VikesNow is being frisky. Through three weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense ranks best in the world per EPA/play and DVOA – – and the battle isn’t terribly competitive. It’s the Vikings and “the rest.”
And based on how the defense has carried a flimsy offense, one must wonder: can the Vikings’ defense drag the franchise to The Promised Land? The best way to figure that out is to look at the monsters-of-rock defense of the past.
How the 2026 Vikings Stack Up with the Greats — So Far
2026 Vikings v. 1985 Bears
(bold gold equals the “winner”)
DVOA: 2026 MIN = -30.3% | 1985 CHI = -29.3%
Pts Allowed/GM: 2026 MIN = 13.7 | 1985 CHI = 12.4
Yds Allowed/GM: 2026 MIN = 319.7 | 1985 CHI = 258.4
TOs per Game: 2026 MIN = 2.0 | 1985 CHI = 3.4
Brian Flores’s defense has posted a better DVOA through three games than the 1985 Bears’ full-season mark, at least under FTN’s current formula. Chicago went 15-1, allowed 198 points all year, and forced 54 turnovers. Buddy Ryan’s defense also held opponents to 4.4 yards per play, and Chicago led the league in both points and yards allowed.
The DVOA advantage is pretty wild, at least out of the gate. The Vikings are sitting at -30.3%, compared with -29.3% for Chicago’s entire championship season. The old Bears win easily on yards and takeaways, and their 12.4 points allowed per game remains ridiculous even by their era’s standards. Flores has only three games on his side of the ledger.
The Vikings’ defensive start has been good enough to pull one of the sport’s most famous defenses into the conversation without the premise sounding completely unserious.
2026 Vikings v. 2000 Ravens
(gold bold equals the “winner”)
EPA: 2026 MIN = -0.204 | 2000 BAL = -0.229
DVOA: 2026 MIN = -30.3% | 2000 BAL = -21.1%
Pts Allowed/GM: 2026 MIN = 13.7 | 2000 BAL = 10.3
Yds Allowed/GM: 2026 MIN = 319.7 | 2000 BAL = 247.9
3rd Down %: 2026 MIN = 22.7% | 2000 BAL = 34.1%
TOs per Game: 2026 MIN = 2.0 | 2000 BAL = 3.1
Baltimore is probably the nastiest comparison on the page; it’s the heavyweight test. The 2000 Ravens allowed 165 points, an NFL record at the time, and gave up only 970 rushing yards all season.
Ray Lewis won Defensive Player of the Year while Marvin Lewis’ unit piled up 49 takeaways. Modern play-by-play data also gives Baltimore a -0.229 defensive EPA per play, the best figure in NextLevelStats‘ database for the 2000 season.
And yet the Vikings can still flash a few numbers back. Their -30.3% DVOA is better than Baltimore’s -21.1% full-season mark in FTN’s current archive, while opponents have converted only 22.7% of 3rd Downs against Flores. The Ravens finished at 34.1%. EPA swings the other direction, and Baltimore’s advantage in points and yards is enormous.
There’s also a sample-size issue: 16 games versus three. Even so, the fact this comparison isn’t immediately laughable tells the story. Through three weeks, the Vikings have been operating in statistical territory normally reserved for defenses people remember a quarter century later.
2026 Vikings v. 2017 Vikings
(gold bold equals the “winner”)
EPA: 2026 MIN = -0.204 | 2017 MIN = -0.135
DVOA: 2026 MIN = -30.3% | 2017 MIN = -20.6%
Pts Allowed/GM: 2026 MIN = 13.7 | 2017 MIN = 15.8
Yds Allowed/GM: 2026 MIN = 319.7 | 2017 MIN = 275.9
3rd Down %: 2026 MIN = 22.7% | 2017 MIN = 25.2%
TOs per Game: 2026 MIN = 2.0 | 2017 MIN = 1.2
This one hits closer to home. Mike Zimmer’s 2017 defense finished first in both points and yards allowed, then posted a 25.2% opponent conversion rate on 3rd Down.
The Vikings’ own website called it the best 3rd Down defense in NFL history at the time, with the statistic tracked back to 1991. Harrison Smith was at the center of it, and Xavier Rhodes was still playing at his peak on the outside.
Flores’s 2026 group has started even hotter in several categories. It owns the better DVOA, has allowed fewer points per game, and sits at 22.7% on 3rd Down. The current defense is also producing 2.0 takeaways per game, compared with 1.2 for Zimmer’s group.
The glaring exception is yardage. The 2017 team allowed only 275.9 yards per game over the season, while this year’s group sits at 319.7. Plenty of time remains for that number to move in either direction.
If the Vikings are still hovering around these efficiency marks in November, you can reasonably put the Vikings’ defenses of 2017 and 2026 in the same boat.
So, What’s the Verdict?
Three games can produce some wonderful statistical weirdness, and Flores hasn’t had to drag this defense through a full NFL season yet. Chicago and Baltimore did. Zimmer’s 2017 group made it through 16 games and carried the franchise to the NFC Championship. Those teams survived injuries and rematches. They also reached the point of the season when opponents had weeks of film available to start finding answers.
The 2026 Vikings haven’t reached any of those tests.
But this isn’t a comparison built only on points allowed. The Vikings lead the league in defensive EPA per play (- 0.204), FTN’s defensive DVOA (-30.3%), and 3rd down defense (22.7%). They have six takeaways in three games. Those are the kinds of numbers that earn a peek backward at Chicago, Baltimore, and the best Vikings defense of the last decade.
Of course, if the offense wakes up and plays at an at-least-average clip, the franchise can perhaps get off the schneid and win its first Super Bowl in 66 seasons. The defense probably won’t do it by itself.
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VikesNow Verdict: If Flores and Co. are still near these marks in November, the 2026 group belongs in the conversation with the NFL’s best defenses of the last 40 years.
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