This week, the Indianapolis Colts’ offense will be up against an aggressive and blitz-heavy Minnesota Vikings defense.
Coming off a mini-bye with the Vikings most recent game coming on Thursday night in Week 8, Minnesota will enter Sunday night blitzing on nearly 42 percent of their defensive snaps–almost a full five percent more than the Broncos who are in second.
This play-style under defensive coordinator Brian Flores has played a key role in the Vikings also leading the NFL in pressure rate, along with ranking fourth in sacks.
For the Colts’ offensive line, it’s not only that they have to be worried about an addition rusher or two coming their way, but what helps make this blitz-heavy approach so effective is the disguises Flores utilizes.
The Vikings may show an all-out pressure and not send anyone. Flores will blitz from all parts of the field, in addition to using stunts on some pressures, and has no problem sending two or even three defenders depending on the situation.
In short, that’s a lot for an offensive line to have to decipher on the fly and, again, has played a key role in Minnesota’s success with those pressures.
For the most part this season, the Colts offensive line has been one of the better pass protection units in football, ranking second in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric through seven weeks.
However, this past Sunday against Houston, that unit would struggle, with Anthony Richardson under pressure on nearly 50 percent of his dropbacks.
With the veteran Joe Flacco under center for this game, his experience in the NFL and ability to recognize and decipher what’s coming will be important in overcoming those looks and pressures from the Minnesota defense.
But with that said, if the pass protection breaks down, Flacco obviously doesn’t have the ability to evade defenders like Richardson does.
Getting the run game going will be an important aspect to countering these pressures. Living in long down-and-distance situations will likely spell disaster for the Indianapolis offense. We also could see Shane Steichen keep a tight end or running back in to block often as well to help.
The pre-snap communication from Ryan Kelly in identifying potential blitzers and everyone knowing what their blocking responsibilities are will be paramount.
How the Colts’ offensive line is able to handle these pressures will play a vital role in determining the outcome of this game because if Flacco does have time, the Colts should have the numbers advantage in the passing game when blitzers are coming.