Week 4 - Vikes @ Pack Support Group

"Looking back on it," O'Connell said, "I'm sure people will wonder why that decision happens. But I can't really make those decisions based upon the 'Oh no, what could happen' type thing. I'm going to be aggressive and always smart, and I thought that we had a chance to convert with the play that I called."

To be fair, ESPN Analytics' model slightly favored going for it as well, although it viewed the Vikings' chances of winning at 99% regardless of the decision. But O'Connell was following an approach he had used throughout the fourth quarter Sunday, refusing to simply run the ball to kill time while the Packers' offense was in the process of scoring 22 consecutive points. When the Packers finally made it a one-score game, the Vikings regained possession with 10:16 remaining.

What did O'Connell do? He had quarterback Sam Darnold throw on five of that drive's six plays, with the only run being a Darnold scramble on a busted play. The possession included completions of 17 and 27 yards to receiver Justin Jefferson and ended in a 33-yard field goal that re-established a two-score lead.

Old-school football fans might have found O'Connell's game management wildly aggressive, if not downright reckless. The Vikings, after all, have improved their running game this season after signing tailback Aaron Jones (22 carries, 93 yards, 4 catches, 46 yards). Darnold, meanwhile, had not only committed two second-half turnovers but was also limping on a bruised left knee suffered last week.

But O'Connell views the team through the strength of his players, and some of his best are receivers, most notably Jefferson. O'Connell has been working to build Darnold's confidence, and his teammates trust in him, since the start of training camp. He is determined to talk about, demonstrate and, in many ways, will his bullish opinion into existence in a team that has become the first in the NFL's Super Bowl era to win its first four games despite not being favored by more than one point in any of them.

As the Vikings were letting a 28-7 first half lead slide through their fingers in the second half, there were several instances where O’Connell could have thrown on the emergency brake and aimed to drain clock with the ground game, screens and short passing. Instead he still leaned on the pass button, which got the Vikings in and out of trouble.

The first time that we saw the duality of O’Connell’s aggressive play calling was at the beginning of the second half. After forcing a Green Bay punt to open the third quarter, quarterback Sam Darnold hit Jordan Addison on a 25-yard gain on a third-and-10 to kickstart a potential dagger drive. Darnold then scrambled for a first down and running back Aaron Jones pushed forward for a 9-yard gain, setting up the Vikings to put the game away.

On second-and-1 and in field goal position, it would have made sense to run the ball again and make sure that sure-footed kicker Will Reichard put them up at least 31-7. Rather than hunker down and get the three extra points, the Vikings dialed up a pass and Darnold threw an interception, marking the second time in four games he’s thrown a red zone pick with an opportunity to run away from an opponent (the other was vs. San Francisco).

The Vikings had two more drives in the third quarter after that and only took 5:18 off the clock, which opened the door for the Packers to get going. To open the fourth quarter, QB Jordan Love found his groove and led a 89-yard touchdown drive that only took 3:55, closing the gap to two scores.

Again, O’Connell could have looked to drain clock with his running backs or screen game but he dialed up back-to-back passes. Darnold scrambled on the first one and got his feet twisted underneath him and then he was strip-sacked on the second. Two plays later the Packers were within six points.

At that point, the head coach stuck to his strategy rather than slowing down. With 10:16 left in the fourth quarter, Darnold hit Justin Jefferson for a 17-yard pass on the first play of the drive. Then he completed a short pass to Josh Oliver and found Jefferson again for a 27-yard gain over the middle.

When the dust settled, the Vikings got a field goal that pushed the lead back to two scores.

But we weren’t done with the big-swing mentality from the head coach. Following a breathtaking catch by Jefferson along the sideline, the Vikings were in position to kick a field goal and go up by 12 points with 2:21 to go in the game. O’Connell went for fourth down and came up short, giving the Packers one last gasp.

Ultimately Green Bay scored again and brought the lead to two points but failed to convert an onside kick, giving the Vikings the victory.

Following the win, O’Connell said that his mindset wasn’t about game management theory so much as wanting the send a message to his players.

“I just want our guys to understand that I believe in them,” O’Connell said. “I want our guys to know I’m going to be aggressive. I have nothing but confidence in the eleven guys in any phase of our team going out there in those moments.”

Since the beginning of the season O’Connell has expressed his confidence in tangible ways, whether it was going for the first fourth down of the season in the red zone and getting a touchdown or throwing a bomb from the Vikings’ own 3-yard line and getting rewarded with a 97-yard touchdown.

The Packers nearly took advantage of some of the miscues amidst O’Connell’s fits of aggressiveness but in the biggest moment of the game — the response drive to go up by nine points late — Darnold once again made his head coach right for trusting him.

“Just leaning into our quarterback and our guys in that huddle to put together a really good drive right there,” O’Connell said. “I would have loved to get seven, but critical execution by our guys and ability to respond in that moment after losing a significant lead and those guys battled back. I think this team, it’s kind of what I’m getting at. I think they’re made of the right stuff, and we’re just going to keep playing.”

The more poise that Darnold shows in pressured situations, the more belief he’s going to get from O’Connell and the entire team. Aaron Jones described the way Darnold led them from inside the huddle in the fourth quarter when things were seemingly falling apart.

“He let everybody know, ‘Hey, one play at a time, we gotta have it now,’” Jones said. “He was like, ‘If you’ve got any questions, ask me.’ He did a great job commanding that.”

Darnold finished the game with another tremendous stat line going 20-for-28 with 275 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

“I think you have to have that [aggressive] mindset,” Darnold said. “You can’t think about what might happen or what has happened, them coming back. You always have to continue to have that mindset of one step in front of the other. As long as we continue to have that mindset as an offense as a whole team, I feel like we will be alright.”

As the outside world opines about the Vikings being the biggest “surprise” team in the NFL, O’Connell revealed last week that he told the team prior to the season that his projection for them was much higher, so none of the success should come as a shock to them.

“I just think it coincides with what I’ve been kind of talking about,” O’Connell said. “Long before the first win, second, third or fourth win ever came….I’m just really stating the obvious inside that locker room, confirming to them that I believe in them, I love them and we’re going to ride together and we’re going to stay aggressive while being smart. There’s always a line there, but I’m really proud of our guys.”

There is a line, indeed. As much as he may believe in the team, the decisions have to become more pragmatic and less symbolic going forward.

Then again, the mindset has gotten the Vikings to 4-0. Trusting Darnold has gotten them to 4-0. They are now in the driver’s seat in the NFC as they head to London to play the New York Jets.

“Nothing matters but the next one, which is a hell of a challenge going to London and playing a really good football team,” O’Connell said.