Brian Flores Is Making Life Miserable for Vikings Opponents

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores does not cause nightmares for opponents.

He causes insomnia.

Just listen to the players who have to prepare all week to face his defense. They dive into film, pore over the playbook and come up with a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D in case Plan A fails.

Then Flores finds a new way to confuse them.

“As a competitor, these weeks are super tough,” Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said before his team faced the Vikings in September. “Throughout the week, you’re (spending) five, six days out of the week and you’re just spending as much (time) as you can trying to figure out anything to be able to give your team the advantage. …

“You’re going throughout the week and you’re getting a little less sleep and all of that.”

A few days later, Williams and the Bears scored all of three points against the Vikings’ defense. One week earlier, the Bears hung 59 points against the Carolina Panthers.

“That scheme is one of a kind,” Williams said.

The Vikings are one of three undefeated teams entering Week 5 of the NFL schedule. The only other teams with a 4-0 record are the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

In the case of San Francisco and Kansas City, the teams have succeeded because of a combined effort. Both sides of the ball have contributed to the fast start.

For Minnesota, it’s all because of Flores and his blitz-heavy defense.

Consider this: The Vikings have failed to score a touchdown in two of four games to begin the season. Zero touchdowns in half of their games! And yet they remain undefeated.

So far at least, if you just give Flores a few field goals, he can take it from there.

Let’s take a look at some team statistics through Week 4.

• The Vikings have 16 sacks, which leads the NFL.
• The Vikings have 40 quarterback hits, which also leads the league.
• The Vikings are limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 67.6 passer rating, which is the best mark in the NFL. Only three other teams have an opposing passer rate of less than 80.
• The Vikings have allowed three defensive touchdowns, which is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the best mark in the NFL.
• The Vikings are allowing only 26.1% of opponent drives to end in a score, which is - you guessed it - tops in the NFL.

Any way you look at it, the Vikings have shined on defense through the first four weeks. Perhaps even more impressive, they’re doing so without the Myles Garretts and Aaron Donalds of the world. The Vikings have good defensive players, to be sure, but Flores has an ability to take a journeyman player such as linebacker Eric Wilson and turn him into a stud.

Or how about designing a defense that makes safety Harrison Smith look like a 25-year-old? Smith is 37 and did not get one practice repetition in the preseason, yet he looks like a star in the secondary once again with Flores calling the shots.

There are bound to be some bumps in the road ahead for Minnesota. The offense is too inconsistent, Kyler Murray is too injury prone, and the NFC North is too tough to assume that Flores can fix all of the team’s flaws and keep the Vikings atop the division all season long.

A key defensive injury or two could change the tenor of the season as well.

But Flores’ dominant defense is no fluke. He’s the best coordinator in the NFL, hands down, on either side of the ball. And he’s the reason the Vikings are feeling so good while their opponents are busy losing sleep.