Category: Vikings

Can Jared Goff finally solve his Brian Flores problem?

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been Lions quarterback Jared Goff’s white whale through his career, and the two face off again on Sunday.

When the Detroit Lions travel to U.S. Bank Stadium to meet the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Lions quarterback Jared Goff will be dealing with a defense like no other in the NFL, though led by a defensive coordinator in Brian Flores who has had Goff’s number through several different teams and defensive iterations.

The last time Goff faced a defense created by Flores, it was November 1, 2020. Goff was the Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback, and Flores was the Miami Dolphins’ head coach and defensive shot-caller. And in the end, it was an absolute nightmare for Goff. Flores threw all kinds of blitzes and coverages at him, but Miami’s Cover-0 blitzes specifically drove Goff nuts — and into the throes of a 28-17 loss. Goff attempted 61 passes in that game, completing 35 of 61 passes for 355 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, two fumbles (one of which was returned for a touchdown), and a passer rating of 65.9.

The time before that was Super Bowl LIII at the end of the 2018 season. Things were no better for Goff in that game. Then, Flores, the New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator, did a brilliant job of flipping his defenses at the 15-second mark of the play clock, when head coach Sean McVay was no longer allowed to speak to Goff in his helmet headset. Goff completed 19 f 38 passes for 229 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 57.9. The Patriots beat the Rams 10-3, and the Rams tied the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI for the lowest score in any Super Bowl.

Now, Goff has to solve a Flores defense that has planted its schematic identity at the four corners of the earth. This season, the Vikings have by far sent three or fewer rushers at the quarterback more than any other team, and they have by far sent six or more rushers more than any other team. The Vikings have also played the highest rate of Cover-0 in the league (12.1%), and they’ve played the highest rate of Cover-2 in the league (29.0%). Of course, the problem with Flores’ latest defense is that nothing post-snap is what it looked like pre-snap. Flores loves to muddy the picture with blitz looks that turn into drop-8 zone coverage, and he’s just as adept at showing you all-out blitzes that turn into two-high looks… and vice versa.

It’s a tough go for any offense right now, and given Goff’s history against Flores’ mastery, perhaps it’s a bit tougher.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how the Lions can set Goff up for better success with the precision and spacing of their passing game in an offense where everybody is an alpha dog, but there’s no one featured player.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 16’s biggest NFL matchups (including Lions-Vikings of course), right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Now, let’s review the previous Goff-Flores matchups, and how Goff might be able to finally bag his white whale.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 15’s biggest NFL matchups

In the latest “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into Week 16’s biggest matchups, the BIlls’ run game, and the Eagles’ backslide.

It’s time for Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games and interesting matchups:

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings — How rookies Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs have come to define the Lions’ offense, and what the Bengals may have taught the rest of the NFL about how to attack Brian Flores’ crazy-quilt Vikings defense.

Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins — Why the Cowboys had best be ready for Raheem Mostert and Miami’s run game, and the keys to the Dolphins’ drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season.

Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers — Speaking of drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season, did you know that the 49ers rank first in the NFL in Defensive DVOA since Week 10? A severe test for Lamar Jackson and Baltimore’s offense, especially without rookie running back Keaton Mitchell.

The guys also get into how the Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles with the same play twice, and the Buffalo Bills’ amazing journey into becoming a force in the run game.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Worst of the Week for Week 15: Pickens and Toney, Sean Payton’s meltdown, Ron Rivera’s folly

MIke Tomlin, Sean Payton, Kadarius Toney, George Pickens, invisible Panthers fans, and the Jets. It’s time for the NFL’s Worst of the Week!

Football is a wonderful, thrilling, inspiring game that can lift us to new heights in our lives.

But football is also a weird, inexplicable, at times downright stupid game that may force you to perform Keith Moon-level furniture destruction in your own living room.

So, as much as we at Touchdown Wire endeavor to write about what makes the game great, there are also times when it’s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, it’s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season.

Twitter freaks out over Tee Higgins’ unbelievable touchdown catch

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins made one of the most amazing touchdown catches ever, and Twitter had a lot to say about it.

With 39 seconds left in regulation of Saturday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Minnesota Vikings, the Bengals were down 24-17 at the Vikings’ 21-yard line. Cincinnati quarterback Jake Browning had already broken the Vikings’ three-game streak of not allowing a touchdown, and now, he was about to double down with receiver Tee Higgins.

Because receiver Tee Higgins made one of the most amazing catches you’ll ever see. First of all, Higgins just Mossed cornerback Akayleb Evans, and he then somehow came down with both feet inbounds as he got the ball beyond the pylon. Just ridiculous. Higgins’ body never broke the plane, but the ball did!

As you would expect, Twitter had a lot to say about it.

 

Vikings allow first touchdown since Week 11 after announcers point it out

The Vikings gave up their first touchdown in nearly three games right after their game’s announcers said they hadn’t allowed a touchdown in nearly three games.

There are certain things you don’t do in sports. You don’t mention it if a pitcher is throwing a no-hitter or perfect game. You never replay a particularly gruesome injury. You don’t mention a kicker’s field goal percentage before a field goal unless you want the kicker to miss it. And if a team hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown in nearly three games when that team’s opponent is in the red zone… well, you might not want to make a big deal about it.

Unfortunately for the Minnesota Vikings in their Saturday game against the Cincinnati Bengals, NFL Network announcers Chris Rose and Jason McCourty happened to point out that Brian Flores’ defense hadn’t allowed a touchdown since there was 1:03 left in the Vikings’ Week 11 loss to the Denver Broncos. Right after that, of course, Jake Browning hit Tee Higgins for a 13-yard touchdown with 14:56 left in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings then allowed another touchdown on the Bengals’ next drive.

Never mess with sports voodoo, kids. That’s all we’re saying.

Brian Flores’ Vikings defense ties pressure and coverage together like no other team

The Vikings tie pressure and coverage together like no other NFL team, and defensive coordinator/mad scientist Brian Flores is the reason.

In the case of the Minnesota Vikings’ defense under Brian Flores, there are some numbers you should know.

The Vikings under Flores in his first year with the team ranked 13th in Defensive DVOA through the first seven weeks of the season. Since then, they rank second in Defensive DVOA behind only the New York Jets.

For the season, the Vikings have by far rushed opposing quarterbacks with three defenders more often than any other defense — they’ve done it 113 times, and the Saints rank second at 59. They’ve also rushed six or more defenders by far the most in the NFL this season — 121 times, and the New England Patriots rank second with 44.

Especially after the relatively “vanilla” schemes put forth in the 2022 season by former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, Flores’ schemes look like a crazy quilt, and it took a few weeks for everybody to get on the same page. But that’s happened of late, and now, Flores’ defenders are playing his concepts not only with the advantages given when you throw things at quarterbacks they don’t see anywhere else, but with a discipline that makes it all work.

Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips spoke this week with Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network about how things have changed for the better.

“I’m glad you mentioned the discipline piece, because I said just after the game (Minnesota’s 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders) when someone said, ‘This isn’t a typical 4-3 downhill attacking defense that you see some of these guys have,’ where it’s one man, one gap,” Phillips said. “Those defenses are really easy to understand. This one is a little more complex, because it’s not vanilla – Harrison, you have the A-gap. You could have the front-side A-gap, the front-side B-gap, the backside A-gap, maybe the backside B-gap. There are gap schemes within that, and oh, you might drop if we get this.

“We have so many different layers to the defense, I think what Coach Flores might have been shocked at himself when he came here… we have a veteran defense at a lot of the key positions. We’re able to get more complex and get two or three calls when the offense checks at the line of scrimmage, we can get into our second call. When they think we’re in a max look, we can go to another call. Being able to trust us and see the mental capabilities we have as a defense has allowed us to get deeper and deeper as we go on in the season and we get more reps. Guys are all getting on the same page, and there’s better communication. That’s another huge word when you talk about this defense. 

“The success we’re having goes back to that discipline and that communication.”

The Vikings’ sack of Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell with 8:46 left in the first quarter was a great example of how Flores ties pressure to coverage, and how enemy quarterbacks can be placed out of their elements very quickly. Pre-snap, this looked like a seven-man pressure on second-and-18, but watch how the Vikings turn this into an effective four-man rush, accentuated by the subtle post-snap switches that took O’Connell’s options away. Pre-snap, it could have been a Cover-0 blitz (a Flores staple for years), but it turned into Cover-2, and that’s a lot for a young quarterback to take in.

Here’s another long-yardage situation that turned in the Vikings’ favor. In Week 7, the San Francisco 49ers had second-and-13 with 12:16 left in the third quarter, and Minnesota had a three-man rush with seven defensive backs. Again, the picture pre-snap and post-snap was very different. Linebacker Jordan Hicks and safety Theo Jackson could have blitzed, but they dropped into coverage along with safety Josh Martellus, muddying Brock Purdy’s underneath reads.

The Vikings beat San Francisco’s five-man protection with some cool pass-rush ideas, from Patrick Jones II’s pre-snap shuttle to either side of 49ers center Jake Brendel to Jones’ stunt with edge-rusher Danielle Hunter. Purdy didn’t have time to diagnose what the Vikings were doing to him before he hit the turf.

The Vikings also have an unusual situation in that Ivan Pace Jr. — an undrafted rookie from Cincinnati — is running Flores’ defense on the field. That’s a lot to keep in your head, but Pace was the closer in that Raiders game, flying across the field to jump O’Connell’s quick slant to Davante Adams.

“I think that’s what’s making them play at the level they are right now – it’s just consistent [with] the mix and match between keeping people off balance, using our playmakers at different positions to allow them to thrive in multiple roles,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said this week of his defense. “Using a guy like Byron Murphy to maybe match in coverage sometimes; other times, maybe just play his standard stop. Josh Metellus, Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum at the safety position. A guy like Mekhi Blackmon steps in and gives us some really good snaps.

“And then I.P. [Pace], you know, running the show as the green dot. His ability to just continue to improve. I think [inside linebackers coach] Mike Siravo deserves a ton of credit for the development of an undrafted, free agent rookie that we’re really lucky to have and, quite honestly, don’t know where we would be without him. But once again, just a credit to Flo, his staff, our players for the consistency at which they’ve been able to continue to communicate, execute and ultimately finish.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 10: Ivan Pace Jr. #40 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates with teammates after making an interception during the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

On Saturday, the Cincinnati Bengals and quarterback Jake Browning will be the nest to try and solve all of Flores’ puzzles. Right now, no defense is tying pressure and coverage together better in most interesting ways. In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got deeper into it.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 15’s biggest NFL matchups (including Vikings-Bengals) right here:

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You can listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

How Bengals head coach Zac Taylor made things easy for QB Jake Browning

The Bengals are rolling with backup quarterback Jake Browning, and that’s a tribute to how head coach Zac Taylor has made Browning comfortable with scheme.

When Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in his team’s 34-20 Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, it certainly looked as if the 5-5 Bengals’ season was over in a competitive sense. Replacing Burrow would be Jake Browning, a 2019 undrafted free agent out of Washington who had never thrown a regular-season pass before the 2023 season.

Clearly, the onus was on head coach Zac Taylor and his staff to make things as easy as possible for Browning by tailoring things to his preferences, and that’s what they did. The changes for their new quarterback weren’t extreme, but they were meaningful.

In Weeks 1-10, per Sports Info Solutions, the Bengals ranked 23rd in dropbacks with pre-snap motion. Since then, they rank 10th. They ranked 22nd in dropbacks with play-action. Since then, they rank 16th. They ranked 30th in passing snaps under center through Week 10. Since then, they rank 16th.

One play that combined motion, play-action, and under center was Browning’s 54-yard pass to running back Chase Brown against the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday. This pass was thrown four yards behind the line of scrimmage, so this was a lot about Brown, but the design made things difficult for the Colts. The Colts were in Cover-3, and safety Julian Blackmon ran with Jamarr Chase’s jet motion across. The under-center play-action froze linebackers Ronnie Harrison and Zaire Franklin, and cornerback Darrell Baker fell down when he tried to follow Brown’s delayed flare route. Not an explosive play from Browning’s arm per se, but you can tell that the Bengals’ coaching staff have gone out of their way to make Browning comfortable.

“I don’t know if it’s really been that different,” Taylor said of the new stuff. “They’re all things we’ve done over the course of the season. Each defense we play is a big driving force for how the game is played. We haven’t called a single play that we didn’t rep all training camp and fall. These guys believe in what we’re doing and have done a great job. We’ve really called upon every resource we have on offense, and everyone has stepped up. So many guys made catches and big plays today. We’re not afraid to use everybody on the roster that’s active. We have faith that everyone can step up and do their job.”

Browning has done just that, Browning is the second player since 1950 with a completion percentage of 70% or higher and a passer rating of 95.0 or higher in each of his first three career starts, joining Chad Pennington (first four starts, Weeks 5 and 7-9 in 2002 with the Jets). Browning has completed 79.3 percent of his attempts (69 of 87), the highest completion percentage by a quarterback in his first three career starts since 1950, surpassing Pennington (77.4 percent).

“I don’t look at him as a young guy,” Taylor said of Browning. “He’s been here now for three years — that’s old in this league. He knows what makes a really good backup quarterback. It’s being able to take the reps you’re not getting mentally, and manufacturing them in practice. Dan Pitcher does a great job with that. You’d handle him differently if he was a rookie or second year guy. I feel like we have a veteran quarterback out there, just getting his first action in front of a whole stadium. This is why we’ve given him the opportunity to compete for the job, this is why he won the job and this is why he stuck around for three years.

“A lot of times the guys on the practice squad, you just switch them out after two years. But Jake had all the intangible stuff, the skills we saw that made us think he can be an effective player for us. All he’s done is continue to prove that right. He knows the season doesn’t end today. He has to continue to stack and prepare. I’m sure we have another tough defense coming in next week with Minnesota. He has controlled what he can control at this point.”

Not that Browning is capable of just checkdown stuff. He hit receiver Tee Higgins with this 26-pass against the Colts in which Browning threw with good anticipation to hit Higgins in Indianapolis’ Cover-6 gaps. Browning was in the shotgun here, but his flash fake helped open things up downfield.

And this 76-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase against the Jaguars in Week 13 shows that Browning can roll deep when Chase is the backside iso receiver.

The Bengals have a very tough matchup this Saturday against a Minnesota Vikings defense led by Brian Flores, and that defense will throw the entire playbook right at your head. But so far, Browning has proven able and capable in a system tailored to his skill set.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get further into how Browning has kept the how 7-6 Bengals in the playoff race.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 15’s biggest NFL matchups (including Bengals-Vikings) right here:

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You can listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 15’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into Week 15’s most important NFL matchups.

It’s time for Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games and interesting matchups:

Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals — How Zac Taylor and his staff have made things easier for Jake Browning, and how Brian Flores’ defense can make life much more difficult.

Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns — The trade acquisition and under-the-radar consultant who could be the keys to the Bears’ defensive improvement.

Dallas Cowboys at Buffalo Bills — Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady has a great new wrinkle, but can the Bills’ defense hang with Dak Prescott and all his targets?

Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars — The Jags have been underperforming on offense and defense of late, which makes it a bad time to have to deal with the Ravens.

Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks — The keys to Pete Carroll’s unhappiness with his defense, and why the Eagles had better get things together before they travel to the Emerald City.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Greg Joseph field goal in last 2 minutes gives Vikings 3-0 win over Raiders

After 58 scoreless minutes, Greg Joseph kicked a field goal and the Vikings had a win.

Was it the Minnesota Vikings at Las Vegas Raiders or the Minnesota Golden Gophers against Iowa?

The Vikings and Raiders played a Week 14 game that could easily have been confused with a Hawkeyes game in 2023.

There was no scoring until Greg Joseph kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:57 lefty at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.

How bad was it?

The teams accounted for 17 punts with 7 inside the 20. The final one was Joesph’s 14-yarder in the last 18 seconds rather than trying for a second field goal.

Curtis Bolton returned it 17 yards so the Vikings actually lost yardage on the pooch punt.

A.J. Cole of the Raiders had a long of 83 yards; Ryan Wright’s best effort was 59.

Combined there were 830 yards of punts.

There were nine sacks in the game, five by the Raiders.

Ivan Pace had 13 tackles and his interception of Aidan O’Connell after the field goal sealed the Vikings’ win.

Justin Jefferson taken to hospital after brutal hit in Vikings-Raiders

Justin Jefferson was injured during the Vikings-Raiders game

Justin Jefferson’s return to the Minnesota Vikings offense was short.

After missing multiple weeks, the elite wideout came back Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

He went out of the game and was taken to the hospital with a chest injury after a wicked hit while running a pass route over the middle.