There were a few hiccups by the Minnesota Vikings defense in their 19-15 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 8. The Lions established a dominant running game in the second half as Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki pierced a defense that had basically played perfect football through the previous six games.
There was no panic from defensive coordinator Brian Flores when he addressed his defense's performance against Detroit. He basically applauded the way his players competed against the Lions throughout the game, and said the loss came down to a few plays that went Detroit's way.
He also took the blame for his defense allowing Gibbs to run for 153 yards and Vaki to gain 65. The Vikings (6-1) struggled to put both running backs on the ground, missing 19 tackles. "That's on me and it will be addressed," Flores said . "We have drills to put ball carriers on the ground, drills to set the edge and we have to work on that."
Despite the tackling issues that allowed the Lions to run the ball so successfully, Flores had no regrets about his defense's overall play or the heavy blitzing scheme the Vikings employ.
Flores explained that he never has regrets about deciding to send extra pass rushers at opposing quarterbacks. "The only regrets I ever have come when we didn't blitz," Flores said about sending at least one extra rusher on 26 of 29 Detroit pass attempts.
He explained that his defense requires opposing quarterbacks to figure out who is coming after the quarterback and who is dropping out to cover opposing receivers.
He continues to credit players like Blake Cashman, Dallas Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel, Josh Metellus and Eric Wilson.
The Vikings have a huge game in Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills and explosive QB Josh Allen, and Flores has lost none of his confidence in his defense's ability to make plays and slow down an opposing attack.
The defense is still No. 1 in the league in points allowed per game and second in yards and passing yards allowed. However, that defense clearly needs more support than it has gotten from the offense to this point.
This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
