BB.“Jared Allen Just Went Nuclear On The Vikings — And The Wildest Part? He’s Absolutely Right.”
Jared Allen doesn’t mince words. The Vikings legend, who terrorized quarterbacks for years in purple, went full blast on the “Up & Adams” show Monday, dissecting Minnesota’s embarrassing collapse against the Chargers like a surgeon with a chainsaw.
His verdict? “The biggest thing I saw was a lack of tackling and guys not using hands properly up front, and catching blocks. If you can’t stop the run, it’s simple: You have to stop the run and put guys behind the chains.”
Translation: The Vikings forgot how to play football at its most basic level.
And the numbers don’t lie. Against the Chargers, Minnesota racked up nine missed tackles and surrendered 207 rushing yards—to a backfield led by a sixth-round rookie (Kimani Vidal) and an undrafted journeyman (Jaret Patterson). That’s not a defense. That’s a turnstile.
Zoom out, and the pattern is brutal:
- In four losses: 10.3 missed tackles, 150.3 rushing yards allowed per game
- In three wins: 8.3 missed tackles, 104 rushing yards allowed
Still bad? Absolutely. But here’s the gut punch: Even those “better” numbers are a massive regression from 2024, when the Vikings allowed just 93.4 rushing yards per game and averaged a stingy 4.6 missed tackles.
This isn’t scheme. This isn’t personnel. This is fundamentals in freefall.
Allen’s fix is old-school simple: Tackle. Shed blocks. Stop the run. Force third-and-long. On offense? Run the damn ball and flip the script on the defense.
The Vikings thought they’d turned a corner after stuffing the Eagles in Week 7. Then Thursday night happened, and it was like the bye week never existed. Same missed tackles. Same gashed run defense. Same spiral.
Jared Allen didn’t just criticize—he dropped a mirror in front of the entire organization. And the reflection ain’t pretty.
But here’s the wild part: He’s not wrong. Not even close. Fix the basics, or the season’s cooked.
