The Minnesota Vikings host the Kansas City Chiefs in a matchup that poses far more challenges than any 1-3 team would want to deal with.
In their win against the Carolina Panthers, the roller coaster of emotions from the offensive side of the ball was not amusing. After three weeks of putting up numbers befitting a top-five quarterback, Kirk Cousins had one of the worst performances of his Minnesota career. His 12-of-19, 139-yard day with two interceptions was saved by the two touchdowns and an impressive showing from the Vikings defense.
Buy Vikings TicketsWith the Chiefs coming into town, Cousins and this offense can’t rely on the defense like last week. This is a chance for this offense to plant their flag with a signature win in the early stages of this season.
In this exercise, we go over four keys for this offense to pull off this upset.
Utilize secondary pass-catchers
Advocating for the secondary pass-catchers in this offense is not subscribing to a notion that Jefferson shouldn’t be in the game plan. On the contrary, Jefferson should still get the lion’s share of the opportunities on Sunday.
However, on Sunday, Cousins found himself with Jefferson-colored glasses on as he worked out of his funk against the Panthers.
Cousins and O’Connell should look to the secondary pass-catching options to supplement Jefferson’s production. T.J. Hockenson’s 12 receiving first downs leads all tight ends. Jordan Addison’s 14.2 yards per reception is sixth among rookie wide receivers. Despite his early struggles with drops, K.J. Osborn is a viable tertiary or fourth option.
Make everyone a threat so that the Chiefs can’t key in on Jefferson, it didn’t look good for Garrett Wilson when the New York Jets faced Kansas City. Wilson had nine receptions on 14 targets for 60 yards and no touchdowns. Everything seemed difficult when Wilson was the target. Spreading the football and forcing the defense further apart to cover more ground can only lead to good things for this offense.
Neutralize Chris Jones as much as possible
This point is much easier to type out on a computer than to execute on the field, but it must be done.
If Chris Jones leaves his fingerprints on this game, there will be no chance for the Vikings to pull off the upset.
One way that this Vikings offense can keep Jones and this defense off-balance is a consistent run game. If Alexander Mattison and Cam Akers can get this run defense, who is only allowing 4.4 yards a carry, on their heels, that could slow down the aggression of Jones and the rest of that defensive line.
Also, avoid any obvious passing downs, especially third downs. Since 2018, Chris Jones has the seventh-most sacks on third down with 26. Those in front of him? Matt Judon, T.J. Watt, Aaron Donald, Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett and Cameron Jordan. Don’t get into third and long with Chris Jones on the field, either. 19 of those 26 sacks came when it was third-and-six or more.
Hold on to the football
Playing a defending Super Bowl champion is difficult enough. The last thing Minnesota needs is self-inflicted wounds on top of it.
With an offense like Kansas City’s that doesn’t need much to get going, keeping them on the sidelines and out of rhythm should be priority number one.
That can’t happen if the Vikings resort back to their giving ways that led to a historic amount of fumbles and turnovers in the first three weeks of this season.
Play your game
When you see the caliber of athlete Patrick Mahomes on the other sideline, there will be an urge to match him throw-for-throw. For every highlight he makes, we need to have a play that rivals it or maybe better.
The same goes for play-caller Andy Reid. Every drive that ends with points, Minnesota could feel the need to respond, due to the volatility of that offense.
Instead, Minnesota needs to realize that this offense is a top-ten unit in its own right and can keep up with anybody in the league. Patrick Mahomes may be the face of the NFL right now, but when you have a receiver like Justin Jefferson, you are never out of the game.
Just play Minnesota football, sustain good drives, eat up a little clock and if the game is close, make sure to have the ball last.
