Time to regroup.
The Minnesota Vikings season is not over. Not yet.
Getting journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs to come in as relief for the injured Kirk Cousins proves that fact. But, even though Dobbs studied to be a rocket scientist, he still isn’t going to execute Kevin O’Connell’s playbook with only three days of preparation.
So, on Sunday at 12 p.m. CST, Jaren Hall will make his first NFL start in Mercedez-Benz Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta’s defense has been stout for most of the season, but last week, rookie Will Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns with three of them going to DeAndre Hopkins.
Can Hall make it two weeks in a row?
He and the Minnesota offense will have to execute these four keys to make it happen.
Get the run game going
The Atlanta Falcons are second in expected points contributed by a team’s rushing defense in the league. A fact that they will surely lean on as the Vikings have struggled to get their run game going through this first half of the season.
Minnesota is second-worst in yards per game and seventh-worst in both yards per attempt and expected contribution from the rushing offense. Cam Akers ran in their first rushing touchdown last week against the Green Bay Packers.
The running game may have to do a lot of heavy lifting in this game with the insertion of rookie Jaren Hall at quarterback. They will have to overcome the challenges that Atlanta’s front causes to give themselves a chance.
Convert red zone opportunties
This Atlanta defense has allowed only 19 attempts at the red zone on the year, that’s the sixth-least in the NFL. In those attempts, they’ve only allowed eight touchdowns, third-least in the NFL and the 42.1% touchdown comes out to is fifth-best in the NFL.
Teams don’t get to the red zone very often against Atlanta, and when they do, they come up empty-handed. Any red zone opportunities that Minnesota gets in this game need to be treated with the highest of importance.
Take advantage of anything in this offense to get into the end zone. Hall’s ability to run the football will help move the football in the condensed nature of the red zone. Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn are good to great route runners that can find ways to separate in tight situations. T.J. Hockenson will be used a ton with his big body to box out would-be defenders.
When the Vikings offense finds themselves in the red zone, they have to execute.
Make Jaren Hall comfortable
At BYU, Jaren Hall was at his best when he was using his athleticism to make plays.
Whether that’s scrambling for yards after a play breaks down or the offense moving the pocket on a roll-out, he is best when on the move.
That does not mean that he can’t function in the pocket, but the pocket has to be clean. The Vikings have one of the better pass-protecting offensive lines in the league right now, so that shouldn’t be much of an issue. However, Hall does not do well under pressure.
If Hall is comfortable, he has the potential to look good and make the throws he needs to make. He has the arm strength to push the ball vertically and hit the intermediate crossers. Hall can get the ball out quickly and get it to his playmakers in space, but if he feels panicked, it won’t happen.
Play loose
There are not high expectations for what this offense will look like on Sunday.
They just lost their quarterback and leader in the locker room, Kirk Cousins, to a season-ending injury. Nobody expects fireworks from this unit as they try to navigate life this season without Cousins.
So, there’s no pressure. Just play loose.
Not loose to the point of recklessness, of course. There’s enough to combat without turnovers or penalties causing extra headaches.
But play loose, not everything has to be perfect. The season isn’t over and you have a chance to upset a Falcons team that’s feeling a ton of pressure to win.
So, blast some Creed in the locker room before the game in his honor and go out and just play football.
