The Minnesota Vikings have had a really good offensive line this season. So far this year, they rank third in Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade and seventh in ESPN’s pass block win rate.
With Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill anchoring the line, it shouldn’t be a surprise. However, it is because of the lack of success on the interior over the last few seasons.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been really good this season when he’s been protected. SKOR North’s Phil Mackey gathered up some stats that prove how much of an impact their spectacular blocking has made an impact on his performance.
The Vikings' offensive line ranks 3rd in pass protection grade per PFF + 7th in Pass Block Win Rate per ESPN.
When Kirk Cousins gets more than 2.5 seconds to throw this season (per @PFF):
▪️ 3rd highest PFF grade (behind Lamar Jackson and Tua)
▪️ 2nd most TDs (behind Josh…— Phil Mackey 🎙 (@PhilMackey) October 26, 2023
Being top three in all of these metrics is really impressive for any quarterback. Cousins has shown a lot of positive traits when he has protection throughout his career and it’s been more evident this season.
The most impressive metric here is the lowest turnover-worthy play after 2.5 seconds. Why is 2.5 seconds important? It’s approximately the average time to throw and what ESPN uses as their threshold for pass block win rate.
After having been successful against the likes of Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Chris Jones this season, there is no reason that the Vikings offensive line can’t keep this pace up moving forward.
