Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores didn’t want any jinxes Tuesday when asked his view on the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive numbers, particularly those of running back Saquon Barkley, being down through six games.
“They’re the defending champs,” Flores said. “I’m not really looking at the numbers. Just the history and the talent that’s there. The explosiveness that’s there. We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us.”
The Eagles (4-2), the Vikings’ opponent Sunday, have not looked as offensively dominant as they did during their championship run last season. But Barkley, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, still presents the Vikings a challenge in an area they’ve struggled with at the beginning of the season: run defense.
The Vikings (3-2) have allowed 4.5 average yards per carry, a number that has them just outside the bottom third of the league.
Two backs have posted 100-yard games against them (Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson and Cleveland’s Quinshon Judkins); Pittsburgh’s Kenneth Gainwell came one yard shy.
Flores acknowledged the room for improvement on run defense and said it was a major focus of the self-scout he and other defensive coaches conducted during the bye week.
He said he asked questions of himself like how he can put players in better positions and whether he’s calling too much of one thing over another.
“It’s not the flashy stuff,” Flores said. “There’s nothing flashy about it. It’s really the non-sexy things that we just need to do a better job of, be more consistent with.”
