The Lions and Vikings face each other twice every season as divisional rivals. That breeds a certain familiarity between the teams. However, the addition of Brian Flores as the defensive coordinator in Minnesota has made the Vikings defense radically different than what Lions QB Jared Goff and his mates have seen in past meetings.
Flores is known for his exotic pressure schemes and unconventional defensive sets. He’s been a successful coordinator in New England and created an interesting defense in his time as the head coach in Miami, and now he’s off to a strong start in Minnesota. Flores’ defense ranks seventh in scoring (19.2 ppg) and 13th in yards (316 ypg) and has keyed the team’s survival through offensive injuries to remain firmly in the NFC playoff hunt.
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Goff knows it’s not going to be easy on Sunday in Minnesota. He’s been prepping to understand all the intricacies of what Flores will throw at the Lions offense.
“Yeah, it’s – they try to create turnovers,” Goff told reporters this week. “Obviously, they do a good job of it and it’s a different scheme than really anywhere else in the League and it’s effective. They’ve done a really good job teaching it and learning it and it’s very effective and he does a great job.”
The uniqueness of the schematic attack and approach stands out to Goff.
“You’ve seen bits and pieces of it. I think it’s rare for it all to be in the same defense,” Goff said of the Vikings defense. “You see a lot of defenses try different parts of what they do, but for them to do all of it is impressive. And again, it’s effective and it’s worked for them and it’s certainly a challenge.”
Goff’s words echoed what head coach Dan Campbell said about Flores’ unit earlier,
“It’s a very unique defense. And what they ask those guys to do, man there’s a ton of moving parts. And so, there’s – this is one of those where, for us as a staff, the gameplan is not going to end until probably the morning of, as you continue to watch and then you practice and then you solve problems and there’s going to be, as it goes, there’ll be some stuff we cut out, some stuff we add.”