Brian Flores’ Vikings defense excelled in one key area that completely neutralized Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs on Sunday, and it’s very sustainable

Flores completely took him out of the game.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings stunned the football world when they defeated the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon with a 27-24 win. The entire game was physical, like you’d expect from an NFC North battle, but what we didn’t expect was how well the Vikings held up.

Dan Campbell’s teams are very physical, as his bite the kneecaps mantra has come to life across his five years as the head coach. The Vikings matched the Lions in multiple areas, especially with Brian Flores’ defense.

When you examine how Flores attacked the Lions’ offense, it was an excellent game plan; however, how he ultimately shut down the best player on their offense was impressive.

Brian Flores completely shut down Jahmyr Gibbs with blitzes

Blitzing has been a major calling card of Flores’ defenses with the Vikings. He has been at the top of the league in blitz rate every year, with this year’s team ranking second in the NFL, blitzing 41.4% of the time, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Blitzing isn’t just designed to get pressure, but also to attack different areas of the offense.

Flores went into this game with an idea to attack the Lions head-on with blitzes, especially with running back Jahmyr Gibbs on the field.

The Vikings were tremendous at generating pressure quickly on Sunday, and logged 15 quick pressures against the Lions, resulting in a 35.7% rate. That in itself was the highest since the Buffalo Bills did so in Week 12 of 2022.

Not only were they getting pressure quickly, but they also attacked Gibbs. He allowed seven pressures, with six of them quick pressures. Those crossfire blitzes were incredibly impactful in a variety of ways for the Vikings, essentially taking him out of the passing game while also neutralizing him in the run game.

“It was a mixture,” said head coach Kevin O’Connell about using the blitz against Jared Goff. “It was a lot of showing pressure, and varying up the looks from there, showing man to man and playing some other things out of it.

“Flo did a really good job mixing it up, but it wasn’t always scheme. It was a lot of guys defeating blocks, getting knocked back, trying to stop the run early.”

When you continue to attack the running backs in blitz pickup, it wears them down physically, especially with how Eric Wilson and Blake Cashman were attacking violently downhill. If you have the running back in the protection plan, it eliminates them as a weapon in the passing game, and when they can’t block well, it takes them off the field quickly.

Flores’ decision to take Gibbs out of the game was huge in securing the Vikings’ win, and it had a significant impact on more than just the passing game.

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