The Minnesota Vikings have done a great job rebuilding the offense in the image of new head coach Kevin O’Connell. While some of the general constructs are the same, it is still inherently different.
One of the elements that the Vikings have done a great job with is utilizing the illusion of complexity. They have used Justin Jefferson so many ways with window dressing that has the defense guessing what the Vikings are going to do.
On the Vikings first drive against the New England Patriots, they used some of that to their advantage.
The play itself looks rather inacuous from the start. It’s a 2×2 formation that has Jefferson motion into the backfield first then out to the near flat at the snap.
Cousins throws a backwards swing pass to Jefferson. The idea here is to get the safety to bite hard on the pass and attack with Adam Thielen leaking out after faking a block.
Myles Bryant plays this with patient eyes, as he takes a step in towards the screen, but sees Thielen leak out past his blocking assignment. Jefferson sees that and throws it quickly to the sticks when the pass was meant to go to the endzone.
Great recognition from both Jefferson and Thielen to see the safety recognize the play and make the adjustment on the fly.
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