The Vikings' defense was gashed by an explosive Los Angeles Rams offense during a 38-31 loss on Thursday night. Daniel House analyzed the game and explained what went wrong.
Mike Zimmer defenses are rarely gashed for 556 total yards and
five passing touchdowns. In fact, no Zimmer defense has ever surrendered this
much yardage in a single game. The Vikings were exposed by an explosive Rams
offense with an impressive scheme. Minnesota’s offense was forced into a
shootout and went toe-to-toe with Los Angeles until the final minutes of a
38-31 loss. Thursday night's performance has left many people scratching their head regarding what has
changed for last season’s top defense.
Dive in to find out:
Dive in to find out:
Where did things go
wrong defensively?
Despite a strong offensive performance, the Vikings’ defense
was filled with mistakes at every level. Coverage breakdowns, miscommunications
and poor alignments allowed quarterback Jared Goff to pass for 465 yards and
five touchdowns. The tempo, hint of motion and mismatches created by Rams head
coach Sean McVay gave Minnesota headaches. Based upon the coverage schemes of
the Vikings’ defense, they often had limited safety help. Due to this, McVay
managed to isolate linebackers on running backs and wide receivers.
On an 8-yard touchdown pass to Todd Gurley, safety Harrison
Smith was splitting the difference to help on the strong side of the formation.
McVay ran a route up the seam because he knew Barr would have no help over the
top on Gurley.
Goff ➡️ Gurley... TOUCHDOWN.— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2018
The #LARams are on the board! #MINvsLAR
📺: @nflnetwork + @NFLonFOX
📱+💻: https://t.co/DJUityQHC9 pic.twitter.com/Us5OhsRVfh
As for the long 70-yard touchdown to Cooper Kupp, Barr was
again isolated. It appears the defense was confused about their man and zone
coverage assignments. Cornerback Mackensie Alexander was in zone, but looked as
if he was supposed to cover Kupp on the wheel. The Rams understood the Vikings
had single-high safety help over the top. They knew if they could create
deception underneath, they would have a great mismatch deep. It was almost physically
impossible for Barr to cover this because he had no help.
This score, like the first, was the product of successful scheming. Not only that, but Jared Goff was delivering passing with pin-point accuracy at all levels.
.@CooperKupp goes 70 YARDS for the @RamsNFL TD! 🔥#LARams #MINvsLAR— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2018
📺: @nflnetwork + @NFLonFOX
📱+💻: https://t.co/DJUityQHC9 pic.twitter.com/1bbCHunPNe
This score, like the first, was the product of successful scheming. Not only that, but Jared Goff was delivering passing with pin-point accuracy at all levels.
The Vikings have had significant trouble passing off
coverages this year between linebackers and defensive backs. Pre-snap alignments
have shown confusion as well. Mackensie Alexander appeared lost regarding his responsibilities
on numerous occasions. The mistakes and miscommunications have allowed coordinators
like McVay to create mismatches. Los Angeles primarily runs three wide receiver
sets, but they manage to move players all over the field, adjust splits, create
deception and use tempo to keep defensive units on their heels. The Rams also
tried to draw the attention of the Vikings’ deep safeties to maximize
mismatches even more.
Many of the touchdowns were the result of scheming, but Minnesota
was unable to make any particular adjustment. Perhaps adding more length and physicality
with a three safety look may have helped these issues. They used Jayron Kearse
in a nickel role later in the game, and found some success, including a route
where he successfully covered Cooper Kupp in the end zone. However, most of the
issues that occurred were the result of miscommunications regarding coverage
pass offs. It even looked like players were questioning whether they were in
man or zone. It wasn’t all Anthony Barr’s fault, especially considering he
shouldn’t be placed in situations where he is covering wide receivers
one-on-one in space. For the Vikings, getting back to playing disciplined
defense is the first way to restore order.
Also, one of the quiet problems with the defense has been
the inconsistencies against the run. The Vikings allowed five yards per rush to
Todd Gurley and the Rams on Thursday night. This allowed Los Angeles to have
extensive success in early downs. Sean McVay had so many options with the Rams
in 2-and-5 or shorter situations. Los Angeles had just six third down attempts,
which speaks to the Vikings’ inability to place them in long down situations. Minnesota’s
defense is at their best when they can stop the run, get teams in long yardage
situations and be aggressive. This hasn’t been the case through portions of the
first four games and should be a focus entering Philadelphia next week.
Offense showing firepower,
but need balance
If the defense can solve any of these problems, the offense
has been doing enough to win football games. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was
accurate at all levels completing 36 of his 50 passes for 422 touchdowns and
three touchdowns. He delivered a beautiful fade to wide receiver Stefon Diggs
and looked off the safety deep to hit Adam Thielen for 45-yard touchdown. The
Vikings’ receivers were getting open with their releases at the line of
scrimmage as offensive coordinator John DeFilippo called a great game. He mixed
up the personnel packages often by using two running backs, lining up two tight
ends or flexing backs outside as receivers. Diggs and Thielen were winning
one-on-one matchups the entire night and Cousins was hitting tight window
throws at a variety of levels.
Between Cousins’ accuracy and the wide receiver duo, the Minnesota
offense is difficult to defend. Aldrick Robinson also grabbed a pair of
touchdowns and would add another element to the offense if he can become a
complementary No. 3. The Vikings’ passing game is clicking, but the big concern
revolves around the running game. They are averaging just 68 rushing yards per
game to open the season. Of course, game situations control how much they can
actually run the ball. When teams get behind, opposing defenses can tee-off against
the pass and make the offense more one-dimensional. However, if the Vikings
want to have more success down the stretch, they can’t continue to rely on
Cousins and the passing game to carry them.
Should the Vikings’
offensive line be shuffled?
This is especially the case considering the interior
offensive line play is still a question mark. Mike Remmers and Tom Compton struggled
in Thursday’s game as the Vikings’ offensive line allowed 29 total pressures, according
to PFF. As the game progressed, the performance started to decline. One has to
wonder how much of this is the result of fatigue associated with a short week.
During the final two drives of the game, the reps by Remmers, Compton and
Rashod Hill slowly declined as Rams defensive tackles Aaron Donald and Ndamukong
Suh took over. Three sacks, including a fumble plagued the offense down the
stretch. With Cousins having such a problem with ball security, the smallest of
errors by the offensive line can lead to a turnover. Following the return of
center Pat Elflein, Mike Zimmer has indicated the offensive line is set for now.
However, it might be worth considering the idea of kicking Mike Remmers back to
right tackle (his natural position), while evaluating interior options such as
Bryan Witzmann, Danny Isidora and Brett Jones. Nonetheless, at this point, it
doesn’t seem like this will happen. The Vikings have ten days to recover and we’ll
eventually see how much fatigue and a high volume of pass protection reps impacted
the team’s ability to consistently protect in Thursday’s game. One can guess it
was a small contributing factor, but the offensive line remains a major
question mark.
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