12 minute read
A rainy, windy day in Chicago created a not-so-pretty football game, at least offensively. However, the Vikings showed great composure and resiliency to secure another NFC North win. They haven’t started 2-0 against NFC North foes to start a season since 2003.
From an offensive perspective, it was always going to be a grudge match. A rainy football game with a backup quarterback usually causes a lackluster experience. That’s exactly what the Vikings showed, but that shouldn’t call for panic.
A non-stop rain created difficult conditions, see the Bears turnovers and struggles. The Vikings ran the ball 55% of the time, marking another one of the higher run game plans we’ve witnessed in the KOC era. This has been a continued trend since late last season, and has brought great success to the Vikings.
Yes, Carson Wentz only had 143 passing yards, and he only had 12 completions on 20 attempts. However, he had a clean stat sheet, no turnovers from the offense, which is exactly what you want to see from any backup QB.
There wasn’t a lot that the Vikings showed this weekend offensively. The playbook is still more than likely limited in comparison to what we’ll see from a Kyler Murray led offense, but I did see some interesting wrinkles that should continue to expand as the season progresses. Let’s dive in!
Jump ahead:
Offensive Stats & Key Metrics
Total offense:
- 9 offensive points
- 246 total yards
- 143 passing yards
- 119 rushing yards
- 11 first downs
- 3/13 (23%) on third down
- 1/1 (100%) on fourth down
- 0 giveaways
Personnel Splits:
- 51 total plays
- 26 (51%) plays in 11 personnel
- 11 (22%) in 21 personnel
- 9 (18%) in 12 personnel
- 5 (9%) in 22 personnel
Key Callouts
A rainy day, where time of possession and ball control was an absolute must had the Vikings leveraging heavier personnel again. The splits were similar to what we saw Week 1 against Green Bay, and Mother Nature had some influence into this decision.
However, there is a trend, and it is a continuation from Week 12 of 2025, where KOC uses heavier personnel, with multiple TEs and RBs on the field that I wouldn’t be surprised if this continues moving forward.
Not to forget that the Vikings WR3, Jauan Jennings, was inactive tending to a personal matter. Myles Price filled in as WR3 all afternoon, and this does factor into why the Vikings went heavier and getting their best 11 on the field throughout the game.
Now, with Kyler and Jauan returning against Tampa Bay, I’ll be monitoring the use of personnel and if this trends continues.
Kevin O’Connell spent a lot of time discussing the need to have more success running the football, and the first two weeks have shown a commitment to the run game. He is staying true to his word, and the offense and team has been successful. The Vikings are a defensive minded team, and the offense has shown ways to complement them by controlling the ball and not putting them in poor field position or sudden change so far.
The left side of the o-line continues to dominate in the run game, showcasing another strong day running behind them. Darrisaw looks back to his elite level, and Jackson continues to improve, and the run game has succeeded thanks to them. The right side of the line did improve this week, which is a good sign, especially given the run heavy scheme with the weather.
The passing game efficiency wasn’t flashy, but given the small sample size and external elements, I decided to hold off on really analyzing this. With Kyler back in the fold, and against a tough Buccaneers’ run defense, this is the week to start looking at it under the microscope.
Offensive Play Breakdown
The Vikings run heavy, grind it out game plan didn’t create a lot of fireworks or excitement, but there were some fun wrinkles that were drawn up that I’m excited to see expand throughout the season.
Most of this week’s breakdown will be around pre-snap looks and wrinkles that were folded in. These looks and plays can be used universally, no matter who is under center. With a QB like Kyler though, explosives can be created with his post snap playmaking. Let’s dive in!
Justin Jefferson in the Backfield
The play call: 11 Gun Bunch Trips R JETS Smashing Special
The concept: With Jefferson lined up in the backfield, the goal is to force the defense to give him a free release and the ability to read the defense and run a route based on the post-snap look.
The first play this week is when Justin Jefferson lined up in the backfield. We’ve seen other super star WRs line up back there, and run option routes, as you may see in Seattle with JSN.
These looks can stress a defense, as the receiver gets a free release and gives him the ability to go anywhere on the field. With a player of Jefferson’s caliber, multiple eyes will be on him to attempt to slow him down.
The play is a two-side read, with the pre-snap look helping influence where Wentz will read first. The left side runs a version of a smash concept, with Hockenson on a deep corner and Jefferson on an option route, that turns into a quick out.
The right side is running a spacing concept, where Jones runs a flat route, Price runs a “OTB” (over the ball) curl, and Addison runs a deep stop route, where he turns over his outside shoulder on a curl.
The defense is showing a shell coverage look, which appears to be a Cover-4 look:
This means the boundary Corner (#29) and the Safety (#31) are reading the two receiving threats on their side of the field. Post-snap, it looks like Cover-4, and is a Palms concept, where the Corner will take whatever threat goes out towards the sideline first.
On the backside, they end up running Cover-1, where the field Corner (#1) is on Addison, the Nickel (#24) is on Price, and the mugged LB (#53) takes Jones.
There is a gap in coverage though. Both the boundary Corner and the Safety’s eyes are on Jefferson, leaving Hockenson wide open on his corner route.
The issue here is the pass blocking. The Bears are showing a pre-snap single mug look with their strong-side Linebacker (SAM):
Their IDLs are in a 0 and a 4i technique, with the edge rushers in wide 9 techniques. Pre-snap, the right side of the defense looks like it may be coming with pressure, where Jones would be the hot route. Post-snap, the Bears bring a weak-side Linebacker (WILL) blitz. They also run an interior stunt, with the 0-tech crashing outside, and the 4i crashing inside.
This causes chaos for the IOL, where Jackson and Brandel both get caught blocking the crashing 0-tech, and Fries being responsible for the 4i looping around.
With the Bear’s blitzing, the WILL (#12) comes untouched, causing pressure and forcing Wentz to throw early.
What I liked about this play is that it still could have worked. Wentz needs to put the ball on Jefferson’s outside shoulder and it could have still been a medium gain. This also puts Jefferson in a one-on-one against a corner, and could cause a bigger play.
If the Vikings IOL can sort the stunt and pass rush better, and Jackson can pick up the linebacker, then this play is a touchdown to Hockenson.
Moving forward, I’d like to see the Vikings use Jefferson, and even Addison, more in the backfield on these option routes. These can be lethal for a defense, especially on 3rd and short-to-medium, and in the low red zone.
Swing Pass to Claiborne
The play call: 11 Gun Trey R Clear HB Swing
The concept: The Vikings want to get Claiborne into space with a chance to pickup a first down on 3rd & 12. Hockenson is supposed to be a lead blocker, giving Claiborne a one cut read to make a play.
Third and long are always extremely difficult for an offense to pickup. A lot of teams will opt to run the ball or call a screen to pick up a small gain in hopes of breaking off a larger play. That’s the hope in this play from the Vikings.
They come out in a Gun Trey R look, with Hockeson attached to the end of the line. The Bears are showing a very similar look to the previous play I broke down. Edwards is mugged up tight in a 2-tech, and both DTs are tighter in a 1 and 4i technique.
On the backend, the Bears are showing a split coverage look: Cover-6, with Jefferson being pressed by the boundary Corner, and the field side showing Cover-4 between Price and Addison.
The difference this time around is the Bears are bringing another blitz, this time with the Nickel defender. This actually plays nearly perfect into the Vikings plans.
All of the Vikings receivers are on clear out routes. Jefferson, Price, and Addison all sprint off the line to get their defenders to turn their hips and run with them. They succeed, as all three are 15+ yards up the field prior to Wentz releasing the ball:
There’s only one man to beat: T.J. Edwards. He makes a great read and is able to beat Hockenson to the point to trip up Claiborne and make the tackle:
However, this isn’t fully Hockenson’s fault. Due to the Nickel blitz from Chicago, he shuffles his feet to chip the Edge defender (#98):
This split second gives Edwards just enough time to race Hockenson and make the play. While this play only resulted in a two yard gain, it was a great response to what the Bears were doing defensively. Given the situation, the Vikings had nearly the perfect play call, and Claiborne would have had all the space in the world to make an explosive, and potentially even score.
A rather simple concept, and I loved seeing an opportunity for the young RB to make a play in space. With Jordan Mason out for a few more weeks, and a lesser workload on Jones, I’d love to see KOC give Claiborne more opportunities in space on these swing passes and on screens.
Play Action to Hockenson
The play call: 22 Treavy R PA Leak
The concept: A heavy play action play, mimicking a wide zone running play, with all lineman and Oliver, Bredeson, and Hockenson stepping in one direction. A nice ball fake to Deejay Dallas to open up a huge window on the TE Leak/corner route.
One area that KOC excelled in this week was in situational play calling. The play is 2nd & 10, immediately after Jones got stuffed for no gain. There’s 3:15 left and the Vikings needed to find a way to close out the game.
The Vikings haven’t run this look often this season, and they were only in 22 personnel four other plays outside of this one. Each of the others: the Vikings ran the ball.
The goal was to drain as much clock and not give the Bears the ball back or go get some points of their own.
On this play, the Bears came out in a heavy run defense look. They had four lineman in an Under look (1-tech on the strong side of the offensive formation), and a Safety (#31) on the LOS, for a total of nine defenders in the box:
They were showing they were going to stop the run no matter what. No better time to draw up a play action pass!
The play action fake was perfect, and it caused all nine box defenders to bite:
This creates a huge hole in the Bears secondary, allowing for Hockenson to leak out on a corner route and catch a layup from Wentz:
Wentz took a little too much off of this ball, and Hockenson had to turn around to catch it. Given the situation, it makes sense to put an easy one out there, but this should be an area of improvement with Kyler coming back this weekend.
My favorite part about this play was the offensive line and the blocking. The Bears heavy run stopping look allows the o-line to fire off the ball as if it was a run play. They all win in their blocks, giving Wentz a very clean pocket, and a huge window for Hockenson.
As the run game continues to be leveraged heavy by the Vikings, play action and Kyler’s mobility can unlock easy explosives. A better ball to Hockenson and he may pickup an additional 10-15 yards, and in a game like Sunday’s, every yard counts.
Wentz did a good job of calming down the offense and giving average QB play for the offense. We have seen the floor of the offense, and now we’ll get glimpses of the ceiling with Kyler back as starter.
Final Thoughts
Sunday was an old fashioned football game, with wild weather and a defensive heavy matchup. The game was quiet and a battle of field position for most of the afternoon. A few costly turnovers by the Bears set the Vikings up to control the game, and lead for nearly the whole game.
The offense came out the game aggressive, with a shot to Jefferson to put him second all-time on the Vikings receiving charts. But, as the rain continued to roll in, the shots and explosives became nearly non-existent. KOC did a good job of sticking to the run game, and generating medium gains off of play action.
There were some nice passes from Wentz, including the PA pass to Hockenson mentioned above, and one to Oliver for a big gain. Wentz did exactly what you want a backup QB to do: don’t giveaway the football and make just enough plays to put up points and win the game.
The defense has been the story of the season so far, and they have helped the offense with shorter fields and extra possessions. Flores has turned the heat up to new levels this season, and we’ll see how long he keeps up this insanely high blitz rate.
The Vikings are off to my hometown: Tampa, Florida, for a matchup against the Buccaneers. The Bucs have their backs against the wall, and won’t go down without swinging. The Vikings need to be ready for a tough match, and the offense has an opportunity to unlock themselves.
Come back next week as we deep dive the Week 3 matchup!
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