After Getting Picked On, Vikings Corner Bounces Back
In Week 4, the mandate from the Packers was clear: toss the ball toward whomever was being covered by Byron Murphy Jr. The strategy resulted in the boundary/slot corner being targeted 15 times.
In Week 5, the Vikings corner again saw quite a bit of attention, but the results he put forth were considerably tidier. Targeted 11 times, Murphy allowed 7 receptions for 53 scoreless yards. Crunch the numbers and that’s just 7.6 yards per reception, a strong mark that points toward a good day at the office for Mr. Murphy.
Vikings Corner Bounces Back in Week 5
Back to those 15 targets in Week 4.
Green Bay had a lot of success with their strategy (until the end of the game, at least). A dozen of those targets went for completions and they added up to 143 yards. Even worse, there was a touchdown allowed in his coverage.
Now, the corner gets a ton of credit for how he responded. Late in the game, Murphy made an athletic interception, climbing the ladder to pick off a Jordan Love pass. And then there was the punch out forced fumble on Tucker Kraft, a play that helped to seal the win.
By no means did Mr. Murphy have a totally bad day at the office. In fact, PFF gave him a steady 74.1 grade for his overall effort, suggesting that some of the completions against weren’t necessarily damning plays.
In London, Byron Murphy picked up a 69.4 grade from PFF. He was credited with picking up 5 tackles and played in a variety of spots. He snagged 42 snaps as a boundary corner but was also in the slot for 20 snaps and in the box for 6 more.
Leading the way for targets against was actually CB1 Stephon Gilmore. He got targeted 14 times, allowing 7 receptions along the way.
For a good portion of the game, Gilmore got the Garrett Wilson assignment. The Jets’ WR1 had a pretty strong day overall, turning a whopping 22 targets into 13 receptions for 101 yards and a score. The key to those numbers rests in the yards-per-catch average. Wilson went for just 7.8 yards on average, meaning that a lot of the strategy involved letting him do damage underneath without getting loose down the field.
His longest catch of the day went for just 16 yards.
There’s an important truth lingering behind a lot of this discussion. Obviously, the defense would prefer for passes to fall incomplete. That being said, a lot of the time, the strategy involves leaving shorter passes open. Brian Flores is known for his aggression, but he should also be known as someone who is very good when it comes to leading a bend-but-don’t-break defense.
At times, the pass gets completed because that’s what the defense is intentionally leaving open. With Murphy, remember that important truth. There are times when the shorter, underneath throw gets completed but is still considered a win for the defense.
Byron Murphy is one of the top Vikings corners and is playing on the final year of his deal. Only 26, Murphy has a strong chance of getting re-signed.
His current cap charge is coming in at $10,911,765.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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.
