The Vikings Failed Flores…But Still Pulled it Off
Had the Vikings lost in Week 5, Brian Flores and his defense wouldn’t have been to blame. On the contrary, Flores’ Fiends were the main reason why a win was even close to possible as the second half was unravelling.
Thankfully for Kevin O’Connell, things worked out in the end. Stephon Gilmore picked off Aaron Rodgers and the driving Jets, giving Sam Darnold the luxury of being able to kneel out the game. Things finished off by a score of 23-17. Keep in mind, though, that all of those points against came due to Flores’ defense being put in less-than-deal circumstances.
The Vikings Failed Flores in their Week 5 Win
There’s something to be said for not having your best stuff and still pulling off the win. There’s also something to be said for recognizing that the special teams and offense need to be better.
Now, before getting too far down that path, a word of praise for the special teams. Will Reichard has been perfect this season, a reality that continued across the pond. Playing in an open-air stadium and with some slick conditions didn’t deter him from excellence.
The kid went 3/3 on field goals and 2/2 on extra points. The first portion of that statement — the field goals — are what’s most impressive given that he hit from 54 yards, 53 yards, and 41 yards. Just impressive stuff from the 6th-Round rookie.
Plus, Ryan Wright had a mostly excellent day.
Some will recall the long punt return — we’ll get to that in a moment — but that was a difficult situation. The punter was backed up in his own end zone and one wonders if taking the safety would have been the smarter play. Doing so would have resulted in two points allowed, yes, but also the opportunity to force New York into driving the full field.
Minnesota’s net punting average was sitting at a relatively modest 38.4 yards but Wright landed a pair within the opposition’s 20. In the 3rd quarter, Wright had a punt finish off at the Jets’ 3-yard line. In the 4th, Wright had a punt downed at the Jets’ 7-yard line. In a tight game late, those moments are pure gold.
More concerning from the special teams, though, were the penalty for hitting New York’s punter and then the long return.
The Jets’ opening touchdown came off of a short field. Wright drilled the ball from his own end zone but the coverage team struggled to corral the returner. The ball travelled 58 yards and landed on New York’s 38 but the ball was brought back for 31 yards before Theo Jackson could stop the bleeding. Starting at Minnesota’s 31, the Jets put up their opening score of the game, turning the game into a 17-7 contest.
Not too long afterwards, the Vikings earned the opportunity to head off of the field but Ivan Pace Jr. — perhaps due to some slick conditions — was a bit overzealous in trying to block the punt. New York was punting from their own 14 since they were facing 4th & 10. The 15-yard roughing the punter penalty allowed the drive to continue, though, and Aaron Rodgers capitalized. There was a field goal at the end, shrinking things down to 17-10.
Layered throughout all of this was futility for the Vikings on offense. Yes, there was the C.J. Ham score, but O’Connell’s side of the ball wasn’t nearly good enough. Consider some of the basic stats.
Sam Darnold played his worst game as a Viking, finishing 14/31 for 179 scoreless yards. He tossed an interception and had a QB rating sitting at 50.3. Ty Chandler took over for the injured Aaron Jones (read more) and turned his 14 carries into 30 scoreless yards for a 2.1 yards-per-carry average.
Justin Jefferson was inefficient, turning 14 targets into 6 catches for 92 yards. At times, the strategy appeared to involve simply heaving the ball up to #18 in the hopes that Sauce Gardner or D.J. Reed would get dinged with a PI. Folks, hoping for penalties isn’t a great offensive strategy.
Jordan Addison largely mirrored the WR1, struggling to find separation from an elite CB duo while turning 8 targets into 3 receptions for 36 yards. Neither player scored.
Oh, and another thing. The Jets finished off with 17 points. The opening 10 were directly impacted by poor plays from the special teams. The final 7 were directly impacted by the offense. Darnold’s interception meant the Jets started off on the Vikings’ 42. Eventually, Rodgers completed a single-yard pass to Garrett Wilson to shrink the game down to 20-17.
But like Gandalf staring down the Balrog, Flores wouldn’t let Rodgers pass Minnesota’s score.
Even the 23 points are a bit misleading. The Vikings picked up six of those points from Andrew Van Ginkel, the ultra-smart outside linebacker who fooled Rodgers into an interception. Check it out:
Keeping up with all of this? The Jets scored on three separate occasions. In each moment, there was a mistake from the special teams or offense directly preceding the score. Giving Brian Flores a full field to work with led to shutting out Mr. Rodgers; giving the Jets an advantage led to points being scored against Minnesota.
Finishing off the game was a Stephon Gilmore interception, the third pick of the game for Flores’ crew. Plus, they sacked the future Hall of Fame QB three times and generated pressure on several other occasions. Oh, and they corralled the runners, limiting New York to 14 carries, 36 rushing yards, and a 2.6 YPC average. Elite stuff.
To his credit, Kevin O’Connell wasn’t shy when it came to kicking over praise to his defensive coordinator. The Vikings don’t win that football game unless the defense is elite and O’Connell knows it.
“I just love doing football with [Brian Flores],” O’Connell said in his press conference. The head coach goes on to explain why: “Sometimes, you do some things as a head coach, and offensive play caller, knowing maybe we can take a shot here because I know we’re going to hit a lot of ’em over the course of the year, but I also know I have ultimate trust in our defense.”
O’Connell goes on: “I’ve got so much respect for Flo. He is leading that defense at a world-class level and really impacting our organization with how we play and how we win.”
Make no mistake: the Vikings are nowhere close to defeating the Jets unless Brian Flores calls a brilliant game. So, too, would a 5-0 record be out of reach were it not for the Vikings getting excellence from their defense.
When Minnesota’s full team is playing up to its potential, then they’re supremely difficult to overcome. So, look for some ongoing brilliance from Flores but also look for an urgency to improve as Minnesota ventures into their bye week.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.