Five Vikings stats that stand out for Week 6

Each week, beat guy Matt Vensel will highlight five Vikings stats that really mean something.

43.6 — Christian Ponder's passer rating on throws with 10 yards of the line.

One could pick a number of stats that show how much Ponder struggled against the Packers, but I chose this one because we previously paid attention to throws that both Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater attempted beyond 10 yards. While Cassel struggled on intermediate and deep throws, Ponder had trouble completing short throws in the 42-10 loss to the Packers. Ponder went 12-for-24 for 99 yards and an interception on passes aimed with nine yards of the line of scrimmage, per Pro Football Focus. He had a passer rating of 43.6 on those dinks and dunks.

50 — rushing yards after contact for Packers running back Eddie Lacy last week.

Lacy, Green Bay's bulldozing second-year back, got just 13 carries in Thursday night's blowout. But he made the most of them, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Of those 105 yards, 50 came after contact as the Vikings again had trouble making tackles. The Vikings missed nine tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, three of which were forced by Lacy, including a third-quarter touchdown where he gave safety Robert Blanton a ride into the end zone. And in their past three games, the Vikings have missed 26 tackles. Head coach Mike Zimmer can't be thrilled about that.

26 — completions rookie outside linebacker Anthony Barr has allowed in 2014.

Barr, the team's top pick in May's NFL draft, has a lot on his plate. Barr has played pretty much every snap for the Vikings, who have used him a variety of different ways, including covering tight ends, running backs and even wide receivers at times. Barr has dropped into coverage on 127 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. And no 4-3 outside linebacker has allowed more receptions. Barr has been beaten for 26 catches for 186 yards on 28 targets. Now it's hard to tell if Barr should be on the hook for all of those completions. But it's easy to see that he can improve in this area.

I don't normally use the grades from Pro Football Focus on the blog for reasons stated here. But I figured I should make an exception when it comes to Smith because he has impacted the game in so many different ways that one statistic doesn't reflect how important he has been this season. Through five games, Smith has PFF's highest overall grade amongst all NFL safeties. He also has the highest coverage grade amongst safeties. Smith had a league-high three interceptions, a team-high six passes broken up, 27 tackles and a sack. The Vikings can't afford to lose this guy right now.

six — penalties called on right defensive end Everson Griffen so far this season.