The Minnesota Vikings got off to a rather slow start in 2019, going 2-2 with both losses against divisional opponents. Similar to their 2017 season where they went 13-3, they have now won four straight games since starting the first quarter of the season .500.
It has been an interesting ride up to the halfway point getting to 6-2, with a few different storylines circulating both local and national media outlets.
Storylines have ranged from Stefon Diggs trade rumors, Adam Thielen saying the offense needs to be better, Kirk Cousins not being able to win in prime time or against opponents with a winning record, and even having players mentioned in the MVP race.
With such a wide variety of storylines, and a coach in Mike Zimmer who doesn’t always love being involved in those storylines, it has been an impressive turnaround for the Vikings. There have been a few players who have stepped up and been a huge reason for the recent success, whereas some have shown regression and even limited success for the team.
Here are the winners and losers halfway through the regular season, beginning with those who have underperformed.
Losers
CB Xavier Rhodes
The term “Rhodes Closed” was one Vikings fans had gotten used to in the 2017 season. Since then, it has seemed like the moment the freeway finally opens up after a long summer of road construction. Rhodes hasn’t performed nearly as well in the 2019 season, and he is fully aware of it.
“Right now, I’m hurting my team. They’re helping me out with the wins,” Rhodes said. “It’s the penalties that’s been killing me. I feel like in coverage, I’ve been in great coverage all the games I’ve played, but it’s the penalties that have been killing me.”
The pass interference and defensive holding penalties have been killing the Vikings. Rhodes has seven penalties and only three pass breakups at the halfway point, a territory he is not familiar with.
Part of the blame can be dished to the coaching staff, however. Rhodes is a much more physical cornerback, and matches up much better with the big-bodied receivers. Zimmer has asked Rhodes to stay over the top of receivers more, limiting the physical aspect of his game.
“This guy has to play like a power forward.” Zimmer said. “That’s how he has to play. That’s his game. He’s not going to play like Mackensie [Alexander] or Mike Hughes or one of these little guys. He’s got to play as a power forward, and if he gets some penalties, he’s going to get some.
The good news is Zimmer still has faith in his No. 1 cornerback. Rhodes is still a crucial aspect to the Vikings secondary, and has a proven track record of being able to shut down big-name receivers. Minnesotans know that at the end of the day, construction comes back, and the Rhodes close once again.
G Pat Elflein
For the majority of the season, the offensive line has played rather well. Rookie center Garrett Bradbury got off to a slow start but has seemed to find his way as of late, and second-year tackle Brian O’Neill is yet to allow a sack in his career. The offensive line has been a talking point for Vikings fans for many years, but it seems to have at least found its way towards being average.
Pat Elflein has been the most talked-about lineman on the Vikings depth chart. Elflein had a lot of high hopes switching over to guard after the addition of a first-round center, but he has struggled throughout the season. He has allowed four of the 15 sacks on Kirk Cousins and has five penalties, according to Pro Football Focus.
A great offensive line isn’t a luxury the Vikings have had in the last few years, and they might be OK with just an average to above-average unit. It will be crucial for Elflein to improve his play if the Vikings want to continue to progress the big men up front.
Winners
Now, let’s get to the fun part and talk about the key reasons the Vikings have improved their record to 6-2.
The run game
After a 2018 season where the run game was a negative talking point, 2019 has flipped the script. The addition of Gary Kubiak and his outside zone running scheme has clearly paid off for the Vikings and offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. After taking over for John DeFilippo at the end of 2018, Stefanski has proven that he can provide a balanced offensive attack week in and week out.
A huge reason the run game has been so successful is because of the rise of Dalvin Cook. Through the first eight games of the season, Cook leads the league with 823 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns, and also is nearing 300 receiving yards. Not only is he dominating opposing NFL defenses, but Cook’s name should be considered for MVP of the NFL through the first eight games.
This category could have been titled with just Cook’s name, but that would be forgetting another big reason the run game has found success. Rookie running back Alexander Mattison out of Boise State has rushed for 331 yards, while averaging 4.9 yards a carry. Mattison has been able to adapt to the NFL early on in his career, and has proven that the one-two punch of himself and Cook is about as dynamic as they come in this league.
LB Eric Kendricks
Kendricks is quietly having the best season of his five-year career. Since he came to the league in 2015, Kendricks has played a crucial role in Zimmer’s defense but never seems to get the attention he deserves.
Through the first eight games, Kendricks leads the Vikings in tackles with 68 total, and also has 10 pass deflections. If he is able to keep up at that pace, he would finish the season with 136 tackles and 20 pass deflections.
Kendricks has never made it to a Pro Bowl, and has even acknowledged to the media that he feels he is underrated. However, if Kendricks can keep up this pace, there is no reason people should keep his name off of their Pro Bowl ballots.
DEs Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen
Having a great pass rusher on a defense makes it easier for a defense to find success, and the Vikings are lucky enough to have two great pass rushers. Hunter has eight sacks this season and is two sacks behind the NFL leader. Everson Griffen has chipped in 4.5 sacks, too.
Although the sack total isn’t as high as he would probably like, Griffen has still played a huge role in why the team sits four games above .500. Not only is he consistently putting pressure on the quarterback, but he is also an emotional leader for the Vikings. His absence was felt in 2018 when he was going through a personal battle with mental health. In 2019, it is clear that he is in the right state of mind, and he is helping the Vikings win football games.
Hunter is now the record holder of the most sacks before a 25th birthday with 48. He is also third on the team with 39 total tackles, behind Kendricks and Harrison Smith. The former third-round pick out of LSU is proving that Rick Spielman and his scouting team are very good at finding talent later on draft day.
The pass rush of Hunter and Griffen is going to play a huge role in the upcoming weeks. With the Vikings taking on quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and potentially Patrick Mahomes, it will be vital for them to create pressure.
S Anthony Harris
Harrison Smith can always be looked at as a winner for the Vikings defense, but what his counterpart Harris is doing has been equally impressive.
Harris leads the team with three interceptions and is top five in tackles with 37. Allowing Smith to play his hybrid safety role was never a strength of former Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo, because he lacked the ballhawk mentality that good coverage safeties have.
The strong suit of Harris is his mentality of going after the ball, and he has been a nice complement to Smith in the secondary.
K Dan Bailey
Vikings fans know the struggles this team has gone through at the kicker position over the years. By simply stating a year, a Minnesotan knows exactly where they were when the names Gary Anderson or Blair Walsh are mentioned.
In 2019, the kicking position has hardly been talked about since the Kaare Vedvik experiment. In fact, Vikings fans should feel confident in their teams kicking situation … for now.
Bailey has made 12 of 14 field goals thus far, and made 23 of his 24 extra points. Bailey is coming off a 4-for-4 night against the Washington Redskins where he scored 13 of the team’s 19 points.
When a game comes down to a crucial kick, Viking fans will never feel optimistic about a kick splitting the uprights. However, in 2019, Bailey has gone off script and found success for the Vikings.
QB Kirk Cousins
The most talked-about Viking in the last two years gets saved for last because he has done a complete 180 since the loss against the Bears. In his last four games, Cousins has thrown for 1,262 yards, 10 touchdowns, and only one interception that bounced off of Stefon Diggs’ hands.
Not only has Cousins put up a very good stat line over the last month, but he also did something no other quarterback in the history of the NFL has done.
Cousins has gotten a lot of scrutiny during his time in Minnesota, and a lot of it is deserved. He threw a horrible interception against the Packers that ultimately cost the Vikings a divisional win. However, in the last month, Cousins has put up MVP-like numbers and even won a primetime game against his former team.
If there was ever a time to flip the script on a career path, it’s now for Cousins. He has shown that he is the most talented quarterback the Vikings have had since Brett Favre, and he will get the chance to prove the doubters wrong over the next month.
The team has a crucial stretch of games coming up, both in primetime and against teams with winning records. The argument can be made that the last four games have not been against even above-average teams, so the Vikings will get their chance to either prove the doubters wrong, or right, in the upcoming weeks.
The Vikings start the second half of the season on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, where they will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at noon central time.
