The Vikings defense is starting to come together, but there remains an uncharacteristic flaw in coach Mike Zimmer's side of the ball that should be worrisome with the Panthers' Christian McCaffery, Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott, and the Ravens' Lamar Jackson among the next three opponents.
Sunday's narrow win over the Lions marked the 12th straight game the Vikings allowed at least 100 rushing yards, doubling the longest such streak in the Zimmer era. The issues are multiple: a reconfigured front has lacked cohesion and left gaps open, and coaches aren't adjusting game plans quickly enough on the sideline.
"There's a lot of similar scheming that we're getting right now," Zimmer said Monday, "that teams don't do [against previous opponents] going into the game.