Behind Enemy Lines: Insider Analysis on the Minnesota Vikings

The Week 16 game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants is a high-stakes affair.

For the Giants, a win plus losses by two of the Commanders, Lions, and Seahawks this week means the Giants will clinch their first postseason berth since 2016.

The Vikings, who already have a postseason berth, will be looking to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles for the coveted No. 1 seed and bye week.

The Vikings are, of course, coming off an emotional ad historical come-from-behind win last week against the Indianapolis Colts. How have they responded since as they prepare for what's sure to be another emotionally draining game?

Inside the Vikings, publisher Will Ragatz gives us a look at the state of the Vikings.

Let’s start with that HUGE and historic come-from-behind win. Nothing like that has ever taken place in the NFL before. How emotionally draining was that for the Vikings, and have you seen signs that they’ve flushed it, or are they hanging on to that euphoria?

It was definitely an emotional win for the Vikings. To go from the shell-shocked feeling of being down 33-0 at halftime, at home, against a bad team, to the thrill of mounting the greatest comeback in league history — that has to take a lot of you. Throw in the fact that the win clinched the NFC North title for the Vikings, and there are legitimate reasons to be worried about a bit of a mental hangover this week against the Giants.

However, this team has already experienced that once. In Week 10, they rallied from down 17 to pull off a thrilling, miraculous overtime road win over the Bills. (I may be biased since I covered both, but you can make a strong argument that the two best games of the year involved the Vikings).

The following week, they came home and got walloped by the Cowboys, losing 40-3. Having gone through that before, I think they'll do whatever they can to avoid history repeating itself on Saturday. With playoff seeding still on the line, this Vikings team should be motivated to come out and try to win a game without climbing out of a big hole.

Why has the Vikings' pass defense struggled so much this year, and where are they most susceptible to being exposed?

It's been a mixture of personnel, scheme, and execution. The Vikings switched defenses this offseason, going from being a longtime 4-3 team under Mike Zimmer to installing a Vic Fangio-style 3-4 under new coordinator Ed Donatell, Fangio's longtime right-hand man.

Unsurprisingly, there's been a lengthy adjustment period, especially for Zimmer mainstays like Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks, and Danielle Hunter. But when the struggles continued deep into the season — the Vikings gave up 400-plus yards in a franchise-record five consecutive games before snapping the streak last weekend — the fact that it was a new defense felt like a much less valid excuse.

The Vikings have been too passive for the vast majority of this season. They were content to sit in soft zone coverages and rush four, but they weren't making things difficult on quarterbacks.

The middle of the field was open far too often as players struggled with communication and execution. There have also been several coverage busts on deep shots for touchdowns. They adjusted a bit against the Colts, playing more man and blitzing more, so I'd expect that to continue this week and beyond.

What’s your biggest concern regarding matchups in this game, and why?

It has to be the mismatch of the Vikings' interior offensive line going against Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams. The Vikings will again be without starting center Garrett Bradbury, and backup Austin Schlottmann has been below average over the past couple of weeks.

Rookie right guard Ed Ingram has struggled in pass protection all season long — he leads the league in pressures allowed, per PFF, with eight more than anyone else. Against a dominant interior duo like Lawrence and Williams, that's a major concern. The Vikings will have to have a plan to get the ball out pretty quickly a lot of the time on Saturday, especially considering the Giants lead the league in blitz percentage.

What do you view as the X-factor that can potentially tilt the game in either direction?

Special teams will always be important, especially when you're talking about two teams who seem to always play one-score games. So will the rushing attacks, led by Dalvin Cook and Saquon Barkley.

The Giants are last in the league in opponent yards per carry, so Cook could be in line for a big day on the ground. If that happens, it makes the Vikings' play-action passing game with Justin Jefferson and the rest of Kirk Cousins' pass catchers even more dangerous.

At the same time, if the Vikings can slow down Barkley and force Daniel Jones to air it out, I think they'll feel good about their chances, even when considering their struggles in pass defense this year.

Give me one Viking on both sides of the ball that no one is talking about a lot but should.

I think people were just starting to take notice of left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who was playing at a truly elite level when he essentially missed four full games with two separate concussions. Darrisaw returned on Saturday against the Colts and picked up right where he left off.

The 2021 first-round pick has legitimately been one of the best tackles in football this year, with PFF grading him behind only Trent Williams. I view Darrisaw as the Vikings' clear-cut second-best player behind Jefferson. However, it may take another year for his national recognition to reach that level.

Defensively, I'll go with an ex-Giant: Dalvin Tomlinson. The big DT, by position and initials, also had a brief injury situation this year that cost him some time, but he's been fantastic whenever he's been on the field. His power against the run is a major difference-maker, and he's got a chance to set a new career high in pressures despite missing four games. Tomlinson has been great for the Vikings in a contract year.

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