(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

An embarrassing final period. An epic near-collapse. A defensive meltdown worse than any other in the Brad Childress era.

With wins like this, who needs a loss?

Minnesota should take many emotions away from Sunday’s escape from disaster—shock, confusion, chagrin—but relief isn’t one of them.

To be sure, there’s nothing wrong with a close victory over a quality opponent like Baltimore. There’s nothing wrong with another stellar day from Brett Favre (21-of-29, 278 yards, three touchdowns). There’s nothing wrong with 143 yards on 22 carries from Adrian Peterson.

But there’s something very wrong with a defense that has allowed 400 yards or more in three consecutive games—after letting opponents reach that mark just three times in defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s first 35 games at the helm.  

The 1,272 yards Minnesota has given up over the past three weeks are the most surrendered in any three-game stretch of Frazier’s tenure. The 448 yards gained by the Ravens were the most by any Vikings opponent since 2005.

Wins in all three of those games have kept most critics quiet, but in the long run, that kind of generosity is unsustainable.

So what’s the problem? Opponents are starting to figure out that the Vikings are stout on the ground, but prone to lapses in defending the pass.

This is not a new phenomenon. Last season, Minnesota’s pass defense was the definition of average. The Vikes ranked 16th in the league in both completion percentage allowed (61.1 percent) and opponent passer rating (81.5), and 18th in passing yards allowed.

A strong pass rush covers up plenty of shortcomings, and Minnesota’s front four do plenty of covering: The team finished fourth in the NFL in sacks last year, and currently leads the league with 16.

But when Jared Allen & Co. aren’t getting to the quarterback, the secondary is far from airtight. In fact, this year, it’s gone from middling to frightening. Consider that the Vikings have allowed:

• The ninth-best opposing passer rating (91.0) in the league.
• The seventh-highest completion percentage (64.9 percent).
• The seventh-most yards passing (1,490).
• The second-most pass plays of 20 yards or longer (24).

Timely turnovers have limited the damage, and it’s fair to point Minnesota’s defensive numbers are skewed by late slippage in games that were well in hand. But as the Ravens came oh-so-close to proving yesterday, one of those slips is going to knock this team on it’s butt before all is said and done.

I can hear the objections already: Why should we care about any of this if they’re 6-0? Two reasons:

• The Vikings are dangerously close to reverting to the Denny Green-era habit of trading points like penny stocks (and we all know how that worked out).
• If you want to beat New York, New Orleans, Atlanta

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