Vikings Mystery on Offense May Be Solved
For months, Minnesota Vikings fans have wondered what the revamped rushing offense might look like in the regular season.
A lingering Vikings mystery on offense may finally be solved, giving clarity to fans who have wondered about the setup for months.
And after the purple team toppled the Chicago Bears by three points on Monday Night Football, a verdict appears to be in.
Minnesota will employ a true RB by committee.
Big Vikings Offensive Mystery Moves toward Answer
Jordan Mason is in the house to work evenly with Aaron Jones.
Vikings Split Rushing Load Almost Down the Middle
Aaron Jones lived on the depth chart as the RB1 before Week 1 — still does — with Mason at RB2.
When the rubber hit the road on Monday, however, Minnesota rode the hot hand. Jones saw the field on 28 offensive plays and touched the football 11 times. He tallied 68 yards from scrimmage, with most of his damage inflicted on a touchdown reception from a pass by J.J. McCarthy during the epic comeback.
At times, though, Jones felt like the RB2.
Why? Well, Mason was featured in the offense on 30 plays and touched the rock 16 times for 75 yards from scrimmage, with an impressive 4.6 yards per rushing attempt.
Jordan Mason Shines
To the naked eye, Mason looked like the more efficient tailback, and the numbers confirmed the suspicion. He basically picked up where he left off in 2024 while filling in for the injured Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco.
He broke tackles, pass-blocked, and moved the sticks when Minnesota needed him the most.
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis tweeted, “Jordan Mason averaged 3.86 yards after contact last night, per Tru Media Sports. That’s the highest a RB has posted in a game for the Vikings since head coach Kevin O’Connell got the job.”
Aaron Jones Starts Slow, Thrives in Crunchtime
Believe it or not, Jones actually resembled a 30-year-old running back in the first half.
By comparison, Mason looked sharper, and Vikings fans on social media wasted no time calling for more of Mason and less of Jones. Still, with the game in the balance, McCarthy wasn’t skittish about diming the pigskin to Jones through the air, who promptly delivered for a game-swaying touchdown.
The veteran redeemed his miniature first half woes.
A True-Blue 50-50 Setup
Like a handful of teams utilize, Minnesota appears to be trending toward an equitable touch split between Jones and Mason. During some games, Jones will be the hot hand and earn more carries. In others, like Week 1, Mason will get the call.
It’s the perk of employing two productive running backs, both of whom pass protect on passing downs.
Minnesota hasn’t used a true 50-50 RB1-RB2 split in about 20 years — apart from Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon in 2017, perhaps, due to the Dalvin Cook injury — but that arrangement appears imminent. It also might’ve been the plan all along when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded for Mason back in March.
More on the Rushing Offense
The Viking Age‘s Brad Berreman noted on Mason and the rushing offense: “After a missed field goal by Bears kicker Cairo Santos, the Vikings finally mounted a sustained drive to open the fourth quarter, culminating in a touchdown pass from McCarthy to Jefferson.”
“The difference in that drive from the entire game before it was some notable juice in the run game, as Mason had runs of seven, 18, and five yards in a span of four plays. The Vikings had another touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, plus a two-point conversion, to take a 20-17 lead they would not surrender.”
The rushing offense ranked 10th per EPA/Play, an efficiency metric measuring wins added, among 32 teams in Week 1.
“Jones had a nine-yard run during that series before catching the touchdown to give Minnesota the lead on a nice downfield route. Later in the fourth quarter, Mason ripped off a 19-yard run to increase how much more effective he was as a runner than Jones was. Both backs played a role in a late drive that killed a lot of clock and finished with a touchdown run from McCarthy that made it a two-score game,” Berreman added.
“Jones is not going away as an important piece of the Vikings offense. But Mason was acquired to take over a good share of the work in the run game, and on Monday, he quickly proved he’s up to that task.”
Next up is the Falcons’ rushing defense, which ranked 10th-best in EPA/Play during Week 1, containing Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.
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