Everything that went right and wrong in Vikings loss to Lions
Sam Darnold hit big passes under pressure but the Lions attacked the whole defense
By Matthew Coller
The Minnesota Vikings came up short for the first time this season. Let’s put the game under a microscope and have a look at what worked and didn’t work in the 31-29 defeat….
What went right
Greenard and Van Ginkel rushing the passer
The Vikings’ two edge rushers have been as good as any pair in the NFL this year and they showed it against a really good tackle duo. Greenard had one of the best games of his career with nine QB pressures, a ridiculous 93.7 pass rush grade by PFF and a sack. The crazy part is that those numbers came on just 19 pass rush snaps. Van Ginkel had two sacks and a pair of pressures.
Greenard ranks third in the NFL in total pressures only behind Aidan Hutchinson and Nick Bosa. Despite a versatile role, Van Ginkel is tied with Montez Sweat and ahead of TJ Watt in pressures this year.
Tackle play (again)
At this point you might be getting bored of this constantly showing up in the “what went right” category but facts are facts. Christian Darrisaw had a 85.8 PFF grade and Brian O’Neill 78.1. Combined they allowed one QB pressure.
Both tackles are in the top 20 in pass blocking and top 15 overall graded in the league and neither player has allowed 10 pressures yet this season. The Vikings and Eagles are the only teams with two tackles in the top 15.
Aaron Jones
He wasn’t 100% healthy, yet Jones ran the ball 14 times for 93 yards and caught three passes for 23 yards. He took 43 total snaps while backup Ty Chandler played just 11. Jones also was in the game for eight pass blocking snaps and gave up one hurry.
It’s clear that the Vikings offense operates way differently when Jones is in the backfield.
Darnold under pressure
This season Darnold has struggled at times while under duress but that was not the case on Sunday. He threw six passes, completed five for 105 yards and a touchdown. Three of those passes qualified by PFF as “big-time” throws.
The downside was that he was sacked four times and his average under-pressure drop-back lasted 3.6 seconds, which is a long time to hold the ball.
What went wrong
Filling in for Cashman
While Josh Metellus caused a key fumble late in the game and Ivan Pace Jr. took it back for a touchdown, it was clear that Blake Cashman’s presence was missed. Metellus played most of the snaps in his absence (37 in the box) and made six run stops but the Lions went 5-for-5 passing into his coverage for 73 yards.
The rest of the group that tried to take Cashman’s place struggled. Pace Jr. was credited with four missed tackles and allowing 4-for-4 for 52 yards into his coverage. He graded a 47.0 overall even with four QB pressures.
Kamu Grugier-Hill was used on just 10 snaps. Dallas Turner took two snaps at LB.
Overall the Lions ran for 144 yards and threw seven completions to their RBs for 83 yards.
Blitzing Goff
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