The Vikings are one of the most imbalanced offenses in the NFL. And they suddenly lack a point guard for their high-volume passing attack that attempted the most throws (315) and produced the second-most passing yardage (2,354) and touchdowns (18) with quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell said he used some of quarterback Jaren Hall's 11 reps in the win at Green Bay to evaluate the rookie for the starting job.
The more concerning evaluation from Sunday's win may be the Vikings' lackluster rushing attack, which does not look ready to help Hall or newly-acquired quarterback Joshua Dobbs in the wake of Cousins' season-ending Achilles injury. The good news is Dobbs brings mobility. He ran for 19 first downs and three touchdowns in eight games for Arizona this season.
The Vikings' run game ranks 27th in attempts, 28th in rushing yardage and tied for last in rushing touchdowns.
In Green Bay, running backs Alexander Mattison and Cam Akers together took 25 carries for 50 yards and the season's first rushing touchdown. Only seven of those runs gained more than two yards and/or a first down. Blocking stumbled, running backs didn't create, and they had more of the same bad results.
"I would have liked to have run the ball a little bit better," O'Connell said. "I would have liked to have seen us take advantage of some things a little more, but that is a good front over there. They are incredibly healthy. That defense got healthy."
Running the ball becomes even more important without Cousins, who was thriving moving the chains on third downs. The Vikings can't rely on Hall, Dobbs or Nick Mullens to have the same efficiency in difficult spots.
"It does become that much more critical when you're thinking about putting a young quarterback in third-and-long-type situations," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "If you can have that early-down success, stay out of some third downs, stay out of particularly the third-and-long situations where you've got to have some longer-developing concepts and hold the ball a little bit longer. It's going to be big for us."
The Vikings have been so poor at running that Green Bay gave them a great opportunity on second-and-goal from the 6-yard line. When the Vikings spread out in shotgun, the Packers were fine leaving five defenders — a sixth standing back on the goal line — in the box.
In the video below, you'll see the interior offensive line handle the Packers' twist. Akers finishes the cutback with a strong plunge through Packers linebacker Quay Walker. The Vikings waited "too long," Mattison said, to finally celebrate a rushing score in Week 8.
"It means a lot," Mattison said. "We want to make sure we start stacking on those and have a lot more. It's been too long for the first one to be now, but make sure we keep rolling, keep going and get some more of those."
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The Vikings' run blocking is not the league's best, regardless of how Pro Football Focus grades such things. There are strong individual performers like left tackle Christian Darrisaw and tight end Josh Oliver, but O'Connell has not been able to leverage their strengths because of weaknesses elsewhere.
Below is a six-play cut-up of run-blocking woes from Sunday's win.
Following along from play-to-play, starting with (1) Packers' twist with Nos. 96 and 52 on right tackle Brian O'Neill's side appears to blow up gap-scheme play with left guard Dalton Risner and tight end T.J. Hockenson pulling; (2) both guards Risner and Ed Ingram miss immediately; (3) pressure from O'Neill's side disrupts setup on pitch, Akers doesn't adjust quickly enough; (4) Packers' No. 95 swims by center Garrett Bradbury; (5) Ingram can't get to Packers' No. 59; (6) Packers drop into a heavy front, an aggressive No. 7 pushes back Risner and gets the stop.
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Neither Mattison nor Akers are blame free for the inefficiency. Mattison has always been at his best on stretch outside zone runs, which were the bread and butter under Gary Kubiak's guidance in 2019 and 2020. Mattison has not been as successful as more gap scheme plays have been implemented, where a hole needs to be hit with speed and timing, as opposed to getting a full head of steam, feeling the flow of blockers and using one cutback and vision within the zone schemes.
Meanwhile, Akers has been more of a gap-scheme runner. The Rams and Vikings have deployed him as such. Akers has 31 gap plays compared to 19 zone runs for the Vikings, according to PFF.
Coaches have talked about not wanting to be predictable, perhaps in part because they've got defined comfort zones for each running back that can be a tell for opposing defenses.
Below is a three-play cut-up of running back woes; (1) Mattison runs into Ingram, stalling any chance of shooting through the crease that develops for an inside zone run; (2) Akers hesitates, tries to work off Darrisaw and then Bradbury and goes nowhere instead of powering forward or being decisive early and bouncing it outside; (3) Akers has room but makes the wrong read on a zone run, misses early lane to his right.
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Credit O'Connell and coaches for being creative in short-yardage spots. Receiver Brandon Powell took a jet sweep for a first down to convert an early third-and-1 situation. Hockenson caught a 23-yard pass on another third-and-1 spot, freed up downfield by the play design. Aligned next to each other in a bunch formation, Powell threw his shoulder into the Packers defender across from Hockenson, who released behind and down the sideline. Nice pick play.
After Mattison was tackled for a 1-yard loss in the red zone, O'Connell called five straight passes that ended with a 2-yard touchdown to Hockenson.
In the video below, you'll see how the Vikings' play design and route concepts manipulate the Packers' Cover-3 zone rules. The pre-snap motion widens the outside deep zone, while Powell's slice across the field attracts the midfield safety. Hockenson may have an option route to play off the deep safety — meaning he could cut inside or outside — and it's an easy choice to cut inside for six.
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