Vikings Snap Counts vs. Dolphins: Patrick Jones II Shines in Expanded Role

Breaking down the Vikings' snap counts from their fourth consecutive victory.

Remember last week against the Bears, when the Vikings were masters of ball control, moving the chains and dominating time of possession?

That script flipped completely in Miami. The Vikings got the job done once again, winning their fourth consecutive game, but they used the exact opposite formula to get there. Outside of a few quick-strike scoring drives, the offense repeatedly went three and out, which meant the defense spent a ton of time on the field. The Vikings surrendered a ton of yards to the Dolphins, but sacks, turnovers, and Miami penalties made it a strong overall day for Ed Donatell's defense.

Let's check out this week's snap counts to see what we can learn.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Miami (out of 52)

• QB Kirk Cousins: 52
• RT Brian O'Neill: 52
• RG Ed Ingram: 52
• LG Ezra Cleveland: 52
• C Garrett Bradbury: 52
• LT Christian Darrisaw: 52
• WR Justin Jefferson: 49
• WR Adam Thielen: 45
• RB Dalvin Cook: 45
• TE Irv Smith Jr: 33
• WR K.J. Osborn: 31
• TE Johnny Mundt: 29
• FB C.J. Ham: 18
• RB Alexander Mattison: 7
• OL Oli Udoh: 2
• WR Jalen Reagor: 1

Beyond the obvious note of this being the fewest offensive snaps the Vikings have run all year (the previous low was 61 in Philadelphia), there are several things that stand out here.

For starters, Dalvin Cook had by far his highest snap share of the season at 87 percent. Fully recovered from his shoulder injury, Cook was nearly a full-time player in his hometown. And after getting bottled up for most of the game, he finally broke a long run in a big moment late in the game. Alexander Mattison, who is dealing with his own shoulder injury, played just seven snaps after seeing 34 last week. 

Kevin O'Connell decided to go with some heavier personnel at times, which he said was because the Dolphins were having success playing base defense against the Vikings' 11 personnel looks early in the game. That meant C.J. Ham saw a season-high 18 snaps, while Irv Smith Jr. out-snapped K.J. Osborn for the first time all season. Osborn had typically been playing a lot more than Smith because the Vikings love using 11 personnel. Johnny Mundt also was more involved than he had been in recent weeks, and even Oli Udoh saw two snaps as a sixth offensive lineman.

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Miami (out of 78)

• S Camryn Bynum: 78
• CB Patrick Peterson: 78
• S Harrison Smith: 78
• LB Eric Kendricks: 78
• CB Cameron Dantzler: 78
• LB Jordan Hicks: 76
• OLB Danielle Hunter: 64
• OLB Za'Darius Smith: 60
• SCB Chandon Sullivan: 59
• DT Dalvin Tomlinson: 45
• DT Harrison Phillips: 41
• OLB Patrick Jones II: 37
• DT Jonathan Bullard: 28
• DT James Lynch: 20
• DT Ross Blacklock: 19
• OLB Luiji Vilain: 17
• LB Brian Asamoah: 2

The Vikings went into this game without D.J. Wonnum, their No. 3 outside linebacker who was off to a very strong start to his third season but picked up an illness this week. That meant Patrick Jones II stepped up into a much bigger role, doubling his previous career high in defensive snaps. He took full advantage of the opportunity, recording four pressures and the first two sacks of his NFL career. "He was just a man on a mission," O'Connell said.

Everyone on the defense had to step up because of how many snaps the offense's struggles necessitated they play. Nearly everyone on that side of the ball played their highest snap total of the season. Despite giving up a lot of yards, it was an admirable performance by the entire unit in the heat, coming up with six sacks and three takeaways. 

Luiji Vilain made his NFL debut, joining punter Ryan Wright as the second undrafted rookie to do so for the Vikings this season.

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