Vikings' Embarrassing Screen Problem

The Minnesota Vikings have a screen problem. You may remember a couple of highlights, like this Dalvin Cook touchdown or this revenge score from Ameer Abdullah against the Detroit Lions. But the entire portfolio of 2020 screen plays was an unmitigated disaster. Screens are intricately choreographed plays that require precise timing and execution to succeed. For this reason, they’re something you only see a few times per game at most. It’s not uncommon for things to go wrong.

But it is remarkable for things to go this wrong.



Things don’t get this bad for just one reason. There are many people to blame, from linemen themselves to the play designs. Let’s take stock and figure out what can be done to prevent this in 2021.

- THE TIMING IS INCREDIBLY SLOW
- THE TUNNEL SCREEN
- WHIFFS. WHIFFS EVERYWHERE.
- MAKING DALVIN COOK DO ALL THE WORK
- THE INEXPLICABLE ONE-MAN SCREEN

Screens must be designed to lure defenders north and south. They should either be in the offensive backfield or the defensive backfield, not in the flat waiting to envelop a doomed ballcarrier.

Next year the Vikings would do well to drill this in what will hopefully be an expanded offseason program. Even if their personnel doesn’t improve, these are clearly under-practiced plays. It would help to acquire a good after-catch receiver for those tunnel screens, like Curtis Samuel or a shifty rookie.

The Vikings had a lot of problems in their screen game. The linemen weren’t prepared to run them. Defenders juked them easily. Their efforts to design around these problems didn’t work out. Overall, it was a small portion of the Vikings offense, just 33 plays, but they were comedic enough to stick out in our minds. And perhaps they deserve to.