One last chance. The Minnesota Vikings have one last chance to cash in on their slim playoff hopes as they face the Detroit Lions on Sunday at noon CST.
The Detroit defense has been a solid unit, but not a dominant one. They are a good complement to their gound-and-pound offense with their physicality and focus on stopping the run.
Minnesota’s offense has been a whirlwind of change, starting three different quarterbacks in the last four games, including now-starter Nick Mullens, who was benched in favor of rookie Jaren Hall after the last meeting against the Lions. Now, with the season on the line, Mullens is back in charge and hoping to lead the Vikings to that final wild-card spot.
To do that, he will need to follow these four keys to success.
Get Jefferson involved quickly
The first item on the list should be, and should always be, how the ball gets to Justin Jefferson’s hands early and often.
Since knocking the rust off against Cincinnati, Jefferson is eighth in targets, sixth in yards and fifth in yards per reception. Jefferson proved that even when Detroit did everything they could to limit him, their efforts were futile. Jefferson torched this Lions secondary, hauling in six of his ten targets for 141 yards and a crucial touchdown to keep Minnesota in the game before the half.
Getting the ball to Jefferson early forces the defense to worry about all three phases of the passing game since he can attack virtually anywhere on the football field, opening up the underneath for crossing routes and other possible chunk gains.
Establish the fun!
The Lions rendered the Minnesota run game useless as they mustered an abysmal 17 yards on 11 carries.
The combination of Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler would get to the line of scrimmage, and a Lions defender would meet them without fail.
While the passing offense was able to buoy the offense and keep the game close, the running game can’t be inept. O’Connell’s passing offense works off play-action, moving the linebackers out of their position. Without it they are forcing receivers and tight ends to consistently win their match-ups and the quarterback to throw into contested windows. It’s an exhausting way to try to win football games.
The run game doesn’t have to be dominant, just efficient enough for the defense to respect.
Keep Mullens upright
In their last meeting, Detroit pressured Mullens on 34.1% of his dropbacks. Keeping Mullens upright on his dropbacks has to be a priority.
Mullens is already quite erratic when things go off-structure (more on that later). Adding Aidan Hutchinson or even guys like Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brian Branch to rush the throw makes success virtually impossible. There have to be answers to these exotic pressure packages that defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn likes to throw at the offense.
Whether that’s a max protection with guys like Josh Oliver staying in to help or chips from Mattison and Chandler before they go out as check-downs, something has to happen so Mullens can be comfortable in the pocket.
Hang on to the football
Not much has to be said about this. Minnesota has to stop turning the ball over. The amount of times that this team shoots themselves in the foot is astronomical. Their 32 turnovers are tied for second in the NFL with the New York Jets and three behind the leader, Cleveland Browns, who all have started four quarterbacks this season.
Against Detroit, Mullens’ four interceptions were not only frustrating because of the offense’s chances at points, they were just misses. Both interceptions targeting Addison were under throws on corner routes that, with the correct arm strength, could have been completions. The final interception to Jefferson was poor ball placement and, if on target, could have led to a game-winning touchdown.
Minnesota has to stop with these self-inflicted wounds. There’s no telling what this team’s record could be with more of an emphasis on ball security from the players. With their season on the line, every possession matters.
Let’s see if they can finally act like it.
