplus of playmakers. Chicago's top 10 defense is saving face so far.
Patra makes the argument that Detroit would be 3-0 if not for going 1-for-7 in the red zone against Tampa Bay. Patra cites improvement by the Lions revamped defense and overall potential if Jared Goff shrugs off his shaky start – Goff has thrown four interceptions already, which is one-third of his total last season.
Unsurprisingly, the praise for Green Bay – specifically Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur – is significant.
The Packers are 2-0 with a backup quarterback that joined the building a month ago. In other words, an injury to Jordan Love in the opener isn't sinking their 2024 season. Malik Willis has a 126.3 passer rating in his two starts, and LaFleur and Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell have been mentioned in early Coach of the Year conversations.
Which brings us to Patra's second Minnesota-themed topic: "The Vikings are the best team in the NFC."
This statement could get me burned in less than two weeks, but right now, yes, I believe it's a fact.
Minnesota's case is bolstered by its coaching. Patra compares O'Connell's ability to scheme open targets to painter Bob Ross' depiction of forest landscapes – it's beautiful. Also, Patra points out that Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores confounded C.J. Stroud into one of the worst days of his NFL career.
The Vikings are performing with certainty, while the conference landscape is in flux.
The Niners and Lions are banged up something fierce. The Packers have won two games with a backup QB, but the teams they beat have one total victory. The Seahawks haven't played a winning team. I don't yet fully trust Dennis Allen's Saints. Washington is still growing. The Buccaneers got throttled by Denver at home. And who knows what's going on with Nick Sirianni's Eagles?
Meanwhile, Minnesota has rolled early. The Vikings three victories include a blowout road win (good teams usually trounce bad ones on the road), a W over San Francisco in which the Vikings led by 13 entering the fourth quarter, and a dunking of the AFC South darling Texans.
Patra circles back to the coaching, again – and then highlights a few phenomenal newcomers.
We know Kevin O'Connell can dial up a game plan. The Vikings were on their way to the playoffs last season before Kirk Cousins went down and they still kept things interesting for a few more weeks. Flores has mastered the art of getting into the head of the opposing quarterback.
While the focus was on the team's moves at QB, not enough was made about the offseason additions to Minnesota's defense. Did anyone outside of Houston watch Jonathan Greenard play last year? He was sensational and is at it again with the Vikings. Despite coming off an injury, Andrew Van Ginkel has the where the (bleep) did that guy come from play mastered. Stephon Gilmore has been a stabilizing force in the secondary.
All facts and no fiction.
Defense succeeding against deep passing attacks
Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune took a deeper look at how the Vikings have limited deep passes by opponents.
He concluded scheme growth in a second year under Flores, as well as key additions this offseason including Stephon Gilmore as reasons for the success.
The Vikings just dispatched the league's two most efficient long ball throwers of last season — the Texans' C.J. Stroud and the 49ers' Brock Purdy — while holding them to [3-of-8 passing] for 87 yards and an interception on passes that traveled at least 20 yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus. Nobody had better passer ratings on deep balls last year than Stroud (142.5) and Purdy (134.7).
Yet neither quarterback could push the ball downfield at U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings sent waves of pass rushers and shapeshifting coverages.
Krammer mentions opponents are 4-for-9 with 112 yards and an interception on passes thrown beyond 20 yards this season. It's notable growth after the team allowed touchdown passes of 25-plus yards in each of the first three games of 2023.
Disguise and communication are the first two pillars mentioned by cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, when asked about their success in coverage.
Gilmore didn't sign with the Vikings until Aug. 18, but he immediately became the trusted No. 1 cornerback asked to shadow top opposing receivers from the Giants' Malik Nabers to the Texans' Nico Collins.
His presence allows the Vikings to roll over-the-top zone coverages away from him (because he doesn't need the help) to other sides of the field.
Click here for Krammer's full breakdown.
