Brian Flores’ brilliance sealed Vikings victory vs. Bears in a way other defensive coordinators couldn’t accomplish
Dallas Turner’s game-winning sack was the product of brilliant schematic design, and it signals something bigger about this Vikings defense.
The Minnesota Vikings escaped Soldier Field with a 9-3 win over the Chicago Bears in a defensive slugfest that saw Bears starting quarterback Caleb Williams leave with an injury. He suffered the injury in the fourth quarter, which is an important aspect to the story of the game.
With Williams out, Tyson Bagent was in at quarterback for the final play, and it changed the math for defensive coordinator Brian Flores. That final play was a masterclass of scheme by Flores, and it launched Dallas Turner for a game-winning play.
The final play that decided the game
The key moment came on the final play of the game. The Bears faced fourth-and-2 at the 12-yard line with just 1 second on the clock. Minnesota deployed an umbrella coverage with five defenders around the goal line and six on the line of scrimmage. Flores had his chess pieces exactly where he wanted them.
Chicago came out in 11 personnel with two wide receivers to the left along with the tight end, D’Andre Swift to Tyson Bajent’s right, and a wide receiver flanked far to the right. The Vikings lined up six across the line, meaning if the Bears kept tight end Colson Loveland in, they had man-on-man blocking and Swift either releasing into a route or staying in to help protect. Because of the numbers, they did a half slide to Turner’s side, but it didn’t end up mattering.
What the Vikings did was brilliant. Turner lined up against Loveland over the top in a one-on-one matchup. Linebacker Eric Wilson, who was lined up over the right guard, dropped into coverage. That, along with a stunt in the middle, created a one-on-one matchup with Swift coming into the hole to take out blitzing linebacker Blake Cashman. Kyle Van Noy engaged immediately with the left guard to free up Cashman, making Swift’s responsibility the linebacker in the hole. It kept anyone from helping out Loveland on Turner, and it worked. Turner then obliterated Loveland into the quarterback for the game-winning sack.
The fact that Williams wasn’t the quarterback was a big factor here. The Vikings had been sending pressure toward Williams, but the struggles in both containing him and tackling him consistently may have changed how Flores structured this final play. With Bagent in the game, this was the perfect call.
Dallas Turner’s rise is about more than raw talent
Turner has had a fantastic first two games of the season with 19 pressures and 3 sacks, per Pro Football Focus’ charting as of Sunday night. The stat sheet tells part of the story, but the key element that has helped Turner elevate his game is how Flores has schemed opportunities for him.
Flores has isolated Turner in one-on-one matchups multiple times and gotten him three clean releases. Turner has made the most out of all of them, especially when Flores using protection rules against the offense to his advantage. When you have a tight end on the end of the line of scrimmage, you can use that to your advantage.
With Flores continuing to operate at this level, this Vikings defense can go just about anywhere.
