Vikings trading Harrison Phillips is coming back to haunt them, and it's only Week 3

Overall, the run defense was rough, and it started with the defensive line. The 2024 Vikings were second in the NFL in run defense. One of the biggest reasons for that was Phillips playing over the center. Losing that has been a big issue for the Vikings.

What has been surprising is how the Vikings have run their fronts. Instead of having a nose tackle over the center, it's been given mostly to Hargrave and Allen. They aren't great run defenders or players who can two-gap. Both consistently got moved off the line of scrimmage on Sunday night, and it wasn't pretty.

Hargrave gets absolutely blown off the ball here, but it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. He is listed at 307 pounds and struggled against double teams consistently last season, including the Vikings dominating him at the point of attack in their Week 2 matchup last year.

Surprisingly, the Vikings thought this was a good plan of attack against the run. To be fair to them in this instance, losing Blake Cashman was a decent factor in the run defense being so poor.

Where do we go from here? It's a bigger problem than the Vikings anticipated, and it could be much worse when facing the Cleveland Browns in three weeks, let alone the Philadelphia Eagles coming out of the bye week.

Taki Taimani is on the practice squad, but he only has his three call-ups before needing to be signed to the active roster. The Vikings need to figure something out and fast; otherwise, this could be the big Achilles heel that costs them a playoff game or even getting to the playoffs.

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