Griffen signed right before the season and he’s second on the team with five sacks.Įxpected to be a situational rusher when he signed, the team has needed Griffen’s production. The Ravens ran for 247 yards on Sunday.Ī somewhat unexpected reason for the improved pass rush has been the return of veteran Everson Griffen. One of the expected run stuffers, defensive tackle Michael Pierce, has missed the past four games with an elbow injury. Minnesota is allowing 136.6 rushing yards per game, the third-highest total in the league. There have been defensive breakdowns, but the biggest shortfall on defense has been handling the running game. Hunter has a team-high six sacks, but is lost for the season with a torn pectoral. Now, the question is how will Minnesota handle being without Hunter, who returned to form after missing all of last season with a neck injury that required surgery. The Vikings are tied for second in the league with 27 sacks, just one behind the Los Angeles Rams going into Monday night.
With the return of Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter, Minnesota’s pass rush again has teeth. “We’ve had enough of the kind of hanging in games and losing them at the end.” We got to put teams away,’” Thielen said. “At this point, everybody knows, ‘We got to go. The Vikings had 173 yards on the first two possessions. On the next drive, Cook rumbled for a season-high, 66-yard run and Cousins finished the drive with a dive over the top of the pile into the end zone. Jefferson hauled in a 50-yard touchdown pass on the first possession on Sunday. I know the fans are done with it, us coming in here every single week and saying, ‘We have the guys, we’ve just got to go out and execute.’ So, I don’t really know what to say, because that’s the same thing each week.” “We know we have the guys, we know we have the quarterback, we know we have the skill-position guys, we know we have the offensive line, we know our coaches are busting their tails to do whatever it takes, but it’s kind of getting old,” receiver Adam Thielen said. From the second quarter on, it’s 24th in scoring. Inevitably, after the fast starts, the offense bogs down.Īccording to SportsRadar, Minnesota is fourth in the NFL in first-quarter scoring. We’re working on doing that and will continue to work hard and keep going from there.”
“I’ve got to figure out a way to teach them how to finish these games so we’re on the other side of this thing as opposed to the way it came out yesterday. “Seven out of the eight games have come down to the last play,” Zimmer said.