Everything that went right and wrong for the Vikings vs. Pittsburgh
A film and stats deep dive on the Vikings' loss to the Steelers
By Matthew Coller
The Minnesota Vikings had a rough outing in their first game overseas against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s have a look at everything that went right and wrong in the 24-21 loss…
What went right
Jalen Redmond continued to make an impact
The former XFL defensive tackle is proving that last year’s small sample success was not a fluke. He picked up two sacks on just 13 pass-rush snaps and was the Vikings’ highest graded defensive player on Sunday (77.0). Redmond was the only defensive lineman who graded higher than 65 as a run defender as he registered three run stops (tackle on a negative play).
His two sacks were both completely unblocked, so it was actually Redmond’s run stops that were more impressive. On this negative run for the Steelers, he gets leverage and sticks the lineman in place and then sheds the block to make the tackle.
On the next play, Redmond doesn’t get there in time to make the tackle but you can see the type of power that he brings to the table despite not being the biggest D-lineman.
The guard attempts to get to Redmond’s outside shoulder but instead he gets hit with a freight train.
After Week 4, Redmond is the 11th highest graded defensive tackle in the NFL with at least 115 snaps.
It might make sense to consider increasing his snap count on early downs when opponents are getting movement in the run game.
Justin Jefferson had a huge day
The Vikings’ star receiver finished with 126 yards on 10 receptions. The day looked much more like what we have come to expect from the superstar receiver. Carson Wentz was especially looking for him in the middle and intermediate areas, going 4-for-4 with 68 yards when finding Jefferson between the hashes on throws that traveled between 10-19 yards.
On this first-down completion, Wentz identifies that Jefferson is one-on-one on the outside with only a single high safety. Despite instant pressure, he changes his arm angle and makes an accurate enough throw for Jefferson to grab it before the deep, deep, deep safety can reach him.
As excellent as Jefferson was on Sunday, there were some surprising coverages against him. Most of the time we see opponents put two players on him all day but in this case there were times where the Steelers dropped everyone into deep zones even when it wasn’t third-and-long and Jefferson easily found space.
On this completion, Jalen Ramsey is on Jefferson in the slot but he slides out into a cover-2 zone to cover Jordan Addison and leaves the outside corner to take Jefferson. Wentz identifies the coverage and it’s pitch and catch.
In the last two weeks, Kevin O’Connell has dialed up some quick throws to get the ball into Jefferson’s hands. While none of them have turned into explosives, they have moved the ball forward and they could probably do it even more often.
On this one, Jalen Nailor goes in motion and creates a 2-on-2 with TJ Hockenson. They both execute their blocks and create space for Jefferson. If Patrick Queen wasn’t very, very fast, it may have turned into a first down.
Zavier Scott showed something in the passing game
The Vikings may have brought back Cam Akers but it’s clear that Zavier Scott is RB2 while Aaron Jones is out. The undrafted running back caught six passes for 43 yards and scored a touchdown.
In college Scott was a wide receiver, so he is comfortable lining up as an outside receiver or in the slot.
On this play, he motions into the backfield and then leaks into the flat. Wentz hesitates on a throw downfield and checks it to Scott. He accelerates for a first down.
It did look like Wentz had Jefferson open but with the rush bearing down and the offense backed up against its own end zone, it was a good move to check to Scott.
The Vikings may be wise to continue to use Scott in the Aaron Jones-type role. It’s hard for opponents to cover the underneath areas with so much attention on Jefferson and Addison. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the Amp Lee or Robert Smith days of teams chasing top-notch receivers downfield and leaving space for the RB to leak out.
If Vikings fans hadn’t heard of Scott before, they certainly learned his name with his toe-tap touchdown. The wider view shows him catching Jalen Ramsey by surprising with a vertical route. He wouldn’t have been expecting that from a backup running back but Scott is certainly capable of doing it.
Carson Wentz when he got the ball out quickly
Last week, Wentz finished as one of the quicker snap-to-release QBs in the NFL. This week, he had more issues getting the ball out but still had a lot of quick passes that worked. Per PFF, on throws that left his hand in under 2.5 seconds, went 18-for-26 with 160 yards. He did have two INTs — one of them was a tip and the other a catastrophic miscue as he tried to dunk the ball underneath on third-and-long — yet Wentz still graded mid-pack as the 14th best quick passer in the NFL this week.
The best example of Wentz getting the ball out quickly was this back-shoulder pass to Addison. He sees pre-snap that the receiver is going to be one-on-one on the outside and delivers.
It seems to be a trend with Wentz that if the opponent shows him their coverage pre-snap that he can identify it and let loose without hesitation. When things are muddied by the rush or a change in coverage, it gets more tricky.
Here’s another example in which Addison gets one-on-one coverage with a defender playing off him. Bang, first down.
It was when Wentz held onto the ball that things went sideways.
Despite throwing for 190 yards on 19 attempts when holding the ball for more than 2.5 seconds, Wentz had the third worst grade when releasing later in the down because he was dinged with sacks and most of that yardage came on a coverage bust that allowed Jordan Addison to score an 81-yard touchdown.
What went wrong
Carson Wentz under pressure
Your eyes did not deceive you: It wasn’t just the banged-up offensive line that caused so many problems with pressure. It was also that Wentz was not dealing with pressure very well. PFF attributed six of 18 total pressures to Wentz, three of which turned into sacks. He completed just seven passes under pressure and gained 24 total net yards when facing the heat.
The first sack of the game came with the Vikings in striking distance. Wentz was reading the left side of the field waiting for something to break open and did not realize that there was a 1-on-2 on his right side. With Jordan Mason and Justin Jefferson running completely wide open, Wentz gets smashed in the face.
It’s hard to tell what he was hoping for because both TJ Hockenson and Jordan Addison were doubled.
Our next sack shows hesitation from Wentz on a throw that looks like it was there. On third-and-long Jalen Nailor has a deep dig route right at the sticks. He winds up to let it go and then stops. It’s possible that he felt the heat and thought he was going to get hit from behind.
One thing you can say about this play is that there aren’t many options in the middle of the field for him to check the ball when he tries to escape. Wentz also seems to think that he’s 2017 Wentz at times when he tries to run away from defenders to make a play out of structure rather than just sailing the ball out of bounds.
Our next sack is another third-and-long. You have to respect KOC sending three receivers 15-20 yards downfield with no regard for the fact that he has three backup offensive linemen and a 33-year-old quarterback who got benched for Taylor Heinicke the last time he started three years ago. However, it might be a lot to ask.
You can also see that there was no time for second guessing with the Steelers’ blitz. Pittsburgh did an excellent job blitzing Wentz overall. He had 19 total blitzed drop-backs and completed seven passes for 82 yards. He had two turnover-worthy plays and was sacked four times.
Our fourth sack is a surprising play choice given the personnel involved. It’s a fake pitch and pass to Hockenson. The offensive line blocks left, Hockenson chips TJ Watt and then leaks into the flat. Watt is one of the best players ever at his position. Leaving him mostly unblocked is asking for trouble.
The bottom line is that the struggles with pressure were not just on Wentz but he wasn’t innocent either.
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