Analysis: Vikings pass rush returns to its disruptive form against the Colts

The Vikings’ Oct. 24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was the most innocuous night of the season for a defense that had led the NFL in quarterback pressures for much of the year. They finished without a sack for the first time this season, hit Matthew Stafford only twice and pressured him just four times in a 30-20 loss in which the 36-year-old threw four touchdown passes.

The Vikings returned home Sunday night to face the Indianapolis Colts’ Joe Flacco, another veteran quarterback who had used the NFL’s fifth-quickest release to keep pressure at bay. But an immobile 39-year-old, playing behind an offensive line missing two starters in a frenzied environment, proved to be the perfect mark for a pass rush looking to get right as the Vikings prevailed 21-13.

The Vikings sacked Flacco three times in the fourth quarter, hit him seven times in the game and pressured him on 13 of his 30 dropbacks. Ten of their pressures came from the 20 snaps in which they sent four or fewer pass rushers after Flacco, opting for stunts and deception over all-out blitzes.

Jonathan Greenard, who leads the NFL with 48 pressures, got both of his sacks off four-man rushes, beating rookie left tackle Matt Goncalves with a spin move before finishing Flacco off on a play in which a stunt between Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner created the first pressure. Greenard finished with five pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and Jihad Ward had three in 23 snaps.

And first-round pick Dallas Turner, who had played only three defensive snaps against the Rams, was on the field for 26 on Sunday night, generating four pressures while lining up more at left outside linebacker than he has all season.

“We wanted to make sure he was a little bit more involved in the game, and he showed up,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I thought it was a performance that I was not surprised by, and I’ve kind of had been telling you guys as we move forward here and based upon game plans and things like that, but I thought it was a real great step in the right direction for Dallas and one that I think he’ll build on. It’s still early on in his career and he’s learning and getting better every single day, but talented player, athletic. It shows up when you turn on the tape.”

Turner’s best pressure of the night might have been in the third quarter, when he lined up over Josh Downs at slot corner and took a direct line to Flacco from the far side of the field on a play where the Colts hadn’t accounted for him. He hit Flacco in 2.02 seconds, just as the quarterback was preparing to fire over the middle for Downs, and the pass fell incomplete with Josh Metellus and Ivan Pace Jr. dropping into coverage.

“It was a field blitz, and I just so happened to be the blitzer,” Turner said. “It was a matter of scheming it up the right way and timing the snap. They were away. We were home, so [the silent count] was going to be on the [right] guard [rookie Dalton Tucker], sticking his hand out. It was just cadence, timing and then preparation.”

The Vikings could continue to involve Turner more frequently and might get linebacker Blake Cashman back from his turf toe injury Sunday in Jacksonville. They will also enter a stretch of four games against young quarterbacks who could struggle against defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ pressure concepts. The next QB on their schedule with more than four full NFL seasons is Kirk Cousins, who was the first passer to be flustered by the Vikings’ blitzes while facing them in training camp last year.

After a frustrating stretch that began late in the Detroit Lions game on Oct. 20, the Vikings were again able to shift a game with their pass rush in an environment that was friendly to them. They had sacked Jared Goff four times against Detroit in their previous home game, but the Lions came back for a 31-29 win once they figured out the Vikings’ pressure packages, giving Goff time to test their defense downfield.

On Sunday night, their pass rush changed the tenor of the game against Flacco in the second half as the Vikings held the Colts without an offensive touchdown while Sam Darnold directed three TD drives in a comeback.

“I think any time you have a game like we had tonight, you’re probably surprised a little bit that you weren’t able to get it going, because they obviously did a really good job against us tonight,” Flacco said Sunday. “You know coming in here against a team like this, it’s going to be difficult, but I don’t think you ever anticipate something like that.”

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