Vikings Snap Counts and PFF Notes: Offensive Line, Linebackers Struggle vs. Browns
The Vikings crashed back to earth on Sunday. The optimism that had built up from their home-opening victory over the Seahawks evaporated during an ugly, lifeless 14-7 loss to the Browns. They're now 1-3 and in full desperation mode with two more games before their bye week, leaving Mike Zimmer to once again try to convince the world that the Vikings are better than their record indicates.
This was a mess of a loss in which the Browns imposed their will in the trenches on both sides of the ball, yet also handed the Vikings chance after chance to hang around in a game they probably should've lost by several scores.
Let's dive into the snap counts and some other observations, with help from Pro Football Focus's grades and tracking stats.
Offensive snap counts
Total offensive snaps: 67
- QB Kirk Cousins: 67
- LT Rashod Hill: 67
- LG Ezra Cleveland: 67
- C Garrett Bradbury: 67
- RG Oli Udoh: 67
- RT Brian O'Neill: 67
- WR Adam Thielen: 66
- WR Justin Jefferson: 59
- TE Tyler Conklin: 57
- WR K.J. Osborn: 42
- RB Dalvin Cook: 33
- RB Alexander Mattison: 23
- FB C.J. Ham: 21
- TE Ben Ellefson: 14
- WR Dede Westbrook: 8
- TE Chris Herndon: 7
- RB Ameer Abdullah: 5
Analysis
Nothing really jumps out here. Conklin once again out-snapped Osborn as the No. 3 pass-catcher, but had an unproductive day as a receiver with just four catches for 18 yards. Cook was clearly limited by his ankle injury, spending large chunks of the middle of the game on the bench. Westbrook had his second catch as a Viking, a 17-yard grab that moved the chains on third down. Herndon continues to be a complete non-factor who sees less playing time than Ellefson.
Defensive snap counts
Total defensive snaps: 78
- S Xavier Woods: 78
- S Harrison Smith: 78
- LB Eric Kendricks: 78
- LB Nick Vigil: 78
- CB Patrick Peterson: 78
- CB Cameron Dantzler: 72
- DE Danielle Hunter: 65
- DE D.J. Wonnum: 53
- DT Dalvin Tomlinson: 50
- DT Armon Watts: 44
- DE Everson Griffen: 43
- LB Blake Lynch: 36
- CB Mackensie Alexander: 33
- DT Sheldon Richardson: 32
- DT Michael Pierce: 21
- DE Stephen Weatherly: 13
- CB Bashaud Breeland: 6
Analysis
The big thing that stands out to me is this: why is Wonnum still getting more snaps than Griffen? Four games into the season, Wonnum has been one of the Vikings' least productive players, with just four pressures on 114 pass rushing snaps and an overall PFF grade of 43.4. Griffen, meanwhile, has ten pressures on just 69 pass rushing snaps, with an overall grade of 70.2. I understand wanting to keep the 34-year-old Griffen fresh, but at some point you've just got to play your best players. Even Stephen Weatherly has been more productive than Wonnum and arguably deserves to eat into his playing time.
Breeland gave up a 21-yard catch on the Vikings' sixth defensive play of the game and didn't play the rest of the afternoon. It was ruled as an illness, but it's hard not to wonder if his struggles this season played into that. Dantzler came in and played pretty well the rest of the game, although he's now on the Reserve/COVID list.
Watts played a lot in the second half due to Pierce's injury and was solid, but it would be a big loss if Pierce has to miss any time.
Lynch and Richardson were among the many defensive players to see a season high in snaps against the Browns. Lynch stood out to me as maybe the Vikings' best linebacker in the game, making plays on both defense and special teams.
Pro Football Focus notes
Here are the Vikings' highest and lowest grades on offense and defense against the Browns, via PFF, for players with a minimum of 15 snaps played.
The offensive line was thoroughly dominated
This game was a disaster for everyone on the Vikings' offensive line. Kirk Cousins was pressured on 22 of his 41 dropbacks despite the Browns only rushing with four on almost 80 percent of those plays. Cousins was 6 of 19 for 46 yards and two sacks when under pressure. The offensive line combined for 27 pressures allowed (multiple players can give up pressure on one play), with Hill and Udoh leading the way. Hill was charged with a whopping ten pressures allowed, and Udoh wasn't far behind him at eight. Even O'Neill allowed his first four pressures of the year and Cleveland and Bradbury each gave up multiple.
It was simply a dominant performance from Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, Malik Jackson, and the rest of the Browns' defensive line. The Vikings' front five needs to throw this one out, shake it off, and play much better going forward.
The linebackers had a tough time as well
The Browns controlled the time of possession in this game by rushing for 184 yards, and while the Vikings losing Pierce halfway through the game was part of that, their linebackers weren't great in run defense. Both Vigil and Kendricks had sub-40 PFF grades. That's far from a perfect metric given the intricacies of run defense in terms of gap assignments and things like that, but it does indicate that both players probably struggled. Vigil in particular hasn't been great against the run and added to that with two missed tackles against the Browns. Getting Anthony Barr back this week will be big in that regard.
Dalvin Tomlinson has second straight excellent game
After a bit of a slow start to his Vikings career, marquee free agent acquisition Dalvin Tomlinson has been great over the past two weeks. He has multiple pressures in both games, including three on Sunday, and picked up his first sack against the Browns. He's also played well against the run. The Vikings are going to need Tomlinson to keep producing up front, especially if Pierce has to miss time.
Two other players who stood out against Cleveland are Justin Jefferson and Xavier Woods. Jefferson continues to be elite in his second season, even if he hasn't had a huge explosion game yet. Woods has been a great fit next to Harrison Smith on the back end of the defense.
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