Film study: Pace Jr.'s big day and Mullens' save in relief
Vikings' UDFA rookie was all over the field against the Raiders
By Matthew Coller
We so often hear in the NFL about the fit between players and coaches. Well, it appears that a lot of players have turned out to be a good fit for Brian Flores’ defense. At that top of that list is undrafted rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who was the highest PFF graded linebacker in the league this week. Flores used him all over the field to impact the defense in lots of different ways. Let’s have a look at the film to get a closer look…
We start out on the opening drive. The Raiders are looking at second-and-18 after getting flagged for holding. On this passing down, Flores has Pace Jr. lined up at the line of scrimmage looking like he might come after rookie QB Aidan O’Connell on a blitz. Instead he and DJ Wonnum both drop out, Pace Jr. races to cover the middle of the field and keep O’Connell from finding his tight end and the rush comes from the other side. Troy Dye tumbles over the guard and still has time to complete the sack as O’Connell had nowhere to throw the ball.
The main reason that Pace Jr. wasn’t drafted was his size. By the numbers in college he was good across the board but it was questionable whether he could find ways to dodge NFL offensive linemen in the same way he did in college. Now we know the answer: He absolutely can. On a handoff to Josh Jacobs in the first quarter, Pace Jr. jukes out the guard and sends him flying to the ground as the linebacker assists on the tackle.
Pace Jr. has a lot of different ways that he gets around guards, sometimes by grabbing them before they grab him, other times slamming into them on the attack and using his lack of height to gain leverage.
On third-and-5 on the next drive the Raiders attempt a screen pass with hopes that Davante Adams could shake a tackle and make something happen. On this play Pace Jr. is lined up as one of seven men on the D-line. As the edge rusher, he starts toward the quarterback and then immediately recognizes the screen and goes screaming out into the flat for the tackle to force fourth down.
Pace Jr.’s ability to read and attack stands out all over the game tape. On another second-and-long situation, the Raiders go to Adams underneath but the young linebacker accelerates as soon as he sees O’Connell start to look in Adams’ direction and then flies through the air to make the tackle and leave no chance of him breaking a big play out of the short throw.
Later in the game we see Pace Jr. back at edge rusher. This time he is there to mess with the offensive line. He starts to sprint up field but as soon as Jacobs begins to leave the backfield, Pace Jr. slams on the breaks to cover him, leaving the left tackle blocking nobody and the right side of the line with one-on-one matchups. Danielle Hunter is over the center and the DT and DE run a stunt, which blows up the O-line for a sack.
Pace Jr. got a sack of his own right before halftime. The Vikings were playing for a bomb and only rushed two defensive linemen. But after the three linemen all went toward Wonnum, Pace Jr. came flying in and ripped O’Connell to the ground.
OK let’s look at the play of the day: Pace Jr.’s game-winning interception.
The reason O’Connell threw the ball right to him is that Pace Jr. lined up on the other side of the formation. Right as the ball is being snapped, he hops over into his zone and then sees the quarterback’s eyes and attacks the route. Following the game he said that he knew exactly where the ball was going and what route Adams was going to run.
When Jordan Hicks went down with a severe leg injury the Vikings were forced to put a lot on Pace Jr.’s plate as the play caller and as a weapon for Flores. He has continued to grow and become more of a menace to offenses each week.
Now let’s have a look at Nick Mullens’ game-winning drive…
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