Inside The Vikings

Brian Flores was hard on Vikings' defense after poor second half in Green Bay

The Vikings will look to bounce back with a more complete defensive performance this week.
Will Ragatz|
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws the ball away under pressure from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Vikings won the game, 31-29.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws the ball away under pressure from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Vikings won the game, 31-29. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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The Vikings' second-half defensive performance in last weekend's win over the Packers wasn't good enough. Coordinator Brian Flores made sure to drive that point home to his players this week.

"He was hard on us because we didn't play up to the standard, especially in that second half," Andrew Van Ginkel told FOX 9's Ahmad Hicks. "We were giving up chunk plays. It was just a snowball effect. ... That's unacceptable. It's something that we've gotta strive to perfect and get better at."

After putting together a strong showing for much of Sunday's game at Lambeau Field, the Vikings' defense allowed the Packers to rally from down 28-0 and get back into the game in the fourth quarter. Minnesota allowed nine passing plays of at least 17 yards in the game, five of which came in the final quarter. The Packers ended up with 465 total yards, including 226 in the fourth.

Flores said this week that the Vikings had a "sense of comfort you can't have" against a team like the Packers. It served as a learning opportunity, one that thankfully came in a victory and not a disastrous blown-lead loss. Blake Cashman called it a humbling experience and a wake-up call. Jonathan Greenard said the Vikings are treating the win like a loss.

This defense is full of prideful veterans who weren't pleased with their play down the stretch against the Packers. It's led by a coach who holds them to a very high standard. So even though they're 4-0, they'll be fired up to put together a more complete defensive outing this week against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets in London.

"There's certainly some things we could have done better," Flores said. "Some calls I could have made to put us in a little bit better positions, some techniques, some fundamentals that we could have played a little bit better. Hopefully we make those corrections."

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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