Did Jaguars find formula for slowing down Justin Jefferson and Vikings offense?
EAGAN, Minn. — Let’s set straight a misunderstanding about Kevin O’Connell’s play calling: The Minnesota Vikings coach does not call plays from a script. The Jags played a higher percentage of two-high safety coverage against the Vikings’ pass plays than any NFL team has played since 2018, according to Next Gen Stats. “There’s trying to have a coverage plan to Justin,” O’Connell said, “and then there’s an entire aspect of team defense against Justin.” After the Vikings’ 12-7 victory, there are several questions worth asking: Why were the Jaguars OK playing this way? As you’ll see in the table below, one of the obvious ways to shrink Jefferson’s outsized impact is to play with a two-high safety structure: Middle of field open Middle of field closed Yards per route run 4.09 1.88 EPA per target 0.60 0.19 Though the Jaguars might have taken things to the extreme, the Vikings are well versed in facing these defenses. Jaguars Weeks 1-9 Jaguars vs. Vikings Man coverage usage 37.6% 22.0% Zone coverage usage 56.5% 72.0% Once O’Connell identified what the Jaguars had schemed, quarterback Sam Darnold started to find Hockenson underneath, and Jones began to eat up chunks of yardage in the run game.
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