The Vikings want to make soft defenses, playing off to defend the pass, pay with damaging runs like big plays — preferably runs — that end in touchdowns. Their longest run on Sunday went 13 yards.
“We really didn’t get close enough to attempt to run the ball in the end zone unless you’re going to get a bigger [play],” coordinator Wes Phillips said. “Honestly, we felt like within the game there were some plays where if we’re just a little bit better in an area or two than those plays were close to being a 20-yard, a 30-yard run. And that’s where we’ve got to get to if a team wants to put a shell over the top of it. … We felt like we were close, but we just got to be a little bit better there and make teams think twice about playing shell the whole game.”
The Vikings’ run game ranks below average in “explosive” runs, or carries that gain at least 10 yards.
Jones turns 30 in December, but he’s still got his long speed. He reached 20 miles per hour during his 34-yard touchdown run, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, against the Lions on Oct. 20.
And the Vikings’ longest run at Jacksonville was his 13-yard bounce to the outside against a rare stacked front by a Jacksonville defense that was eager to back up and give the Vikings space.
Much of the game looked like this play below, when O’Connell called a fake screen that spread the defense wide and created space for Jones to run up the middle out of shotgun. The Jaguars are playing off coverage. The Vikings have the numbers advantage. Five blockers to five defenders should allow Jones to break free if it’s blocked correctly. But right guard Ed Ingram appears to not peel off the double team up front to get to the Jaguars linebacker, who tackles Jones.
