of Minnesota Vikings'The defense gives you 60 minutes of hell.
The Vikings are undefeated through three games. San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans The Vikings defense remains fifth in EPA per play allowed, sixth in EPA against the pass, and second in sack rate, all of which is happening despite the lack of top-tier cornerback play and incredible output. (/Check notes) Pat Jones II and Blake Cashman. Brian Flores might be a wizard. He locked Houston in the Phantom Zone against the Texans.
The most fun thing about watching Flores defend is the havoc he wreaks on the front and secondary defenses. The situation up front changes with pseudo pressure, and so does the situation on the back end. As a QB, you only have seconds to decipher what the blitz and coverage is before you put the ball out, but Flores speeds up that process while still preserving the integrity of the defensive structure. In other words, he's playing his game in his own world. He's the king of the Vikings' defensive castle, and you have to play by his rules.
Take a look at this predicament that Texans QB CJ Stroud finds himself in. Pre-snap, there are eight guys on the line of scrimmage. This is a situation that screams Cover 0, with all the DBs in off-coverage. But after the snap, things change. The Vikings end up rushing with three and get good inside pressure from the nose tackle. Stroud fends it off, but can’t capitalize on anything downfield and is forced to scramble. It felt like Stroud was scrambling a lot on Sunday, and when I looked it up at Sports Info Solutions, I was right. Including the playoffs, Sunday was Stroud’s third-most scrambles in a single game. Flores and the Vikings were cooking, and Houston couldn’t counter it.
The pressure simulation was a big part of changing things up front and forcing Stroud to answer new questions. And then making it seem like even if Stroud does give an answer, it's ultimately wrong. This is where Flores wants to live. Get S Harrison Smith off the edge, drop EDGE Pat Jones II and move to Cover 2. The line brings everything together and Smith is free to come off the edge, but he can jam the throw. Stroud has to throw this one high, which forces the back to back up and the cornerback can make an easy stop. Welcome to hell.
Now, let's change the situation up front. I think somewhere in the pre-game prep week, Flores and the Vikings realized that the Texans like to play a full-slide defense. This means that the entire Texans line slides in a certain direction and the tight end (Dalton Schultz in this case) blocks the backside edge. Flores and the Vikings knew this and looked for the best pass rusher in the matchup, John Greenard. Minnesota is up front five, but they drop Andrew Van Ginkel into coverage and add LB Blake Cashman. This is a pretty simple blitz, but it's effective because the full slide allows Cashman to occupy the running back and help Schultz against Greenard. This makes it a 1-on-1, and Greenard tells his former teammate to go to the weight room.
Flores and the Vikings found a very clever way to isolate Greenard on an advantaged player. This was Houston's first play of the second half, and Flores again used Smith as leverage to give Greenard a strategic advantage. Four men up front, Van Ginkel drops, lineman slants to the left of the offensive line. Smith charges off the edge and occupies the right tackle. Now Greenard is up against a guard, and it's clear who's going to win.
Flores and the Vikings have been in great form to start the season thanks to the use of positionless players like Smith, safeties Josh Metellus, Van Ginkel, Jones II and Greenard. Their versatility allows Minnesota to blitz and pressure while keeping the secondary out of bad positions. Minnesota has also been using Matt LaFleur and Green Bay Packers Now, if Flores can disrupt the rhythm of the Packers' offense, he'll add another accolade to an already impressive start to 2024.
