The Seahawks Were Scared to Attack the Vikings’ Strength. The Packers Won’t Be.
The Minnesota Vikings keep stacking wins; the count is up to 13 now, doubling the preseason win total most oddsmakers had in store for the purple team. All free-agent additions have been a massive success, and the coaching jobs of Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores can’t be praised enough. On Sunday, they came out victorious in a close contest in Seattle.
The Seahawks Were Scared to Attack the Vikings’ Strength. The Packers Won’t Be.
The Seahawks surely looked like a playoff team with a scary passing attack. It was a decent playoff preview for the Vikings, playing on the road in a tough environment against an eight-win team. Just for comparison, the Falcons and Buccaneers have eight wins and would be the likely opponents if the Vikes end up with the fifth seed.
Seattle had some success through the air, but they are at their best when they feature a balanced offense. On Sunday, however, Seattle was not interested in establishing the run despite the close game. Throughout the afternoon, Seattle had 63 offensive plays, and only 15 of them were assigned to the rushing offense.
That’s quite surprising, given the running back talent. Zach Charbonnet was feasting in previous games with Kenneth Walker sidelined, and starter Walker returned to the lineup in time for the clash with the Vikings.
On the flip side, the Vikings have one of the league’s top defenses against the run, ranking second in rushing yards allowed, first in rushing touchdowns allowed, and third in opponent’s rushing yards per attempt. Minnesota’s defense also ranks second in EPA/rush.
The unit was viewed as problematic in the offseason when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah failed to acquire any stars in free agency or in the draft. Journeyman veteran Jerry Tillery was the only notable addition other than undrafted rookie Taki Taimani, UFL player Jalen Redmond, and seventh-rounder Levi Drake Rodriguez.
Fast forward six months, and not only is the front holding up, the run defense is elite. The combination of run-first defenders and impressive linebackers who also excel against the run in Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace has been fun to watch. On the edges, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, just like backups Dallas Turner and Patrick Jones, all play against the run and aren’t just pass rushers.
In the 2024 season, Seattle’s first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb seems to prioritize the pass. That makes sense in the NFL of 2024, especially with DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside and a capable passer, but the Seahawks rush only on about 36% of the offensive plays, which ranks them in the bottom fourth of the league.
Walker ran eight times for 31 yards, Charbonnet once for -1 yard, and Kenny McIntosh had three carries for 14 yards. Last week, the defense held the combination of D’Andre Swift and Travis Homer under four yards per carry.
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta’s star runner, rushed for 92 yards but needed 22 carries to do so. Tyler Allgeier registered 63 yards on only nine attempts. He gave the Vikings some problems. Arizona’s James Conner had exactly 4.0 yards per carry in Week 14.
Although opposing offenses have run the ball on the Vikings recently, they rarely do it with any efficiency. Brian Flores has built a wall up front with amazing success. Even when backup nose tackle Taimani was placed on IR or Redmond missed the game due to a concussion, the run defense held up, and the Seahawks surely were hesitant to test it.
Next up is Green Bay and star runner Josh Jacobs. The key to beating the Packers is to turn the offense into a pass-first unit and wait for the inevitable Jordan love mistakes. Phillips and crew will be in the spotlight.
Editor’s Note: Information from rbsdm and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt