The Vikings Must Feed One Man
Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones was ready and willing to have a day in Week 10, scoring on the game’s first drive and hungry for more.
One Minnesota Vikings playmaker needs the ball more often, and the case for his increased inclusion should not be all that controversial.
Then Minnesota’s coaching staff veered in another direction, deciding that the 22-year-old quarterback, in his fourth-ever game, needed to throw the ball 42 times.
The plan flopped, and the Vikings lost to the Baltimore Ravens by eight. Henceforth, the team must learn a lesson and feed Jones; it’s not very complicated.
Vikings Must Give Aaron Jones the Damn Ball
Not a controversial take.
Hand Jones the Rock and Get Out of the Way
Jones opened the afternoon against the Ravens like a man on a mission, rattling off chunk runs that set the early tone. When the dust settled, he’d logged 9 carries for 47 yards — good for 5.2 yards per pop — yet somehow, that was it. The Vikings went away from what worked, shelving a tailback who looked ready to torch Baltimore’s front. Jones was cooking, and Minnesota turned off the stove.
This guy is Minnesota’s RB1. He’s not an ancillary piece. Yes, this is the same team that employs a young quarterback who flourished with a run-happy offense at the University of Michigan. While McCarthy develops into a full-blown, mature quarterback, his head coach must rely on his running backs.
Jones needs the ball. Feeding the RB1 should be the no-brainer to end all no-brainers. The only time to abandon the run is when a team is down by three scores. That never happened versus Baltimore, yet Jones’ role was downplayed.
Jones Is Paid Handsomely to Shoulder a Large Workload
Jones is not ornamental. The Vikings didn’t scoop him from free agency’s bargain bin. He earns $10 million per season, which ranks ninth-most at his position. He makes money in the ballpark of Kyren Williams and James Cook.
Often, Minnesota’s playcalling treats Jones like Cam Akers — who is a free-agent bargain.
There is no reason for the Vikings to pay a running back $10 million if the plan is to abandon his workload in a game when the guy is producing over five yards per rush. In fact, O’Connell should be doing the opposite, feeding Jones “too much,” while risking fans’ ire over the fact that Jones is getting the ball too often
Faced with overloading the playcalling in one direction, Minnesota should bank on more rushing than passing with a de facto rookie passer under center. But the team isn’t doing that.
An Embarrassing Playcalling Split
Here’s the skinny through 10 weeks:
Vikings Playcall Percentage,
NFL Ranking:
Passing the Ball: 61.5% (4th Most in NFL)
Running the Ball: 38.5% (4th Least in NFL)
There is no balance. None. If the team wants to reach the postseason — that’s a long shot with a 4-5 record — or even be a Super Bowl contender this year, next, or in 2027, this split must be close to even. Or — the other scenario, the Vikings should run the ball at a Top 10 clip, while preferring to pass about 43%-45% of the time.
Passing is fun, and people can get away with it in video games at Minnesota’s current clip, but it doesn’t win playoff games, and for damn sure doesn’t guide teams to the Super Bowl. O’Connell must run the ball, and Jones is his main guy for the task.
Vikings Win when They Run The Ball; Lose When They Don’t
Minnesota loses football games at a 1st-pick-in-the-draft pace when it doesn’t run the ball.
On the other hand, the team is one of the league’s best when it runs the rock at least 20 times. These are the numbers:
Vikings’ Win-Loss Record,
Since 2022:
Rush Ball 20 Times or More: 35-9 (.795)
Rush Ball 19 Times of Fewer: 3-13 (.188)
Yes, that’s an 80% win percentage at 20 carries or more, and 19% when Minnesota plays like it did against the Ravens, refusing to run the ball.
This is a straightforward fix. Run the ball.. Give Jones the ball.
More on the Playcalling, Impact
The Viking Age‘s Adam Patrick noted, “There’s still plenty of time for the Vikings to make a push into the playoffs, but O’Connell likely needs to change his play-calling approach if that is even going to be a legitimate possibility.”
“Typically, playing on your home field is supposed to be an advantage. But this hasn’t been the case for Minnesota this season. With Sunday’s loss, the Vikings are now 1-3 inside U.S. Bank Stadium this year, with their only win coming back in Week 3 against a bad Cincinnati Bengals team. It’s even more surprising that Minnesota has struggled on its home field this season after the team went 8-1 in its own building last year.”
The damndest thing — O’Connell can fix this thing in like an hour. Just philosophically decide to commit to the run more than in the previous games. An easy, easy fix.
“Something appears to be off more often than not when the Vikings have played inside U.S. Bank Stadium this season, and with four of the final eight games on their 2025 schedule set to take place at home, this problem needs to be fixed if Minnesota wants to play in the postseason,” Patrick added.
“The Vikings don’t have to wait long to see if they can overcome their struggles in their own building, as next Sunday, they are hosting the Chicago Bears, who have won six of their last seven games and will be looking to avenge a loss to Minnesota in Week 1.”
We shall see if O’Connell got the memo in six days against the Bears, which suddenly feels like a playoff seeding elimination game.
You must be logged in to post a comment.