Post by Funkytown on Jul 7, 2023 18:41:44 GMT -6
How Did Penalties Impact the Minnesota Vikings?
The Good
The Vikings went from the seventh-most penalized team per game in 2021 to the 26th in 2022. It was an impressive performance in Kevin O’Connell’s first season as a head coach. O’Connell is another coach from the Sean McVay tree.
The Vikings led the NFL in positive net penalty yardage with an average of 15 yards per game. In 2021, they had the worst net yardage per game at negative-15.12 yards. That’s a swing in one year of three first downs per game via penalty yardage.
The Vikings ranked second overall for offensive holding in 2021, averaging 1.82 per game. They were the least penalized team in 2022, dropping to just 0.67 per game.
The Vikings offense was the number one beneficiary of passing play penalties last season, a massive jump from 2021 when they ranked 25th in per-game average. The Minnesota offense ranked highly at drawing defensive pass interference and defensive holding penalties. The Vikings gained 10.8 yards of field position via penalty yards on each infraction. That is not a high average, but the volume offsets that to some degree.
The defense ranked 28th in passing play penalties against them. It was a big drop compared to 2021 where they ranked eighth in per-game average in this category.
The Bad
Pre-snap penalties were the big issue for the Vikings in 2022. They led the NFL in delay of game penalties, and 70% of those penalties were on the road. False starts were also an issue for Minnesota. They ranked 11th in per-game average in that category.
GRADE A++
The year-over-year improvement for this team was astounding. There was plenty of commentary on the Vikings living a charmed life in 2022, overachieving and seemingly coming out on the right side of close games the majority of the time.
Winning the penalty advantage is often the difference between a win and a loss This penalty recap provides some insight as to how they won so many one-score games.
O’Connell did a great job with this team. As previously stated, McVay coaches tend to have lower penalties per game, so we have to assume this was not a fluke despite it being O’Connell’s first season as a head coach.
Minnesota needs to add talent, particularly on defense, but the foundation has been laid by O’Connell in his first season. This team should be one of the more disciplined in the NFL going forward.
The Good
The Vikings went from the seventh-most penalized team per game in 2021 to the 26th in 2022. It was an impressive performance in Kevin O’Connell’s first season as a head coach. O’Connell is another coach from the Sean McVay tree.
The Vikings led the NFL in positive net penalty yardage with an average of 15 yards per game. In 2021, they had the worst net yardage per game at negative-15.12 yards. That’s a swing in one year of three first downs per game via penalty yardage.
The Vikings ranked second overall for offensive holding in 2021, averaging 1.82 per game. They were the least penalized team in 2022, dropping to just 0.67 per game.
The Vikings offense was the number one beneficiary of passing play penalties last season, a massive jump from 2021 when they ranked 25th in per-game average. The Minnesota offense ranked highly at drawing defensive pass interference and defensive holding penalties. The Vikings gained 10.8 yards of field position via penalty yards on each infraction. That is not a high average, but the volume offsets that to some degree.
The defense ranked 28th in passing play penalties against them. It was a big drop compared to 2021 where they ranked eighth in per-game average in this category.
The Bad
Pre-snap penalties were the big issue for the Vikings in 2022. They led the NFL in delay of game penalties, and 70% of those penalties were on the road. False starts were also an issue for Minnesota. They ranked 11th in per-game average in that category.
GRADE A++
The year-over-year improvement for this team was astounding. There was plenty of commentary on the Vikings living a charmed life in 2022, overachieving and seemingly coming out on the right side of close games the majority of the time.
Winning the penalty advantage is often the difference between a win and a loss This penalty recap provides some insight as to how they won so many one-score games.
O’Connell did a great job with this team. As previously stated, McVay coaches tend to have lower penalties per game, so we have to assume this was not a fluke despite it being O’Connell’s first season as a head coach.
Minnesota needs to add talent, particularly on defense, but the foundation has been laid by O’Connell in his first season. This team should be one of the more disciplined in the NFL going forward.
Like they might let you know your 13 win team is a huge fraud and that you shouldn't expect it to go far in the playoffs. 
In fact the 2019 Packers and their meager +63 point differential set the standard for what it meant to be a fraudulent 13 win team, but then along came the 2022 Vikings. Like the Packers, bounced early in the playoffs, every single year. There's no rule that states you can't have more than one fraud. 
