Vikings attacking Michael Penix Jr. is the key to a Week 2 victory vs. Falcons, but it’s easier said than done
Stopping the Falcons’ offense is crucial to getting a victory on Sunday night
The Minnesota Vikings have an interesting matchup in week 2 when they play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. They ended up losing a barnburner to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on a missed field goal by Younghoe Koo.
The best factor of their offense was quarterback Michael Penix Jr. It was only his fourth start, but he continues to look the part of an NFL starting quarterback. He was making good reads and making accurate throws to all levels of the field. There are still things to clean up, but the Falcons have their next franchise quarterback.
How can Brian Flores work to stop the Falcons’ offense? There are a few things that they do well that need to be the focus, and the all-22 gives us the blueprint.
Minnesota Vikings defensive game plan vs. Falcons
Stop Bijan Robinson
It’s pretty simple with the Falcons: if you can control Bijan Robinson, you can win the game. He’s arguably the most dynamic running back from an all-around perspective in the NFL, and he shows it consistently. The most important part of his game is evasiveness. Once he gets into open space, he becomes incredibly dangerous.
This year, the Falcons have made an effort to get Robinson involved in the passing game. That came to fruition on Sunday with six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.
“I’ve said it before — however we can, we’ve got to get him the ball,” Penix said back in July. “He’s going to be a big factor in the pass game, run game, obviously. But he’s going to be a huge factor. He can do great things with a ball in his hand, and we’ve just got to make sure we put it in his hands. So, we’ll be doing a lot of that.”
When Robinson gets the ball, he is so evasive, being able to make cuts and soften angles more than most running backs. You can see linebacker SirVocea Dennis take a poor angle initially, which allowed Robinson to get up the field quickly and use his vision and elusiveness to get up the field and score. The Vikings will need to take proper angles and play very disciplined against him.
One thing Flores can do is continue utilizing the five-man fronts from Monday night’s game with three defensive tackles and two edge rushers who can drop into coverage. It can maximize their run defense and confuse him consistently.
Attack the offensive line with stunts
One of the biggest weaknesses for the Falcons is the offensive line. They lost right tackle Kaleb McGary for the season, and there are multiple questions on the interior of the offensive line. One of the biggest factors of their struggles is the lack of success against stunts.
This is a great throw from Penix, but watch how poorly left guard Matthew Bergeron passes this off. He’s very slow in passing off the defensive tackle to left tackle Jake Matthews, who handles it well. That allows edge rusher YaYa Diaby to loop and get a clean hit on Penix. With Jonathan Greenard and Dallas Turner’s looping ability (assuming Andrew Van Ginkel misses the game with a concussion), that will be a big factor.
Pressure Drake London and Kyle Pitts
The Vikings are going to use pressure to help alleviate the pressure on their secondary. Jeff Okudah is currently in the concussion protocol and he is the biggest cornerback they have. Both Drake London and Kyle Pitts are 6-5 with the ability to go over the top and box out the defenders.
They have an innate ability to maneuver in condensed space is a key one, especially for London. He can roll with the punches and find open space in zones. In the above play, he doesn’t drop his hips and snap a break, but rather rolls with the leverage like he’s playing power forward in the NBA. The Vikings will be playing more zone than man, but with smaller cornerbacks, they will need to play more savvy and not let these guys outmuscle them. There is a chance London doesn’t play with a shoulder injury, and that would make Pitts all the more valuable.
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