Starting off the season with an 0-2 record absolutely stinks for the Minnesota Vikings. What they don’t have to worry about is how potent the offense will be this season.
Over the first two games, the passing has been lethal. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown for five touchdown passes and only one interception so far with 708 yards passing. That’s an impressive total for the Vikings. It certainly helps that the Vikings have only rushed for 65 yards on 22 carries.
Buy Vikings TicketsAs we look forward, understanding how the Vikings have been successful can help us understand what they need to continue doing to win football games.
The Vikings’ four touchdowns from their loss to the Eagles are great examples of excellent play-calling and execution.
1. T.J. Hockenson
This is a really clever play call. It’s a play that gives Cousins three options by using both different levels and spacing.
Jordan Addison runs a jet motion down to the near side of the field. He becomes an option at the bottom of the field. Running right behind him to fill his space is T.J. Hockenson, which is where the ball goes. That type of spacing is really important to generate easy plays.
If that isn’t open, you have K.J. Osborn on a crosser in the back of the endzone. Great execution and impressive design.
2. Jordan Addison
This is fantastic. It’s a concept designed to beat quarters.
The Eagles are playing HQQ with cover-2 (half) to the near side and quarters to the far side. Down low, Justin Jefferson runs a tunnel screen to draw attention and Cousins pump fakes it that way to sell it even more.
Osborn runs a rail route up the sideline to draw safety over the top and Hockenson runs a seam route to occupy the other quarters defender. That allows Addison to take the post deep with leverage and a step, leading to a touchdown.
It’s very similar to a pin concept (post and in) which puts that same defender in conflict. Great play design by Kevin O’Connell to get the touchdown.
3. K.J. Osborn
This is a simple concept. They run play-action with Alexander Mattison and max protect with Jefferson and Osborn running crossing routes on opposite sides.
The key to this play is the coverage. They are playing man-match in the back end and that ends up being the downfall of the Eagles here. Everyone focuses on covering Jefferson and that allows Osborn to gain nearly 20 yards of separation for an easy score.
What makes this concept nice is that if nobody gets open, Cousins can just throw it away.
4. T.J. Hockenson again
This route gives Cousins multiple option, but the zero blitz makes the decision for him.
The offensive line protects well here and Cousins needs to go to his hot route, which is Hockenson on the shallow crosser. He gets just enough separation and that makes a difference in making this touchdown happen.
