Revisiting Minnesota Vikings Bold Predictions: Defense was a great unit, but individual performances don’t live up to the hype
Our bold predictions from prior to the 2025 Minnesota Vikings season were off, but they were still excellent as a unit.
The story of the 2025 Minnesota Vikings can be told in two parts: injuries and defensive continuity.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is priority No. 1 for the Vikings to retain due to his excellent track record with the organization. Over the last three seasons, the Vikings have had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Last season, it was defined by stars like Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. This year, the effort felt much more collaborative.
Revisiting our bold predictions from back in September highlights a group that played well as a team.
Revisiting Minnesota Vikings 2025 defensive bold predictions
3 Vikings will register 10 plus sacks
Status: Fail
After the 2024 season, it was easy to think that the likes of Greenard and Van Ginkel were going to register 10+ sacks again, along with either Jonathan Allen or Javon Hargrave getting near that level. This was the biggest of the four bold predictions, and it failed. However, the Vikings did match their sack level from 2024 with 49.0 sacks for the second year in a row.
Unlike last year, the Vikings had their sacks split up across the board, with 16 players registering at least 0.5 sacks. Dallas Turner had the most on the team with 8.0, followed by Van Ginkel at 7.0, Eric Wilson at 6.5, and Jalen Redmond at 6.0. They had the sack by committee approach, and it worked out well.
Cornerback won’t be a problem if the room stays healthy
Status: Pass
This one is a prediction that could be pushed back upon. Overall, the cornerback room helped with a second-best pass defense. Isaiah Rodgers had the first-ever 99.9 grade from Pro Football Focus, and Byron Murphy Jr. was consistent across the board.
Outside of those two, it was a revolving door. Jeff Okudah played in just six games due to a concussion, while Fabian Moreau and Dwight McGlothern were just there. Even with the lack of depth at the position, it was never viewed as an issue, which is a testament to the job Flores has done.
Vikings’ run defense will finish top 10
Status: Fail
The Vikings made a surprising move when they traded Harrison Phillips before the end of training camp. It was a shock due to Phillips being the only true nose tackle on the team. Without him, it felt like the Vikings were punting on the run game for an improved pass rush. The pass rush on the interior was significantly improved, but the run defense suffered.
The Vikings finished 21st against the run, while the pass defense was second-best in the NFL. Overall, they were third-best in the league from a total yardage standpoint, and that’s a win for the unit as a whole, but the run defense bold prediction didn’t pan out.
Defense will force 25+ turnovers
Status: Fail
In 2024, the Vikings forced 33 turnovers. Some of that was good turnover luck, but most of it came from the unit being aggressive in attacking the football. This year, the Vikings were very aggressive in attacking the football, but it didn’t translate the same way it did the year prior with only 21 turnovers recorded by the defense.
There was a preseason narrative from a national perspective that the Vikings would have turnover regression overall, and it would be the big reason why they would “miss the playoffs.” It wasn’t why they missed the playoffs, and that idea was poor in itself, but they did have a significant regression, including eight games without a single turnover forced.
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