We dont talk about this much...

[purplefaithful]

What do quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson and Brock Purdy have in common?

They are under center for the most explosive passing attacks in football through Week 10 of this NFL season.

So while Darnold gets rightfully critiqued for the Vikings offense failing to score a touchdown as he threw three interceptions, including two in the Jaguars end zone during Sunday’s 12-7 victory, coaches are also focused on getting more finishing power from the run game.

Darnold has just about all the help he needs in the passing game. Coach Kevin O’Connell is a respected play caller; tight end T.J. Hockenson announced his return with a team-leading eight grabs for 72 yards; and receiver Justin Jefferson is so good that the Jaguars played with two safeties deep for over 90% of passing plays in an effort to contain the NFL’s most explosive passing game. The Vikings’ 35 passes of 20-plus yards are tied with the Ravens and 49ers for the league high, according to Pro Football Reference.

But if Darnold isn’t throwing touchdowns, the Vikings generally aren’t scoring them.

The Vikings offense hasn’t had a rushing touchdown in the past three games; only two offenses, the Cowboys and Browns, have fewer rushing scores this season than the Vikings’ four. Their lack of points from the run game goes back to last season. The Vikings have scored the fewest rushing touchdowns (11) across the league since Week 1 of 2023, a 26-game span.

Darnold has thrown 17 of the offense’s 21 touchdowns through nine games.

He couldn’t throw one Sunday. And while running backs Aaron Jones and Cam Akers led a season-best 169-yard rushing effort, they were shut out of the end zone.

The Vikings want to make soft defenses, playing off to defend the pass, pay with damaging runs like big plays — preferably runs — that end in touchdowns. Their longest run on Sunday went 13 yards.

“We really didn’t get close enough to attempt to run the ball in the end zone unless you’re going to get a bigger [play],” coordinator Wes Phillips said. “Honestly, we felt like within the game there were some plays where if we’re just a little bit better in an area or two than those plays were close to being a 20-yard, a 30-yard run. 

And that’s where we’ve got to get to if a team wants to put a shell over the top of it. ... We felt like we were close, but we just got to be a little bit better there and make teams think twice about playing shell the whole game.”

Source: Startribune

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I agree with Wes, teams will continue to play shell if the Vikings cant make people pay with the run game...

[JimmyinSD]

The run game hasnt met the eyeball test in quite a while, they havent been able to line up and consistently get a yard or two when needed. Remember kirk trying to sneak it in on 2 or 3 straight plays last year and getting shut out? Lots of similar situations over the last several years. Need less finesse and more mauler from our IOL and RBs.

[MaroonBells]

Odd piece since the Vikings are coming off their best rushing effort of the year with 169 yards against the Jags. So this is not about the Vikings inability to run the ball. It's about their preference to throw the ball in the red zone.

[hogjowlsjohnny]

Odd piece since the Vikings are coming off their best rushing effort of the year with 169 yards against the Jags. So this is not about the Vikings inability to run the ball. It's about their preference to throw the ball in the red zone.

Ironic isn't it. KOC was forced to run the ball due to the QB's inability to pass the ball accurately in the red zone!
Passing is definitely a preference in this offense. It would be nice to have a reliable run game in 3rd and short situations and also to close out games in the 4th quarter.
Run game would look a lot better if they played the Jags every week.

[Montana Tom]

Odd piece since the Vikings are coming off their best rushing effort of the year with 169 yards against the Jags. So this is not about the Vikings inability to run the ball. It's about their preference to throw the ball in the red zone.

This struck me as ironic as well.  I knew this was true, and we put up nearly 500 yards total against Jax, and we won...but that wasn't good enough, I guess.

[medaille]

Ironic isn't it. KOC was forced to run the ball due to the QB's inability to pass the ball accurately in the red zone!
Passing is definitely a preference in this offense. It would be nice to have a reliable run game in 3rd and short situations and also to close out games in the 4th quarter.
Run game would look a lot better if they played the Jags every week.

I don’t think this is the case.  It’s not like we got 169 yards on the ground in the red zone.  I think the Jags just spent so much time with 2 deep safeties that it encouraged us to run more frequently.  Darnold while having a lot of turnovers in the red zone, has also been very productive in the red zone this season.

I do agree that we’re a pass to setup the run type of team, and I also agree that while we’re running pretty effectively this year, I’m not sure we’re a dominant running team that can assert their will on the defense and get yards on the ground when everyone knows we’re going to run it.

[purplefaithful]

The run game hasnt met the eyeball test in quite a while,  they havent been able to line up and consistently get a yard or two when needed.  Remember kirk trying to sneak it in on 2 or 3 straight plays last year and getting shut out?  Lots of similar situations over the last several years.  Need less finesse and more mauler from our IOL and RBs.

It hasn't for me either. 

I saw that Jacksonville played with at least two safeties deep for over 90% of the game, which was the highest single-game mark tracked by NFL Next Gen Stats since 2018.

So the Vikings got 169 on the ground, no td's and it flummoxed olde Sam. ITs a copy cat league, and I expect more 2 safeties deep more often. I'm sure its similar to how D's played Carter/Moss too.

[pattersaur]

I don’t think this is the case.  It’s not like we got 169 yards on the ground in the red zone.  I think the Jags just spent so much time with 2 deep safeties that it encouraged us to run more frequently.  Darnold while having a lot of turnovers in the red zone, has also been very productive in the red zone this season.

I do agree that we’re a pass to setup the run type of team, and I also agree that while we’re running pretty effectively this year, I’m not sure we’re a dominant running team that can assert their will on the defense and get yards on the ground when everyone knows we’re going to run it.

I'm sure we're not. I'm pretty sure we have the fewest rushing TDs in the league over last season and this one. Mattison had zero and Jones has 2.

The Lions, Ravens, Niners, Eagles, Commanders, Chiefs... the best offenses in the league I trust their running game just as much or more than their passing game. That's not the Vikings. Doesn't mean we suck, we're a very good offense most weeks too! But we're a passing team and that's what KO seems to want. Hopefully having more balance, like we've seen kind of recently, will lead to more results on the ground.

[purplefaithful]

Dealing with shell coverages and a quarterback who leads the league in turnovers means O’Connell is finding ways to adapt to new defenses while staying aggressive on offense.

Kevin O’Connell is both in words and deeds an aggressive offensive play-caller. His preferred style of offense is equal parts gusto and bravado. One can only imagine the plays he drew up in backyard football as a kid.

The Vikings coach faces a fascinating juxtaposition. He craves a vertical passing game that inherently requires some risk. His quarterback has a proclivity for turnovers. And opposing defenses are crafting schemes to neutralize the best wide receiver in the sport by clogging up the deep part of the field.

So, Justin Jefferson, what is the right answer in this situation?

“I never want Sam to force a ball into double teams or triple teams,” he said. “But if he ever had to, that is always an option for him.”

That line drew laughs from reporters, but it speaks to the complexity of O’Connell’s challenge in navigating Sam Darnold’s turnover issues while finding the right balance between patience and aggressiveness.

One statistic from Sunday’s 12-7 win over the Jaguars went largely unnoticed because Darnold’s three interceptions served as an eclipse to all other details: 43.

The Vikings had 43 rushes, the highest total in O’Connell’s three seasons as head coach and play-caller.

His decision to call a pass (which resulted in a Darnold sack) instead of a run on third-and-1 late with an opportunity to ice the game was a case of being overly aggressive.

O’Connell often mentions his preference to be aggressive as a play-caller, regardless of circumstance, but he explained his reasoning for leaning more on the run in general that game during his weekly interview with KFAN’s Paul Allen.

“There’s a layer sometimes where in my mind I’m trying to have some growth as the head coach,” O’Connell said. “Not just the play-caller, not just the egomaniac of wanting to score points and constantly show everybody how smart we are. There was a mode that I think you have to go into sometimes to ensure a victory.”

The Jaguars hit the Vikings with a completely different schematic approach than they had shown in previous games. They conceded the line of scrimmage in exchange for trying to eliminate deep passes to Jefferson and Jordan Addison by sticking to a split safety alignment.

As the football cliché goes, O’Connell took what the defense gave him.

“If teams just want to cover us deep and allow us to take everything short and allow the run game to explode, that’s what we have to do,” Jefferson said. “We can’t get greedy and try to force passes into those shell coverages.”

Greediness wasn’t the problem. The Vikings pieced together four possessions that lasted at least 12 plays and racked up more than 42 minutes in time of possession, which is basically unheard-of.

The problem was that Darnold short-circuited scoring chances with interceptions that were the result of either poor decisions, slippage in fundamentals or a combination of factors.

His 10 interceptions and 13 turnovers overall are both an NFL-high. O’Connell continues to express confidence in Darnold, but he’s walking a tightrope as a play-caller, especially if other teams adopt Jacksonville’s blueprint and employ a heavy dose of shell coverage.

Both Jefferson and O’Connell acknowledged the difficulties in relying on drives that last 12, 14, 16 plays on a consistent basis. It’s wonderful in theory, but too many negative things can happen to bank on that approach consistently.

O’Connell preaches the importance of “explosives” and Jefferson is at his best when he stretches defenses.

The challenge for O’Connell is to find new ways to get Jefferson and Addison downfield opportunities against schemes designed to limit them without making things overly complicated for his quarterback.

“It doesn’t really matter how defenses play other teams,” Jefferson said. “When we step foot on that field, the whole defense changes.”

Source: Startribune