Facing a Brian Flores-coached defense means dealing with some of the most sophisticated pressure packages in the NFL, and that’s exactly what Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks have been told to expect when they face the Minnesota Vikings at Lumen Field in Week 13.
Speaking ahead of the game on Sunday, November 30, Vikings defensive coordinator Flores told The Minnesota Star Tribune’s Andrew Kramer how Darnold’s “grown tremendously when he was here, for sure, just from a leadership standpoint. … He did a lot of great things when he was here, and clearly those things are continuing to show up for him out there in Seattle. We had a great rapport, friendship. I’m happy for him, but we’ll blitz him this week.”
Alerting an opponent about your gameplan ahead of schedule is an unusual tactic, but Flores’ reputation precedes him. He loves to call blitz after blitz, a strategy likely to rattle Darnold, who has shown signs of his worst, turnover-laden tendencies recently.
Brian Flores Will Test Darnold’s Luck
Flores knows he doesn’t need to be coy about his approach to stopping Darnold. Not when the latter spent all of last season facing this defensive scheme in practice as a member of the Vikings.
That inside knowledge won’t stop Flores from sending extra rushers after the Seahawks’ QB1. It makes sense to stay aggressive because Darnold has appeared jittery under pressure recently.
The Vikings are better equipped than most to test Darnold’s nerve under duress. Flores’ unit leads the NFL in blitz percentage, blitzing 42.9 percent of the time, according to Pro Football Reference.
Elaborate mixes of pressure from all angles and disguised coverages continue to force quarterbacks into mistakes. Darnold must be guarded against taking unnecessary risks after his four-interception game against the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago.
The Seahawks won’t want Darnold to become overly cautious, but offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak needs a more nuanced strategy this week. Fortunately, there are other levers to pull in an offense with the potential to play more balanced football.
Seahawks Can Beat Vikings With Balanced Offense
Leaning on the running game can help the Seahawks slow the Vikings’ blitz. It’s what the Green Bay Packers did to wear down Flores’ defense in Week 12, when Emanuel Wilson rumbled for 107 yards on 28 carries.
The Seahawks can adopt a similar plan by turning Kenneth Walker III loose. He’s gifted, but erratic and brittle, yet Walker showed signs of his explosive self in the win over the Tennessee Titans.
Walker needs a greater workload to take his game up a level, so Kubiak must call his number early and often. A heavy dose of Walker and fellow back Zach Charbonnet can make the Vikings more predictable and create the play-action passing opportunities Darnold will need.
Darnold’s amassed 977 yards off 75 play-action attempts this season, per Pro Football Reference, so this has to be the Seahawks’ go-to tactic this week. The signal-caller was posting impressive numbers against the blitz earlier in the season, like when he registered a “Big-Time Throw Rate 10.7% (9 throws),” according to Hawk Blogger’s Brian Nemhauser.
More big plays through the air will surely follow against the Vikings, provided Kubiak amps up the threat of the run.
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