Seahawks Face Major Challenge in 'Well-Coached' Vikings Defense

The Vikings love to send rushers from all angles, creating a difficult opponent for a struggling Seahawks' offense to game plan against.

Dec 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) reacts with linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (54) after a fourth down stop against the Chicago Bears during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Climbing to the top of the NFC standings in stunning fashion, the Minnesota Vikings survived losing their first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy to a season-ending injury in the preseason behind a resurgent campaign from Sam Darnold.

But while Darnold has vastly exceeded all expectations with 29 touchdown passes to lead a high-octane passing attack, the Vikings have emerged as a Super Bowl contender thanks to a menacing defense coached by coordinator Brian Flores. Ranking fourth in scoring defense through Week 15, they have yielded 17 or fewer points in eight games, presenting a more than formidable foe for the Seahawks to try to move the ball against on Sunday at Lumen Field.

"They have really good players, really good scheme. They're well-coached," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said prior to practice on Wednesday. "They have flexibility within their players too where they can change up looks on you with the same people on the field. That's something you have to account for in different personnel groups. So I think it's probably a compliment to their whole team that they utilize their personnel well and put those guys in positions to play good football." 

Now in his second season running Minnesota's defense, Flores hasn't altered his aggressive style, and contrary to comments made by Seattle receiver DK Metcalf on Wednesday suggesting the Vikings "don't blitz much," he loves to bring extra pressure as much as any coordinator in the NFL.

Through 14 games played, per Field Vision, the Vikings have dialed up blitzes on a league-high 47.8 percent of their defensive snaps this season. Whether defending the pass or run, they have been the most blitz-happy defense in the NFL, posting blitz rates of 52.3 percent and 38.9 percent against the pass and run respectively that rank first among 32 teams.

Given Flores' propensity to bring additional pressure from the second level, it shouldn't come as a surprise Minnesota has three off-ball linebackers with at least three sacks this season. Leading the charge, Andrew Van Ginkel has had a breakout first season with the organization, posting a career-high nine sacks and 15 quarterback hits, while Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. both have three sacks apiece.

The Vikings have also been aggressive sending defensive backs as blitzers, including safety Josh Metellus, who has generated 11 pressures and three quarterback hits on 73 pass rushing reps according to Pro Football Focus charting. As a former defensive coordinator himself, Macdonald has been impressed by how Flores has been able to mix and match his personnel with different blitz and sim pressure packages.

"I think their roster is designed where guys can do multiple things getting out of different fronts and structures without having to declare their personnel so that helps," Macdonald explained. "The stats and the pressures and the zeros that's evolved and it's for week-to-week type deal, but you kind of know what they can get to at any given point and not afraid to come after you at any given point in the game, which is not as common as you might think." 

Incredibly effective sending extra rushers at such a high rate, Minnesota's aggression has paid off with the team ranking in the top five in sacks, pressure rate, and hurry percentage. Flustering quarterbacks and harassing them into oblivion, the defense has generated a league-high 20 interceptions and ranks second in turnovers created (28), which has played a major role in the success keeping opponents off the scoreboard.

On top of their opportunistic, hyper-aggressive pass defense, the Vikings have also been quite difficult to run the football against this season. They currently rank second in rushing yards allowed (1,247), second in yards per carry (3.9), and first in EPA per rush (0.162), consistently stifling opponents when they try to establish a ground game.

In recent weeks, however, Minnesota has been more vulnerable defending the run, as Arizona and Atlanta both racked up north of 150 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns against Flores' defense. Even last week, Chicago rushed for 113 yards, finding moderate success. If Seattle wants to take Minnesota out of playing its brand of ball, running the ball well early could do wonders and help take some of the heat off of Geno Smith when he does drop back to pass.

From there, Metcalf and his fellow receivers will need to find holes in zones and be able to create with the ball in their hands, as the Vikings rarely run man coverage on the back end and rely heavily on two-deep zone coverages. Per Field Vision, Flores has called Cover 2 on 25.5 percent of his team's defensive snaps and Cover 4 "Quarters" 24.4 percent of the time, ranking in the top five among NFL defenses for both coverage types.

"We can only just focus on what we can control, and that's running the best play," Metcalf said. "Whatever coach [Ryan] Grubb calls, running it to the best of our abilities and making sure Geno [Smith] makes the right read and gets upfield because they're a big zone team. There are a lot of holes in their defense to where you've got to catch the ball and get upfield and get a lot of yards after catch."

Considering their aggressive nature, the Vikings put all of their opponents under tremendous duress and few teams have been able to crack the code this year to make Flores pay for blitzing at close to a 50 percent rate. The two who did - the Lions and Rams - were able to beat the extra pressure with a quick strike passing game where receivers did produce major damage after the catch. Both teams eclipsed 120 yards after the catch, which has been a crucial recipe for success.

The Bears and Falcons both were able to move the ball through the air with a similar strategy in recent weeks, but turnovers did them in and prevented them from being able to pull off upsets.

For the Seahawks to stay in the NFC West title hunt and knock off the favored Vikings on Sunday, they will have to play clean football with a complementary approach, as the two teams to previously beat them combined to turn the ball over one time and rushed for over 100 yards in each game. That will be easier said than done against one of the NFL's premier defenses, but if Macdonald's squad wants to be a playoff team, they need to play like one versus a true contender.

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