Kansas City wraps up a two-game road trip as it travels to Minnesota to take on the Vikings.
This will be the Chiefs’ third matchup against the NFC North this season. They lost to the Detroit Lions in their season opener and crushed the Chicago Bears at home in Week 3. The Chiefs are sitting atop the AFC at 3-1 and have yet to lose a conference game. Their defense has played at a very high level this season, while the offense is still trying to find its footing in the passing game.
Buy Chiefs TicketsAfter dropping their first three games the Vikings got off the schneid last week, beating the Carolina Panthers. If Minnesota loses to K.C. on Sunday, it will have already matched its loss total from 2022. The Vikings are also the only team in the league that Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn’t beaten (besides, of course, the Chiefs).
Check out our offseason report on the Vikings, where you’ll find information about their offseason moves and key players. Now, let’s see what it will take for the Chiefs to beat Minnesota and move to 4-1 on the season.
Chiefs' defense vs. Vikings' offense
Head coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips are disciples of Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay. A lot of their offense is run out of 11 personnel, with one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers. A staple of theirs is the wide zone run.
On a wide zone run, each offensive lineman runs in the same direction horizontally. This forces defenders to try to outrun the offensive linemen to their marks. If the defense flows too aggressively with the offensive line, it creates wide-open running lanes for the running back.
The Vikings have spent most of the season trailing behind on the scoreboard, so they have only rushed the ball a league-low 73 times. However, their 4.6 yards per carry is good for 10th in the NFL. Starting running back Alexander Mattison has heated up with over 90 yards rushing each of the last two weeks and newly acquired Cam Akers had an impressive debut last week with six touches for 51 yards.
Minnesota’s passing game is about timing and play-action. Kirk Cousins is a rhythm quarterback who depends on his receivers to be in the right place at the right time. If the running game is humming, Cousins is deadly off of play-action and can stretch the field vertically. He has one of the most skilled groups of pass catchers in the league with receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as well as tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Jefferson is perhaps the most well-rounded receiver in football and will likely produce regardless of how the Chiefs defend him. Hockenson will look to feast in the short to intermediate middle of the field, while Addison is a burner who can take the top off a defense. The Chiefs’ defense will have to take advantage of the Vikings’ glaring weakness on offense, their offensive line.
Cousins has been sacked 10 times this season and has taken 24 QB hits. When his timing is thrown off, Cousins tends to hold on to the ball too long and becomes turnover-prone. He has thrown four interceptions and has lost one fumble thus far. The Chiefs’ defensive line has been excellent this season and will have a chance to control the line of scrimmage and keep Cousins under duress.
If the K.C. defense can achieve that, it will have plenty of chances for sacks and turnovers. It will also force Minnesota to abandon the running game, which it has so often this season. The Vikings offense can score quickly and often, so K.C. will have to keep its foot on the gas throughout all four quarters.
Chiefs' offense vs. Vikings' defense
Brian Flores was hired as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator this past offseason, taking on the task of turning around a unit that finished 31st in total defense in 2022. While there’s plenty of work still to do and there’s no quick fix, Flores has improved the Minnesota defense already.
The Vikings’ defense ranks in the middle of the pack in most categories, including pass defense, run defense, and sacks. Flores runs a one-gap, odd front-base defense. The odd front is just what it seems, an odd number of defensive linemen, with the nose tackle typically lining up over the center. One gap is when a defensive lineman is responsible only for his gap.
Teams have been heavily attacking the Minnesota defense with the run, averaging 32 rushing attempts per game against it. That is common against one-gap defenses because the linemen are typically smaller and faster. However, the Vikings have been up to the challenge thus far, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry.
Chiefs’ running back Isiah Pacheco has run the ball well this season and is a load to tackle. If the Chiefs’ offensive line can contain the speed of the Vikings’ defensive line, Pacheco could have his way all game long. Minnesota is also a heavy blitzing defense, so if Pacheco can get to the second level, he could break off some huge runs.
Heavy blitzing is usually a recipe for disaster against quarterback Patrick Mahomes. If Flores sticks with that philosophy, his defense is going to get gashed for big plays down the field.
Quarterbacks are completing 76.6 percent of their passes against the Minnesota secondary, the second-highest mark in the league. Flores plays a lot of man-to-man coverage and will test the struggling Chiefs’ wide receivers’ abilities to create separation and get open on a consistent basis.
