10-3 is the mark of a tremendous first season for head coach Kevin O’Connell. The Minnesota Vikings have won multiple games due to his coaching and how they have focused so much on situational football.
Throughout the season, there have been plenty of underlying storylines, but some have started standing out more than others.
As the Vikings prepare to host the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday afternoon in primetime, there are five storylines that you should be paying attention to during the game.
Justin Jefferson chasing 2,000 yards
Only twice in the history of the National Football League has a wide receiver surpassed 1,900 yards: Cooper Kupp in 2021 with 1,947 and Calvin Johnson in 2012 with 1,964. Sitting at 1,500, Jefferson is within shouting distance of that mythical 2,000 yard plateau. He is currently on pace to finish three yards behind Johnson at 1,961 but with the potential for a mega game always on the table, don’t count Jefferson out for setting another NFL record.
Will the defense improve?
The defense has been playing incredibly subpar as of late. They have allowed 400+ yards in each of the last five games and have struggled massively. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell didn’t do nearly enough to take ownership of the poor performance in his press conference on Wednesday. One of the biggest things that we have seen with this unit is the lack of different and disguised coverages and the pass rush plan hasn’t been great. They need to figure out how to play better and until they do, there will be a lot of questions about the immediate future of this team.
Who will help the pass rush?
The Vikingsh ave two of the better pass rushers in the NFL in Za’Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter. Smith leads the NFL in pressures per PFF with 70 and Hunter is tied at 11th with 49. Outside of those two, who will step up? Patrick Jones II had a great game against the New York Jets in week 13 and Dalvin Tomlinson has been constant when healthy. Can James Lynch or Esezi Otomewo make a difference to help ease the burden?
Jalen Reagor is in line to get more playing time
Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions saw Reagor play a season-high seven snaps on offense and, although he didn’t record a stat on offense, it was a signal that when Kevin O’Connell said that he was going to try and get him involved more, he meant it. Reagor has that explosiveness that you need to truly unlock the potential of this offense. His ability to take the top off the defense is something that the Vikings don’t have currently and could open things up for Jefferson.
Can the running game get it going?
The Vikings have been so good in the running game in recent years, but that is not the case this season. They are currently 27th in the NFL in rushing, averaging just 95.6 yards per game. One of the reasons that they have struggled in the run game as of late has been due to Christian Darrisaw being out.
Vikings with Christian Darrisaw on the field:
— 4.67 yards per rush
— 1.35 yards per rush before contact
— 21.3% runs for 0 or negativesVikings with Darrisaw off the field:
— 2.88 yards per rush
— 0.71 yards per rush before contact
— 37.5% runs for 0 or negatives— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) December 12, 2022
Thankfully, Darrisaw is set to return on Saturday afternoon and both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison need to take advantage of that.
