Before the season kicks off, I'll be taking a look at the Vikings' best offensive and defensive player each game and highlighting exactly why and how they had such a good game. For simplicity sake, I'll be choosing whoever PFF rated as the best player on each side of the ball that week. Right now that's the easiest way to do it, but I'm open to other suggestions like possibly a vote for the upcoming season.

Week number two, the Vikings opened up their new stadium with a game versus their bitter rivals: the Green Bay Packers. It was a close game with the Vikings D showing up in a big way, limiting Aaron Rodgers and Co. to only 14 points. The best player on the defense may be surprising now that the season is done, but Anthony Barr had a stellar game to lead the Vikings D. On the stat sheet Barr ended up with only two tackles for the game, yet somehow he ended up being the highest-graded Viking on D, barely edging out Captain Munnerlyn. How does something like that happen?

Linebackers in the NFL are often judged off of one thing: tackles. If you aren’t racking them up, you aren’t playing well in the eyes of most people. Yes, usually good linebackers rack up tackles, but different linebackers have different roles on different defenses. Some schemes funnel the ball carrier to a certain player while the other linebackers take on blockers and dictate the path of the ball carrier. Some schemes have the defensive line flying upfield to wreak havoc, and others have their DL play more controlled and have them occupy offensive linemen - making it easier for linebackers to flow to the ball carrier. When examining a linebacker's play you have to look at more than the results. Anthony Barr plays the Sam linebacker spot in the Vikings' defense, and this requires him to take on a lot of blocks. So when looking at his impact in the run game you have to look at what happens before the tackle as much as who makes the tackle. It’s like how a good DB doesn’t always get the ball thrown at him; you have to look at what happens before the ball is thrown just as well as what happens after it’s thrown. With that being said, let’s get to it!

Week 2 versus the Packers in 2016 was a vintage Anthony Barr performance. He did it all: versus the run, in coverage, and when rushing the passer.

Versus the run - as I highlighted - Barr didn’t make many tackles, but he did have a big impact. He was aggressive attacking the LOS this game - something we didn’t see often last season.

This is a good example of filling your gap and forcing the runner somewhere else to get tackled. Barr attacks upfield and beats the OG. At this point the runner basically chooses who gets the tackle: Barr or Kendricks.



On this 3rd quarter play, Barr blows up the OG and forces the runner to cut back - leading to a TFL. Barr knocks the OG three yards into the backfield completely disrupting the play even without making the tackle.



Here's the play in its entirety. Notice how aggressive he is attacking the blocker. We didn't see that often last year even when he was blitzing.



On this play he reads toss and does an excellent job of leveraging the RB. He mirrors the RB as he moves laterally before coming up and making the tackle for just a yard gain.



This play shows everything we wish Barr would consistently do: here he reads the play, shoots the open window, and drops Eddie Lacy for no gain.



In coverage Barr was usually responsible for the checkdown option. Whenever the Vikings pass rush was getting home or the back end was locked down, Rodgers looked to his checkdown but he was never able to go to him. This helped force Aaron Rodgers to hold onto the ball and try to scramble which led to three fumbles and five sacks.

Here’s a clear example of Rodgers looking to hit his checkdown option, which is blanketed, leading to a sack.



Barr didn’t rush the passer too often this game, but when he did he flashed the ability that makes him such a unique weapon.

On this blitz, Barr feigns dropping back before exploding past the OL into the backfield. He really shows an elite level of burst here, even clearing the OGs hands as he runs by him.


On another rush in the 4th quarter, Barr gets matched up on a LB and it was over before it started. He puts a swim move on the blocker and forces another rushed throw by Rodgers which leads to a dropped pick.



This game we got to see one of the rare appearances of 2015 Anthony Barr. He was contributing in all facets of the game, but most importantly, he was aggressive. That wasn’t something we saw often throughout the 2016 season, and if Barr is looking for a contract extension he better take his intensity level up another notch in 2017.