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An interesting development occurred in Week 2 when the Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers. The Vikings’ offense, directed by Sam Darnold, seemed to be efficient. In this empowering win, Darnold went 17 for 26 and 268 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.
Ty Chandler contributed 82 yards to the running game, and Aaron Jones got 32 rushing yards on his side as well. Global great Justin Jefferson was not going to be kept quiet either, finishing with 133 yards and a touchdown. But as was evidenced in that contest, the Minnesota Vikings' centerpiece was not their offense it was their defense.
Thanks to defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings’ defense was able to contain the San Francisco 49ers' offensive onslaught to just 17 points. They made two crucial turnovers, one interception and one forced fumble, along with six sacks and two other fumbles, which the 49ers were able to regain.
In his post-game interview, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy complimented Flores' game plan by telling the Vikings defensive coordinator, "Oh my God, your scheme is crazy."
Flores Aggressive Scheme
Flores, in his first season with the Vikings, has employed one of the league's most unconventional defensive strategies.
Known for his aggressive approach, he blitzed at the sixth-highest rate in the NFL, sending extra pass rushers on 33.3% of dropbacks, according to Tru Media. Despite blitzing frequently, the Vikings relied on zone coverage behind the pressure.
While the average team uses zone coverage 52.5% of the time during blitzes, Minnesota did so at a much higher rate of 63.8%. On Thursday, January 2, this was the same method that Flores used during the game. The blitz was called on 20 of the 44 dropbacks Purdy attempted, while Minnesota resorted to zone for 16 of those 20 plays.
Purdy completed 10 of 15 passes for losses on those 20 Purdys' throws but one was interception and another near interception. He came close to throwing 300 yards with 224 yards, and one touchdown when Vikings didn’t blitz.
Minnesota had their cake and ate it too when they outplayed Flores’ ‘crazy’ schematics in the victory.
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