Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings defense had the quintessential “bend, don’t break” game on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. They allowed only one touchdown on six Arizona red-zone trips and defied their own tendencies to do it.
The Vikings ran man coverage at a league-low rate of 12.9% entering Week 13. That has always made sense, given Minnesota’s personnel. The Vikings employ smart, veteran corners who are past their athletic prime. However, they ran man coverage over 50% of the time against Arizona. There was still plenty of the usual stuff, but Flores nearly quadrupled his man-coverage rate. So, where did it come from? Was this matchup specific? Or did Flores just want to put a change-up on tape for future opponents?
If this deviation was specific to his game plan against the Cardinals, that is curious. Man coverage is difficult to pull off against scrambling-threat quarterbacks because it leaves those in coverage with their backs to the QB, meaning he can more easily pick up yards with his legs if his receivers don’t separate. Kyler Murray did some damage tucking and running — he finished with 37 yards on five scrambles — but did not have that many opportunities.
Minnesota’s pass rushers did a great job containing Kyler for most of the day. There were many plays on which an edge rusher would just hand-fight his blocker without gaining any depth while keeping eyes on Murray, like a quasi-spy assignment. I’m not sure if this is part of Flores’ plan on these calls, but the rusher who drew the double team often assumed this role. If that’s true, it’s brilliant in most cases because that ensures that the attacking pass rushers have one-on-one matchups. Rarely did a Vikings rusher over-pursue or get greedy.
Running more man coverage also puts more pressure on the cornerbacks to toe the line between aggressive enough and too aggressive.
They did extremely well.
Arizona’s biggest play was Murray’s 22-yard toss to Michael Wilson below. Byron Murphy’s coverage took a perfect throw and catch to beat. Murphy was terrific all day against his former team.
Even when Stephon Gilmore went down with a hamstring injury, Flores didn’t waver. Fabian Moreau entered the game in his place and played admirably. Arizona picked on Moreau relentlessly, often while covering Marvin Harrison Jr. However, he was sticky in man coverage, and outside of the two defensive pass interference calls, he had a great game.
Flores deployed Cam Bynum more uniquely than ever against Arizona. He spent the lowest percentage of his snaps aligned at deep safety in a game all season. He spent 47.4% (37) of his snaps in the slot, overhang, or in the box. Before Sunday’s game, his highest single-game rate was only 29.3%. That often left him matched up with Arizona tight end Trey McBride in man coverage.
Bynum played almost exclusively off-man coverage and did an excellent job keeping things in front of him and tackling in the open field. He yielded a lot of catches but did not allow them to turn into big gains.
Shaq Griffin sealed it with an interception on an absolute shadow coverage rep. The game-long coverage plan was atypical, but we’ve seen Flores go to man coverage in huge moments this season. The game-winning play call against Arizona is reminiscent of the one we saw put away the New York Jets in Week 5.
While I don’t think a man-heavy coverage plan is their best pitch, I came away from this game encouraged about their ability to implement it more often down the stretch. One benefit is having more things on tape for future opponents to worry over. With Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons coming to town, we could see a similar game plan from Flores. However, it may be best for him to run his usual stuff against Atlanta.
Per PFF, Cousins has graded significantly better against man coverage than zone coverage this season. Additionally, the Falcons have more natural separators on offense. Keeping Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson hemmed in will be more difficult than MHJ, Wilson, McBride, and James Conner. Both are talented groups, but they attack defenses much differently. When considering contending with the skillsets in Atlanta’s offense, it makes more sense to zone up and contain their speed.
Cousins is a quick decision-maker against the blitz, which is why he is the fifth-least-blitzed quarterback in the league this season. However, he will throw the ball in the dirt at a receiver’s feet sooner than try to evade a pass rusher these days, so the defense can still generate negative plays when blitzing.
Atlanta’s offensive line is 21st in pressure rate allowed, and Minnesota’s pass-rushers have been on a tear. Cousins is great against the blitz but not necessarily against standard pressure. If the Vikings can get home with four on Sunday, it will be difficult for the Falcons to operate.
That said, it may behoove Minnesota to man up consistently in this game so as not to get “Dagger”-ed to death. A passing concept featuring a clearout route and a deep-in has killed Minnesota’s Cover 2 looks this season, a coverage they run at the second-highest rate in the league. We know Cousins is the type of quarterback who will repeatedly hit that dig route over the middle if it’s open. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, coming off a stint as the passing-game coordinator under Sean McVay, will exploit this if possible.
When the Vikings were in man coverage on Sunday, it was most often Cover 1 with a “hole” defender. That defender is most often a linebacker type who is in a hook zone over the middle, and that concept helped protect the middle of the field and force quick throws.
The Vikings could take away McBride’s in-breaker and snuff out the check down with how well Blake Cashman played this one.
It may have been a blip on the radar, but Flores’ game plan against Arizona was fascinating. It showed an ability to adapt and confidence in his players that is exciting to see as we near the playoffs. There are no seven-game series in the NFL playoffs. You have a week (maybe two) to formulate a game plan to beat a team once, and the defense proved on Sunday that it can match up however it needs to in order to get the win.