has been a bit of a rocky road for the team so far, one thing is certain: the Minnesota Vikings defense has remained elite. As the Vikings prepare to host the Philadelphia Eagles, here is a look at where Minnesota ranks defensively through the first third of the regular season.
Team Defense
 hauls in a reception during first-half action against the Minnesota Vikings. The play unfolded on Sep. 8, 2025, at Soldier Field in Chicago, where Odunze’s athletic grab added a highlight to the early stages of the divisional battle as both teams looked to establish momentum in the NFC North contest. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images.</p>
<p>” data-medium-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Byron-Murphy-Jr.jpg” data-large-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1180,height=582,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Byron-Murphy-Jr.jpg” src=”https://vikingsterritory.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Byron-Murphy-Jr-788×389.jpg” alt=”Minnesota Vikings defense” ><figcaption>Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (15) hauls in a reception during first-half action against the Minnesota Vikings. The play unfolded on Sep. 8, 2025, at Soldier Field in Chicago, where Odunze’s athletic grab added a highlight to the early stages of the divisional battle as both teams looked to establish momentum in the NFC North contest. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images.<span></span></figcaption></figure>
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<h4>Total Defense</h4>
<ul>
<li>Points Allowed per Game: 19.4 (5th)</li>
<li>Total Yards Allowed per Game: 289.8 (6th)</li>
<li>Plays per Game: 59.6 (13th)</li>
<li>Yards Allowed per Play: 4.9 (8th)</li>
<li>First Downs Allowed per Game: 17.4 (7th)</li>
<li>Takeaways per Game: 1.4 (9th)</li>
<li>Overall PFF Grade: 66.4 (16th)</li>
<li>EPA/Play: -0.13 (2nd)</li>
</ul>
<p>There’s no question that much of the Vikings’ success so far this season has been carried by their defense. Once again, Brian Flores has this group working as a top 10 unit despite injuries to players like Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel. The one difference is they haven’t been as good as forcing turnovers. Five of their seven takeaways this season came during the Bengals game, inflating that number a little bit.</p>
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Pass Defense
- Completions Allowed per Game: 18.0 (T-3rd)
- Pass Attempts Against per Game: 27.6 (30th-most)
- Passing Yards Allowed per Game: 157.6 (2nd)
- Net Yards Allowed per Pass Attempt: 5.2 (4th)
- Passing First Downs Allowed per Game: 7.2 (1st)
- Passing TDs Allowed per Game: 1.0 (4th)
- Interceptions per Game: 0.4 (T-22nd)
- Sacks per Game: 2.6 (11th)
- Pass Rush PFF Grade: 69.2 (19th)
- Coverage PFF Grade: 65.6 (8th)
- EPA/Pass: -0.35 (1st)
Run Defense
- Carries Against per Game: 29.4 (8th-most)
- Rushing Yards Allowed per Game: 132.2 (24th)
- Yards Allowed per Carry: 4.5 (23rd)
- Rushing First Downs Allowed per Game: 8.2 (26th)
- Rushing TDs Allowed per Game: 0.8 (T-13th)
- Fumbles Recovered per Game: 1.0 (T-1st)
- Run Defense PFF Grade: 62.8 (23rd)
- EPA/Run: 0.05 (T-25th)
The Vikings’ defense has seen a bit of an inverse of the success from what we’ve seen over the past few years. Despite cornerback and safety being positions serving big question marks in the offseason, Minnesota’s pass defense has been elite all season even if their sack numbers aren’t quite in the top 10 yet. However, where they have struggled so far this season is run defense. Typically, Flores’ defense has been able to stuff the run on a regular basis, but that has not been the case so far in 2025.
Individual Players
” data-medium-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jonathan-Greenard-1.jpg” data-large-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1180,height=670,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jonathan-Greenard-1.jpg” src=”https://vikingsterritory.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jonathan-Greenard-1-788×447.jpg” alt=”Vikings OLB Jonathan Greenard against the Falcons in Week 2 of 2025.” >
OLB Jonathan Greenard
- Solo Tackles: 8 (T-321st)
- Tackles for Loss: 4 (T-36th)
- QB Pressures: 18 (T-38th)
- Sacks: 1.0 (T-113th)
- PFF Grade: 75.6 (25th among 80 EDGEs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
OLB Dallas Turner
- Solo Tackles: 8 (T-321st)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-118th)
- QB Pressures: 7 (T-141st)
- Sacks: 1.0 (T-113th)
- PFF Grade: 59.7 (60th among 80 EDGEs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
DT Jonathan Allen
- Solo Tackles 9 (T-288th)
- Tackles for Loss: 1 (T-230th)
- QB Pressures: 9 (T-110th)
- Sacks: 0
- PFF Grade: 49.7 (74th among 82 DTs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
DT Jalen Redmond
- Solo Tackles: 9 (T-288th)
- Tackles for Loss: 4 (T-36th)
- QB Pressures: 11 (T-85th)
- Sacks: 3.0 (T-30th)
- PFF Grade: 75.0 (15th among 82 DTs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
LB Eric Wilson
- Solo Tackles: 18 (T-110th)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-118th)
- Forced Fumbles: 2 (T-5th)
- PFF Grade: 54.4 (53rd among 71 LBs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
LB Ivan Pace
- Solo Tackles: 23 (T-48th)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-118th)
- QB Pressures: 9 (T-110th)
- Sacks: 1.0 (T-113th)
- PFF Grade: 45.5 (62nd among 71 LBs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
CB Byron Murphy
- Solo Tackles: 18 (T-110th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- Passes Defended: 2 (T-110th)
- Interceptions: 0
- PFF Grade: 52.9 (76th among 92 CBs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
CB Isaiah Rodgers
- Solo Tackles: 14 (T-172nd)
- Tackles for Loss: 2 (T-118th)
- Passes Defended: 2 (T-110th)
- Interceptions: 1 (T-24th)
- Forced Fumbles: 2 (T-5th)
- PFF Grade: 82.2 (T-4th among 92 CBs with min. 150 defensive snaps)
S Josh Metellus
- Solo Tackles: 19 (T-89th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- Passes Defended: 3 (T-60th)
- Interceptions: 1 (T-24th)
- PFF Grade: 74.3 (15th among 76 safeties with min. 150 defensive snaps)
S Theo Jackson
- Solo Tackles: 10 (T-254th)
- Tackles for Loss: 0
- Passes Defended: 0
- Interceptions: 0
- Forced Fumbles: 1 (T-16th)
- PFF Grade: 65.8 (T-33rd among 76 safeties with min. 150 defensive snaps)
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via NFL Next Gen Stats, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, and nfeloapp.com.
Josh Frey is a senior writer at both PurplePTSD.com and VikingsTerritory.com, with a fascination for the NFL Draft. To … More about Josh Frey
