With potent Lions up next, reeling Vikings defense is not in ‘panic mode’

Safety Harrison Smith’s 13th trip to Ford Field needs to go better than his 12th, when the Vikings’ chances at the NFC’s No. 1 seed last season were shattered by the freight train that is Sunday’s foe — the Detroit Lions — and the horn that blares inside the stadium after every Lions score.

“Probably the most electric I’ve seen that place, and rightfully so,” Smith said of the Vikings’ 31-9 loss in last year’s regular-season finale. “They’re proud of their team and they should be. They’re doing good things.”

“It certainly has changed since 2012,” he added.

Minnesota’s defense has changed in the 10 months since the last trip to Detroit. The Vikings (3-4) have lost back-to-back games as they travel to face the back-to-back NFC North champion Lions (5-2) on Sunday. In their four losses this season, the Vikings have been run on by both stars and backups. As the schedule presents graduate-level quarterbacks, they have failed those tests. So far, little help has come from their own offense.

The multitude of defensive problems, compounded by injuries, are stark for an expensive and veteran-laden group that expected to play deep into January.

“We’re not satisfied with where we’re at,” Smith said. “We need to do a better job stopping the run, making more plays on the ball, tighter in coverage, not giving up as many explosives.

“It sounds like a lot when I say it,” he added.

Only the Colts and Cowboys are averaging more than the Lions’ 30.7 points per game this season. At least it’s slightly lower than the 31.2 points they’ve averaged in five straight wins over the Vikings.

Safety Josh Metellus said there’s no “panic mode” setting in, insisting the Vikings see an opportunity to change the trajectory of the season.

“Itching bad,” Metellus said. “I circle this game every year, especially when you play at Ford Field, too.”

He added that when you get “whooped as much times as we got the past couple years, you kind of get a little bit more antsy when it comes up.

“You knock off the top of the division,” Metellus said, “you put yourself in a good spot as we head toward the end of the year.”

Some issues may be rooted to decisions in March, when the Vikings let safety Camryn Bynum walk in free agency and still ended up with the league’s most expensive roster, costing more than $336 million this season according to the website Over the Cap. Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave signed for a combined $42 million guaranteed and have not produced to their paychecks. Hargrave’s role has decreased since the Week 6 bye, ceding reps to Levi Drake Rodriguez.

Allen, who is tied for the team lead with 13 run stops, said he feels his performance has been ”good.”

“I’m not going to say it’s been great,” he said. “I’m not going to say it’s been terrible. I think for me it’s just doing anything I can to help this team … playing the run, rushing the passer, finishing on the quarterback.”

Inconsistency, injuries and, in Smith’s case, an illness have forced coaches back to the drawing board.

“We’ve got to find what’s the best style of play for this year’s group,” Flores said, “and in some instances it’s been like, ‘OK, we found it.’ And some others, there’s certainly some improvements we need to make.”

When Rodgers followed receiver A.J. Brown across the formation during a pre-snap motion in the Oct. 19 loss to the Eagles, Metellus, the team captain, waved off Rodgers and took Brown, who then scored a 37-yard touchdown on fourth down.

Are veterans pressing? Are they trying to do too much?

“I think that can creep in, but I don’t think that’s been the issue,” Smith said. “Just executing on a higher level is what we need to do.”

Step one is getting back to stopping the run.

It’s baked into the Flores formula, yet the Vikings are giving up 4.6 yards per carry on first down, ranking 21st in the NFL. That’s not how it’s supposed to work for one of the “most aggressive” defenses on first and second downs, said Cody Alexander, a former high school football coach turned author and host of the “Let’s Talk Ball!” podcast.

“They’ve flipped the script in the NFL for that,” Alexander said. “Their whole goal is to get you into third and longs, because Flores has ownership.

“When they can’t win early,” he said, “it just compounds the problems.”

Offenses have leaned on big guys to attack the Vikings.

Defenders have seen the pattern develop since the Falcons and Steelers successfully loaded up with multiple tight ends and extra offensive linemen in Weeks 2 and 4. It’s a way offenses prevent the “overload” that the Vikings force with run blitzes, Flores said.

Chargers running back Kimani Vidal gained more than half of his 117 rushing yards against the Vikings behind at least two tight ends, according to Sports Info Solutions. That’s among Detroit’s many strengths with Gibbs and running back David Montgomery.

The Lions’ continuity on offense — and the Vikings’ developing chemistry on defense — are also key factors. A reworked Vikings defense is still getting on the same page about how opponent run games change when they see Minnesota on the schedule.

“Trying to make sure everybody understands,” Metellus said, “there’s only a certain number of runs that coaches would comfortably call, and we just got to understand how to play those. I think we’re in a good spot.”

Goff, the 10th-year veteran whose teams are 7-3 against the Vikings, keeps directing one of the NFL’s most prolific attacks despite losing his play caller, Johnson, and Pro Bowl center, Frank Ragnow, in the offseason.

Goff’s familiarity with receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, whose seven touchdown grabs are tied for the league lead, and tight end Sam LaPorta extends to Flores’ defense, which he’s defeated four times in a row.

Goff told Detroit reporters this week he expects the standard Vikings pressures even after Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts recently diced up Flores’ blitzes.

Third down has been a weakness under new Lions play caller John Morton, whom Vikings defenders say has largely maintained the schemes established under Johnson. But Morton hasn’t found the same play-calling touch on third down, where Detroit ranks 22nd by converting around 37%.

Getting to third down is easier said than done against a balanced Lions attack that averages eight yards per throw (fifth) and 4.5 yards per run (12th).

“If you load up on the run,” Flores said, “they’re going to pass. If you load up on the pass, they’re going to run it. You blitz, they’ve got screens.”

One potential reinforcement, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, would be huge, edge rusher Jonathan Greenard said.

Van Ginkel, who is listed as questionable, practiced fully this week and hopes to return for the first time since Sept. 21, when he last played through a lingering neck injury that occurred in training camp. Van Ginkel had 11½ sacks and two interceptions returned for touchdowns last season, but his impact and absence are felt beyond the stats.