Are the Minnesota Vikings the ideal opponent for the Eagles to get their ground game finally going against?
As Jimmy Kempski noted in his preview, the Vikings are light up front. They allow more than 130 rushing yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry, both of which rank in the bottom half of the NFL. They occasionally play former Eagles iDL Javon Hargrave at the nose in their 5-2 front, and Hargrave has always been more of a pass rusher than run stuffer.
Yards allowed and rush yards per carry aren't always the best indicators of a defense's competence. Some of that is dictated by the opponent's offensive tendencies and personnel. The Vikings also have the league's second-best pass defense, and they've also played some bad offensive teams, including the Dillon Gabriel-led Browns and Jake Browning-led Bengals.
So far this year, the Vikings have seen their opponents run against them at a 49.3-percent clip, the second-highest rate in the NFL behind only the Jets. Some of that is because they've played some average to below-average QBs and because their defensive coordinator Brian Flores is really good at blitzes a lot.
For the Vikings to be defending the second-most rushing attempts but only allowing the eight-most rushing yards shows they're not total pushovers.
Here's more interesting data about Minnesota's rush defense:
| Category | Stat/Rank |
| EPA/Rush | +0.03 (24th) |
| Stacked Box % | 26.5 (9th) |
| Run Stuff % | 19.0 (7th) |
| Rush Yds After Contact/Play | 3.47 (27th) |
| Rush Yds Before Contact/Play | 1.05 (6th) |
| Outside Run % | 58.5 (3rd highest) |
The advanced data shows that while opponents have a decently high EPA rush against the Vikings despite seeing a decent number of stacked boxes, they're also seeing their runs stuffed at a relatively high date and not getting many yards before contact.
It appears the Vikings are somewhat feast or famine in run defense.
The Vikings haven't only seen a high rate of opponent runs, they've also seen opponents go very heavy up front. They've played the NFL's third-highest rate of base personnel (either a 4-3 or 5-2 front, with no nickel corner on the field) because almost all of their opponents have leaned heavily on two-tight end formations (12 personnel).
The Steelers, who Minnesota played in Week 4, frequently used an extra guard to create a six-man line of scrimmage, along with 6-foot-7, 265-pound tight end Darnell "Mount" Washington. Sometimes, they put eight up front.
The Eagles also lean heavily on 12 personnel, and with poor blocker TE Grant Calcaterra out from an oblique, they'll probably use TE Kylen Granson and FB/TE Cam Latu to join Dallas Goedert in two-tight end formations.
Flores is one of the NFL's best schemers and is known for employing multiple fronts and throwing a flurry of blitzes and disguised blitzes at the quarterback that can really mess with protection schemes. Sometimes, it's just easier to stabilize your offense against Flores with the run game, especially if you've got a weapon like Barkley.
The All-22 tape shows that the while the Vikings have a lighter defensive front, they're also athletic and fast. They move quickly, and their linebackers get downhill with speed and shoot gaps, which can also works against them.
The Vikings don't often get blown off the ball but they do frequently take poor angles and miss tackles, especially at the second level.
Here are some examples from games the Vikings have played this year:
On that run by Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier, the Viking set the left edge well and LB Eric Wilson (55) – yes, that Eric Wilson – got downhill quickly to fill the gap and get past the center's angle block, but Wilson lunged at Allgeier's ankles and neither of the safeties came down quickly enough to make a stop closer to scrimmage.
That run came from D'Andre Swift run. The Vikings weren't get blown off the ball, although Pro Bowl LG Joe Thuney did an excellent job moving the 5-technique of the gap. Swift, another former Eagle, made a nifty jump-cut to his left and scampered out of a lunging tackle attempt from S Theo Jackson while OLB Jonathan Greenard (58) chased from behind.
The Falcons ran at Minnesota mainly from pistol formations. The Eagles occasionally do this and might want to increase their usage of pistol usage, which aligns the running back directly behind the quarterback and can eliminate a tell for the defense on the direction of the run.
Both Vikings ILBs crashed hard toward the A gaps, and Falcons Pro Bowl RG Chris Lindstrom drove back Hargrave to create just enough space for RB Bijan Robinson to slither through for an even bigger gain. The ILBs getting downhill fast left the safety (46) as the next-best defender from the second level to make a tackle, but he took a tough angle and got caught up in the wash.
This was really interesting. The Browns came out in 12 personnel, like they did for much of the game, with rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. aligned as a fullback. They ran a simple inside zone to rookie RB Quinshon Judkins. The Vikings did a decent job holding up at the point of the attack, even getting inside penetration against Browns C Ethan Pocic (55) that caused some traffic for Fannin and Judkins, but S Theo Jackson (26) took a really poor angle against Judkins, who cut to the outside for a big gain.
If there's one consistent observation from tape about the Vikings' defense, it's that they don't tackle well at the second and third levels.
If the Eagles can actually get Barkley sone room to run, he could capitalize there.
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