The Vikings Have Found Their Almighty Blueprint
Balance — the Minnesota Vikings need it on offense. In 2025 and henceforth.
The Minnesota Vikings handily defeated the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and along the way, they found the special sauce in one area.
Rushing the football effectively, while relying on Kevin O’Connell’s traditional pass-happy ways, will be the meal ticket in Minnesota, and for a single game this season, O’Connell figured it out.
His team ran the rock efficiently, and wouldn’t you know it? His team won by 38 points.
The Vikings Proved They Could Run the Football
Shoutout to Jordan Mason for the one-week heroics.
Steady Rushing Offense Shuts the Door on Bengals
The Vikings received a Hall of Fame performance from cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, who scored two defensive touchdowns over 60 yards, forced two fumbles, and graded perfectly from Pro Football Focus. In short, not much was needed besides Rodgers’ theatrics on Sunday.
But when it was time to ensure that Cincinnati wouldn’t wiggle back into the Week 3 contest in any way, shape, or form, Minnesota did something that fans have asked them to do for four years: run the football.
Minnesota banked 169 rushing yards on Sunday, with a sweet 5.5 yards per carry. Drives didn’t stall due to rushing futility, which is somewhat frequent on offense under O’Connell.
Nope — O’Connell imposed his will on the ground, and the next thing anybody knew, his team won by a score of 48-10.
Jordan Mason as a Revelation
So, what changed? Jordan Mason was the change.
The Vikings traded for Mason in March, a swap with the San Francisco 49ers involving a 6th-Round pick that Minnesota obtained from the Houston Texans in a previous deal for offensive guard Ed Ingram.
Aaron Jones, the Vikings’ RB1 heading into 2025, injured his hamstring last week, paving the way for Mason to take RB1 snaps. And truth be told, Mason had already trended toward the job title in the first place.
In stomping the Bengals, Mason carried the rock 16 times for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a blisteringly good 7.3 yards per rush attempt. It might really be that simple for O’Connell: give the ball to Mason, ask the offensive line to do its part, and allow the offense to prosper.
What a novel concept.
The Blueprint for Kevin O’Connell
Beyond a doubt — no argument from anyone — Minnesota needs a balance in its offensive playcalling. It doesn’t do anybody any good on a long-term basis to rear back and throw the ball 65% of the time. Super Bowl-winning teams don’t pass at that clip, and in fact, teams that rush 65% of the time are more likely to win it all.
Of course, O’Connell will never fully commit to a run-first offense, nor do fans want that. However, he must preserve the balance that was on display Sunday — that’s how Super Bowls are won.
Running the ball controls time of possession, wears down the opponent physically, demoralizes the opponent mentally, and moves the sticks late in games.
That’s why the Vikings — checks notes — won by 38 points in Week 3. They scored defensive touchdowns, avoided major errors, and ran the football like the Philadelphia Eagles or Baltimore Ravens.
Sustainability?
The question becomes: does O’Connell finally “get it?”
He’s vowed to improve rushing efficiency and balance for a few straight years, but he never really puts his money where his mouth is. Alexander Mattison‘s lack of production did the team no favors in 2023. And last year, the team got better on the ground marginally with Aaron Jones in the house.
O’Connell must depend on Mason more than he ever has a bellcow running back. Mason is designed for it, and again, he’s in the prime of his career.
The win over the Bengals should be the foremost blueprint of O’Connellian Vikings football — not a cool outlier where fans say, “Remember that one game when we actually ran the ball well?”
It needs to be a habit.
49ers-Themed Media on the Mason Trade
SI.com‘s Grant Cohn chided the 49ers on Monday morning for the Mason trade in a retrospective look-back.
He wrote, “The worst trade of the offseason: On March 18, the 49ers traded Jordan Mason and their sixth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their fifth-round pick and a sixth-rounder next year.”
“That’s all they got in exchange for him. And they traded Mason purely for financial reasons. He wanted a modest extension, and the 49ers wouldn’t give him one. So instead, he signed a two-year, $10.5 million extension with Minnesota. And now, Mason is the Vikings’ starting running back, and the NFL’s eighth-leading rusher with 214 yards, he’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry and he has 2 touchdowns.”
Vikings fans have wondered for six months why San Francisco traded Mason in the first place.
Cohn continued, “Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry and has no rushing touchdowns. To be fair, he’s still a good receiver. But, he’s not the runner he used to be. And his backup, Brian Robinson Jr., the 49ers traded for to replace Mason, is averaging 4.4 yards per carry and has 0 touchdowns. Which means the 49ers traded away their best runner for a late pick.”
“Granted, they spent that pick on safety Marques Sigle, who’s their starting strong safety. He looks solid so far. But, the 49ers had an earlier fifth-round pick which they used on running back Jordan James. They could have spent that on Sigle instead, kept Mason and not drafted James, who has been inactive for all three games this season.”
Minnesota’s next opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, ranks 22nd after three weeks per rushing defense DVOA. Maybe O’Connell will run the rock overseas, too.
You must be logged in to post a comment.