It’s been a long NFL season, but the postseason. Now, you probably didn’t get to study the entire playoff field in-depth during the regular season. No worries. We’ve put together guides that will help you become an instant expert on all 12 teams making up the field.
These guides will tell you how each team uses its personnel on both sides of the ball, what its strategic tendencies are and how efficient the team is based on several advanced metrics.
In this guide, we’ll be looking at the Minnesota Vikings, who had to settle for the sixth and final seed in the NFC with a 10-6 record. Let’s get to know them…
VIKINGS OFFENSE
No team uses fewer three-receiver sets than the Vikings, which makes a lot of sense because there isn’t a ton of receiving talent behind Stefon Diggs and Adam Theilen. And Minnesota has two good tight ends in Kyle Rudolph and rookie Irv Smith Jr. plus a good fullback in C.J. Ham.
Gary Kubiak is technically just an advisor on the Vikings staff but his fingerprints are all over this offense. Just look at that play-action rollout number! Classic Kubiak. The dropback passing game isn’t terribly inventive but it’s the play-action game that has carried this passing attack all season. Minnesota also has a deadly screen game off of those play fakes. After a slow start to the season, offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski found his footing and helped design an offense that perfectly suits Kirk Cousins.
The Vikings are running the classic Shanahan/Kubiak run game. It’s all from under center — no other team in the playoff field is running from shotgun less often — and it’s almost all outside zone. The offensive line may not be the best in pass protection but it has been excellent in the ground game. But for the running game to be at its best, Dalvin Cook needs to get healthy.
VIKINGS DEFENSE
Mike Zimmer will almost always match whatever personnel the offense puts out on the field. If it’s only two receivers, he’ll play base. If it’s three or more receivers, he’ll go to his sub packages. No matter what package the Vikings are in, the stars of the defense — LB Eric Kendricks and safeties Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris — will be out on the field.
We’ve seen a philosophical shift from this Vikings defense over the last year-and-a-half. Zimmer is playing more four-deep coverages which allow him to guard against passes down the seams. Minnesota is now a quarters team but when they want to play man, they’ll do so with only one safety deep for the most part. Zimmer is known for his double A-gap blitzes but he didn’t show those looks as often in 2019.
With Minnesota backing off in coverage, they have been vulnerable to dinking and dunking — but that’s by design. Zimmer dares offenses to patiently move the ball down the field, waiting for one slip up that ruins a drive. As a result, Minnesota hasn’t allowed a lot of big plays in the passing game. As a whole, the Vikings defense has done a good job of limiting big plays.
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