Why are the Minnesota Vikings 5-0? As the Vikings rest during their early bye week, many around the National Football League are stunned by the club’s perfect start. As we dive into the numbers, however, there are plenty of statistics explaining why the Vikings are undefeated and even showing plenty of room for improvement.
Minnesota already put itself through quite the gauntlet early in the season, beating three Super Bowl contenders (San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers). In each game, the Vikings took a two-score lead and offered glimpses of outright dominance.
Of course, there have been some second-half issues and some of our numbers also showcase areas the team will need to address to keep winning. Let’s dive into the Vikings stats that help paint the picture for this team’s undefeated start and critical factors fans need to watch for moving forward.
9.6 – Points per First Quarter by the Minnesota Vikings
One frequent point raised by NFL analysts questioning the legitimacy of the Vikings’ success is that this team is a front-runner. Minnesota likes to play a particular brand of football and they are phenomenal at it, but it does require plenty to be going right.
aking an early lead means Kevin O’Connell can stick to the ground game with running back Aaron Jones. Jones is especially great at avoiding negative plays, which sets up short third-and-distance for quarterback Sam Darnold and this passing game. Early leads also allow defensive coordinator Brian Flores to maintain his aggressive play-calling.
While the analysts do make a reasonable argument, the counterpoint is just that the Vikings are outstanding in their weekly preparation which sets up hot starts. Entering the Week 6 bye, Minnesota leads the NFL in points per first quarter (9.6) and it is allowing the fewest points per game in the first quarter (0.6).
Putting that into perspective, the second-highest-scoring team in the first 15 minutes is the Arizona Cardinals (8.4) and the second-best first-quarter defense in points allowed (1.8, Los Angeles Chargers) trails far behind the Vikings. Minnesota is also joined by the Baltimore Ravens (7.6 and 2.6) as the only two NFL teams to rank in the top five this season.
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11 – Number of touches on which Aaron Jones didn’t gain a yard
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The Vikings had one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL last season. It got so bad that O’Connell slowly had to start significantly reducing the number of rushing plays, finishing the season with the third-lowest rushing rate (36.69 percent) in the NFL. Minnesota finished last season 29th in rushing yards per game (91.4), 24th in yards per carry (4.0) and last in rushing yards percentage (26.27 percent). It’s the reason why the team signed Aaron Jones.
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What a difference a Pro Bowl running back makes. Entering NFL games today, the Vikings are 17th in rushing yards per game (115.4), 19th in rushing yards percentage (35.71 percent) and O’Connell is now running the football 48.14 percent of the time. It’s a credit to Jones.
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Of his 88 touches this season, just 11 went for 0 or negative yards and one of those was a reception. Breaking it down even further, just 7-of-71 carries have been for a loss of yards. Jones also boasts the fourth-highest yards after contact per attempt (3.55), according to Pro Football Focus among running backs with 50-plus carries and is 12th in Elusive Rating (68.6). It’s why Jones’s health is one of the most critical factors to Minnesota’s success moving forward.
33.1 – Sam Darnold’s QB rating differential when pressured vs clean pocket
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Even coming off his worst performance of the season, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is still neck-and-neck with Jayden Daniels in NFL MVP odds. Through five games, he has the second-most passing touchdowns (11) in the NFL, with a QB rating (103.4) that puts him ahead of Josh Allen, Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud.
One key to his success this season has been Minnesota’s ability to maintain a clean pocket, but that isn’t always a given with this Vikings offensive line. When Ed Ingram is your right guard, clean pockets can be hard to come by.
Minnesota Vikings offensive line statistics via Pro Football Focus. Out of 24 qualified starters
Among NFL teams that have played five-plus games, the Vikings offensive line has allowed the 10th-most pressures (50) and this unit currently ranks 21st in PFF’s Pass Blocking Efficiency. This is especially critical because of how Darnold is performing this season from a clean pocket versus when pressured.
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When the pocket is kept clean, Darnold has the third-highest QB rating (113.0) and touchdown passes (seven) with the second-highest yards per attempt (9.5) and Big-Time Throw rate (5.7 percent) among quarterbacks with three-plus starts. However, his QB rating falls to 79.9 (12th) with a 4.7 yards per attempt average (23rd) and a 2.5% Big-Time Throw rate (22nd) when pressured.
The Vikings have kept the pocket relatively clean, but second-half issues for this offense can be traced back to the issues at center and right guard. Favorable game scripts have also likely protected Darnold more, preventing opponents from ‘pinning their ears back’ and being even more aggressive. There is a clear issue, though, which could prove costly down the line. It also highlights how things can get better if the problem area is addressed.
10.7% – Minnesota Vikings’ pressure rate improvement from 2023 to 2024
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One of the biggest year-to-year improvements in the NFL this season is the Vikings defense. Minnesota finished with a bottom-five defense in 2022 then Brian Flores took over as defensive coordinator and helped this unit make a big step. One year later, the Vikings have one of the best defenses in the NFL.
As Bill Belichick has said many times, pressures are more important than sacks. Getting an offense out of rhythm or forcing a quarterback either off his spot or to make a throw under duress makes a huge difference.
It’s part of the reason why this Vikings defense has lowered its completion rate by nearly 10 percent, inducing a 25-point drop in average QB rating allowed a 10% improvement in third-down conversion rate allowed to opponents. Pressure is king in the NFL and thanks to Flores’ play-calling and this overhauled pass rush, the Vikings defense has dramatically improved.