Brian Flores Saved the Day
The Minnesota Vikings struggled to capitalize in favorable positions on Sunday. Sam Darnold couldn’t get out of his own way, and drives stalled unceremoniously. It wound up being the John Parker Romo show, and although that could have been frustrating, it worked to perfection because of Brian Flores’ defense.
Brian Flores Saved the Day
Minnesota’s defense looked out of sorts in multiple weeks of late. That is an unfortunate reality, but it’s a bit more possible to swallow when considering it happened against offenses such as the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions. Doug Pederson’s Jacksonville Jaguars are not of that ilk, and they were down even more on Sunday without Trevor Lawrence.
The totality of circumstances gave Flores’ defense an ideal landing spot to wreak havoc, and they did just that. The former Patriots quarterback was just 14-of-22 for 111 yards on the day. Minnesota picked off Jones twice, including a game-clinching interception by Cam Bynum. The Jaguars’ only touchdown came on a quarterback sneak, and Jacksonville needed to attempt the play twice.
Minnesota allowed only ten first downs while picking up 28 of their own. The yardage discrepancy (402 to 143) was a laugher in any way you want to slice it up. For all 43 of their plays, roughly half the amount Minnesota ran, Jacksonville was running into problems forced by the Vikings’ defense.
Flores dialed up pressure, which resulted in three sacks. Those came before the game’s final drive this time, and they should quiet the worry about Minnesota’s ability to get home. With Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. both full go from the linebacker position, the defensive side of the ball was as healthy as it had been all season.
There’s no reason to sugarcoat how ugly the Vikings’ offense looked. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to win football games. When Kevin O’Connell’s team couldn’t put the ball in the end zone, they found a way and focused on keeping the opposition out of it as well.
As the season goes on, there will almost assuredly be more games where the offense struggles. Minnesota having a defense they can rely upon helps to lessen the fear that any such game will result in a loss.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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