We’ve reached do-or-die time for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings take on the Green Bay Packers at 7:20 p.m. CST in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The winner gets to sleep peacefully, knowing that they have one more week to make a push for the playoffs. The loser goes home and likely eliminated from contention..
Green Bay’s defense under Joe Barry has been an uninspiring unit. They’re 17th in points allowed, 25th in EPA allowed/play and 30th in defensive DVOA. There has not been much to celebrate. This unit has been one of the more disappointing in the league.
The Vikings are not doing enough to win on the offensive side. They are scoring, averaging just over 24 points a game since Kirk Cousins has been out, but they can’t finish the job. Most of that is because of the lack of consistency at the position.
Josh Dobbs gave the performance of his life for six quarters. After that, he turns into a pumpkin for three straight games, including a game after the bye week. Nick Mullens gave it his best effort, and while the ball was moving, he didn’t perform at the level necessary to keep his job.
Now Minnesota turns to Jaren Hall, the only quarterback with a starting record above .500, to try to spark this offense to the playoffs.
Can he do it? He has the capabilities. He and the rest of this Minnesota offense must follow these four keys to success.
Keep running in the Hall!
Former BYU quarterback Jaren Hall is getting another crack at starting after leaving his first start against the Atlanta Falcons due to a concussion. Hall’s superpower is his athletic ability, which was on display against the Falcons.
While Hall has the arm to work from the pocket, he is most dangerous when forcing defenses to respect his athleticism on the move. O’Connell loves running play action, and having a quarterback who can throw from different arm angles helps while being on the move in boot action or when the pocket moves.
Also, he’s a threat in the run game. He adds another tool to the toolbox with designed quarterback runs and zone-reads that can turn into RPOs, if necessary. As long as Hall doesn’t turn the ball over (more on that later), there is a chance for the Vikings to win these final two games.
Run it down their throats
In true Vikings fashion, the only way to truly dominate this game is to establish the run early and utilize it often.
The great news is that feature back Alexander Mattison is back and ready for action. How many snaps will he get after Chandler’s recent production? That’s to be determined. Having the hammerhead in Mattison to go alongside Chandler’s explosion could not have come at a better time, as they look to help ease the fifth-round rookie Hall into the game.
Hall can also be a real asset in the running game with his athleticism as well. The Green Bay defense is ranked 22nd in the league in EPA/rush. It’s time to have some fun and establish the run to open up the rest of the offense.
Lucky slots!
Green Bay uses one-high safety coverages (cover-one, cover-three) over 64% of the time, leaving the seams open to attack.
The bad news is that Minnesota has lost tight end T.J. Hockenson for a long time with a torn ACL and MCL. The good news is that other pass-catchers on the roster should be able to expose the clear deficiency in Green Bay’s defense.
Both K.J. Osborn and Jordan Addison (limited participant) can work from the slot and work vertically up the seams. Superstar Justin Jefferson can line up anywhere but he started at LSU as primarily a slot receiver with a full route tree.
With all of the attention on Jefferson, lining him up on the outside and forcing two defenders to focus on him will open up the offense for others in the offense.
Also, keep an eye out for Brandon Powell and his ability to stretch the field both vertically and horizontally with his speed.
Hang on to the football...please
Let’s keep this short and sweet.
The Vikings have 30 turnovers on the season, good for third-most in the league. They have six over the last two weeks.
Minnesota is also the sixth-best team in EPA/play over the last two weeks. Giving the ball away six times makes it impossible to consistently win games.
This can’t keep happening. Keeping the ball in the possession of the Vikings needs to be a priority. At this point, fans are pleading for a game where they don’t have to see the offense waste away a good game plan with untimely turnovers.
