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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Tyler Forness

Vikings defensive PFF grades in Week 1 vs. Buccaneers

There were some positive elements from the Minnesota Vikings in week one, but they ultimately lost 20-17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brian Flores’ defense came to play by allowing only 242 yards to the Buccaneers. The better part of that number was only 90 of them came in the first half. They game Baker Mayfield and the offense fits, but multiple mistakes on offense ended up costing them the win in the end.

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Overall, the snap counts on defense paint a different picture than what the grades from Pro Football Focus show. There were some standout performances, but a lack of playing time for other players showed more.

Top 5 run defense

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
  • S Camryn Bynum: 75.4
  • ILB Jordan Hicks: 71.8
  • NT Harrison Phillips: 70.0
  • CB Byron Murphy: 68.5
  • S Josh Metellus: 67.7

Bottom 5 run defense

Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
  • OLB Patrick Jones II: 28.13
  • DE Dean Lowry: 51.6
  • CB Akayleb Evans: 54.9
  • OLB D.J. Wonnum: 59.4
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon: 60.0

Top 5 pass rush

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
  • ILB Ivan Pace Jr.: 90.0
  • S Josh Metellus: 67.6
  • ILB Jordan Hicks: 62.9
  • OLB Danielle Hunter: 62.5
  • NT Harrison Phillips: 62.5

Bottom 5 pass rush

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
  • OLB Benton Whitley: 39.8
  • OLB D.J. Wonnum: 51.0
  • DE Dean Lowry: 51.9
  • S Harrison Smith: 52.5
  • DE Jonathan Bullard: 52.7

Top 5 coverage

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
  • S Camryn Bynum: 76.3
  • OLB D.J. Wonnum: 75.9
  • S Josh Metellus: 68.4
  • LB Ivan Pace Jr.: 67.7
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon: 63.8

Bottom 5 coverage

Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
  • OLB Patrick Jones II: 47.3
  • DE Dean Lowry: 58.9
  • S Theo Jackson: 60.0
  • ILB Brian Asamoah: 60.0
  • CB Akayleb Evans: 60.6

Top 5 tackling

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
  • S Camryn Bynum: 82.5
  • ILB Ivan Pace Jr.: 80.8
  • S Harrison Smith: 79.6
  • S Josh Metellus: 78.6
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon: 76.6

Bottom 5 tackling

AP Photo/Craig Lassig
  • OLB Patrick Jones II: 19.5
  • OLB Benton Whitley: 25.0
  • CB Byron Murphy Jr.: 29.7
  • DE Dean Lowry: 40.2
  • CB Akayleb Evans: 58.1

The Real Forno Show

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