What I’m seeing from the Minnesota Vikings: Brian Flores' defense still stopping the run

Who among you thought we’d be here?

Don’t lie. There’s no way you expected the Minnesota Vikings to be traveling across the pond to face the New York Jets at 4-0.

Yet here we are.

And the Vikings are, by every account, worthy of the national attention they are receiving. Some of the popular subjects are rightfully obvious: Sam Darnold’s performance, Brian Flores’ defense, Justin Jefferson being … Justin Jefferson. For a brief moment, however, let’s explore a few lesser-discussed trends and topics surrounding the team.

Here is a quarter-pole edition of what I’m seeing with the Vikings:

Don’t overlook Minnesota’s run-stopping success

The Vikings coordinators take questions from the media each Tuesday, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores typically goes first. He walked into the room this week and, before offering up his opening statement, locked eyes with one of the reporters.

“Don’t you usually sit over there?” Flores asked, smiling.

“Disguise,” the reporter replied.

“I like disguises,” Flores quipped.

As his defense has been lauded, so many have fixated on the unit’s pre-snap appearance and post-snap dispersion — and rightfully so. It takes a connected and cohesive unit to make so many tweaks and play from so many different positions during a game, and the result — blurry coverages — has confounded some of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Minnesota’s early-down dominance warrants mention, too, because the Vikings rank second in the NFL in success rate against rushes and third in yards allowed per rush.

Last year, Minnesota excelled at stopping the run, and there is a link between the production in 2023 and this season. See, the Vikings blitzed more than any other team on early downs last year, and they rank second in early-down blitz rate this season. The more defenders an offensive line has to block, the less room the running backs typically have to work. NFL teams are averaging 1.52 yards before contact per carry but just 1.01 yards against the Vikings.

Defensive tackles Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Jerry Tillery, Taki Taimani and Jalen Redmond deserve credit in this area, too. None of the five are likely to impact quarterbacks on pass-rushing downs, but they all are capable of occupying multiple gaps up front. Heat-seeking linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who is likely to return this weekend from an ankle injury, has also missed a couple of games. Blake Cashman and Kamu Grugier-Hill have filled his run-stopping void admirably, further cementing the Flores defense’s commitment in this area.

Coach Brian Flores recaps last Sunday’s game pic.twitter.com/FCF10X7WZW

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 1, 2024

Early leads affecting the game script — and that’s OK

Last week, legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick said of the Vikings, “I think they’re going to have to eventually prove that they can play from behind. They’ve been great from ahead.”

Here we should note that the Vikings defense has not been forced to stop the run while trailing — not even one snap. The Detroit Lions have faced the second-fewest snaps defending the run while trailing at 35. Flores referenced this reality Tuesday saying, “The ebbs and flows of the game have been a little bit different this year.”

What does he mean?

“Offensively, we’re doing a great job,” Flores said. “We’re putting points on the board. And the games are changing. The (opposing team) is really not on their game plan. They’re somewhere else. They’re in a try-to-get-back-in-the-game situation.”

This might sound random, but it’s a piece of the plan this Vikings staff put together when considering how to win as many games as possible. The larger the Vikings’ lead, the more the opposing team feels it has to pass to create chunk plays. The more the opposing team feels it has to pass to create chunks, the more the Vikings defense can toggle with deception.

Only 10 times in NFL history has a team created a higher point margin in the first half of games through four weeks than these Vikings. Nine of those teams finished with double-digit wins and made the playoffs. The only one that did not, according to TruMedia, was the 2003 Vikings.

Their receivers are among the league’s best

Justin Jefferson spoke for about 6 1/2 minutes Sunday afternoon in the locker room at Lambeau Field. And in retrospect, his most revealing comment might have come in the final 20 seconds of that postgame interview.

Although he is a superstar, Jefferson usually speaks humbly and tells it like it is. A few weeks ago, when asked whether or not the 49ers’ plan against Jets receiver Garrett Wilson gave him an idea of how the 49ers would play him, he said simply, “Respectfully, I’m not Garrett Wilson.” No hyperbole, just fact. The same goes for his words in his final 20 seconds in Green Bay.

“Seeing the amount of talent on that field,” he said, “especially when it’s me, JA (Jordan Addison), Speedy (Jalen Nailor) in a package … that’s definitely something no defense wants to see.”

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was not alerted to Jefferson’s comment, but on Tuesday, when asked about Nailor’s ascent, Phillips added, “There’s a lot of great groups of three (receivers), so there’s no disrespect anywhere in this league, but I think we have one of the top groups in the NFL.”

In the first four weeks of the season, 278 receivers have run at least 50 routes. Expected points added per target is an efficiency metric that calculates how productive a receiver is when targeted. Nailor ranks sixth among the 278 players, Addison is 14th and Jefferson ranks 18th. According to Next Gen Stats, Minnesota’s receivers are generating more than a half-yard of separation above average as compared to other teams’ receiving corps. This is a tribute to Nailor’s development, head coach Kevin O’Connell’s system and Darnold’s timing.

Everybody eats in this offense.

📺: https://t.co/e8TOZkrL7y pic.twitter.com/RbHONmm2wq

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 2, 2024

Screen usage is up — and so is its effectiveness

Last season, during the leadup to the Vikings’ Week 15 matchup with the Bengals in Cincinnati, O’Connell complimented Zac Taylor, arguing that his fellow Sean McVay disciple had choreographed the best screen game in the NFL. Minnesota studied the play this offseason, both in terms of how it designed screens in the past and how the best teams in the NFL were doing it so effectively. The Vikings’ offensive staff wanted to add another quarterback-friendly dimension, almost like a pitcher adding a changeup to his repertoire to enhance his fastball.

Minnesota’s commitment to screens is evident. In the first four weeks, the Vikings are averaging 2.3 plays per game featuring halfback screens, tied for the second most in the NFL. For reference, only two NFL teams averaged more per game last season than the Vikings’ current figure. Also notable is the success the Vikings have had on these plays. They’re averaging 10 yards per play, which is nearly double their 2022-23 average (5.1 yards).

“We have put in a lot of work to make sure that’s at least a part of our offense,” Phillips said Tuesday.

Most of that work, as Phillips described it, lands on the offensive line. There is an art in acting as if a play is a normal pass situation, then weaving upfield and identifying the correct blockers. Defensive alignments can shift each offensive lineman’s responsibility, complicating the picture for the running back. Flores’ defense muddied the picture so well throughout training camp that the screens often looked like duds. But the Vikings staff believed in the play, partially because of who would be tasked with catching the quick flips from Darnold and finding space.

Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler have been effective in their opportunities. Each possesses the vision and willingness to slash vertically to create the type of efficiency the Vikings have benefitted from on screens.