Film Study: Jefferson's TD, Cashman and creativity

Breaking down Sam Darnold's best two throws and much more from the Vikings' win over the 49ers

© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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By Matthew Coller

The Minnesota Vikings couldn’t have asked for a better performance from top to bottom than the one they had against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Let’s dive into some of the things that stood out from the All-22 tape…

Darnold’s best throws

Quick, think of your favorite plays over the last decade of Minnesota Vikings football. I bet you came up with the Minneapolis Miracle and Justin Jefferson’s catch against the Buffalo Bills in 2022. Well, you can add another one to the mix: Jefferson’s 97-yard touchdown catch versus the 49ers.

On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips gave his perspective on the play, pointing out that there was more to it than a simple pitch and catch. Here’s what he said:

“There was a lot of great plays individually on that play,” Phillips said. “Some strain by Brian O'Neill to push Bosa around the edge, some strain by Garrett Bradbury as Warner coming through the A gap. Aaron Jones getting a chip on the three technique, trying to work back inside. If he doesn't do that, Sam isn't able to step up. The tight ends block in the other edge and being ready for kind of a man coverage triggered by the DBs.”

Phillips explained that they hit on a similar play last year against the 49ers with KJ Osborn and Jordan Addison against the 49ers but Jefferson added a detail.

“Instead of just kind of crossing the field, he leaned he leaned back out and then got over the top,” Phillips said.

Here’s a look at the play with arrows to indicate Aaron Jones’ chip on the DT, O’Neill keeping Bosa away from Darnold, the lean from Jefferson on the route and then Jalen Nailor’s extra effort at the end.

Any time you throw a 97-yard touchdown, a lot of other stuff will end up going forgotten, but not Darnold’s pass to Nailor on the dagger drive. The Vikings’ quarterback started his release when Nailor was around the San Fran 45-yard line and he ended up catching the ball on his back shoulder at the 28. The ball placement and anticipation were nothing short of absurd.

In total, Darnold has thrown the ball over 20 yards in the air seven times in the first two weeks and ended up with five completions for 210 yards.

The other interesting part of his stat line is that he’s only passed between 11-19 yards 10 times with five completions for 73 yards. Eventually he will need to hit on more of those passes but thus far the play-it-safe or air-it-out offense has worked.

Blake Cashman

Because he’s a Minnesotan and former Gopher, Cashman’s success on Sunday certainly did not go unnoticed but on tape his quickness and decisiveness was even more impressive.

Early in the game Brock Purdy was looking to get something going on third down but Cashman stepped in and broke up his pass. On the play, the veteran LB recognizes that there are three receivers to the offense’s left and only one to the right, tight end George Kittle. He drifts left with his eyes on the quarterback, who only looked to the left side the entire time (despite having his checkdown open). When Purdy feels some heat and lets it go to the one-on-one receiver coming back to the ball, Cashman accelerates and full-out dives to get a hand on the football.

Later in the game, a similar coverage play would result in a turnover. On Josh Metellus’s interception, Purdy had time in the pocket and elected to check down underneath but Cashman seemed to be following the QB’s eyes again and appeared to realize where Purdy was going with the ball before he even started his release. He took five lightning-quick steps, got a hand in front of the intended fullback and popped the ball in the air for the INT.

Cashman also decided to welcome himself back to Minnesota with a sack to go along with his contributions in coverage. The blitz design on his splash play was borderline unfair to the 49ers. Cashman blitzed through the B gap and hit LT Trent Williams on the inside shoulder as the guard was chasing him up field. Williams lost his balance and the guard picked up Dallas Turner on the stunt. The only problem for San Fran was that nobody took Cashman and he took down the quarterback.

The thing about Flores’ scheme is that there are so many details to his rushes. Having a player like Cashman who has speed, toughness and coachability to execute the little things is an asset that he’s going to benefit from all year.

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KOC by design

Kevin O’Connell gets in his bag several times a game with alignments or motions that leave the opponent befuddled. On Darnold’s 17-yard completion to Trent Sherfield, the Vikings line up Sherfield just off the tackle but not on the line of scrimmage. This might be called the “sniffer” position by some coaches and you usually expect to see a tight end or fullback there.

While Josh Oliver and Justin Jefferson run a deep crosser (Oliver runs fast as heck, by the way) and Jalen Nailor runs a go route, Sherfield sneaks out into the flat undetected. The 49ers do a good job of making the pocket too muddy for Darnold to take a shot, so the QB flips the ball to Sherfield for a 17-yard gain.

Not only is this a clever design because Sherfield gets lots in the play-action wash a bit and the 49ers lose him but it’s exactly the way the Vikings want Darnold to play. He moved nicely in the pocket, knew exactly where his underneath route was and picked up easy yards rather than trying to heave the ball up and play hero.

The next play is predicated on a simple detail. Nailor motions inside of Oliver right before the snap, forcing the 49ers’ defensive backs to switch their assignments. Because it seems that they are playing man, No. 27 and No. 1 don’t have time to communicate before the play. They both take the same guy. Touchdown.