Nobody in the NFL blitzes more than Brian Flores and the Vikings, and that was again the case on Sunday night against the Cowboys. Minnesota blitzed on 46.3% of their plays, and it was getting home on Dak Prescott, causing Dallas’ offense to struggle. From not adjusting at the line of scrimmage to not being able to have quick routes available on blitz plays, the Cowboys had little answers for the looks that the Vikings presented, and gave the opposing defense their flowers.
On this play, the Vikings defense is in what Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer called “all up,” which is essentially Cover 0. That means most, if not all of the players lined up at the line of scrimmage (seven in this case) will likely go after the cornerback, leaving the rest of the field in one-on-one man coverage between the receivers and defensive backs.
How do you diagnose who is and isn’t coming at you on a blitz in these looks? Pre-snap motion and the offense’s cadence, essentially trying to get defenders to move ahead of the snap and show where they’re going. There was no motion on this play, and it’s just a quick three step drop for Dak Prescott and a curl route from CeeDee Lamb to get some quick, easy yards. What ruins all of that is Harrison Smith coming unblocked on a blitz, and he gets a hand on the football here to cause the throw to be just off target, and it’s incomplete.
