The Minnesota Vikings lost a tough game to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night by a score of 21-20.
The game was that of an up-and-down nature with Brian Flores’ defense playing well but the constant tough situations they were put in ended up costing them in a major way down the stretch.
What was really interesting about the game itself was how the Vikings used their personnel. The snap counts were very interesting from Sunday’s game. Here is the breakdown.
Offensive snap counts
- 74: Brian O’Neill, Christian Darrisaw, Dalton Risner, Ed Ingram, Garrett Bradbury, Josh Dobbs
- 71: K.J. Osborn
- 70: Jordan Addison
- 52: T.J. Hockenson
- 48: Alexander Mattison
- 44: Brandon Powell
- 34: Josh Oliver
- 23: Ty Chandler
- 13: Johnny Mundt
- 10: C.J. Ham
- 3: Jalen Nailor
- 2: N’Keal Harry
Offensive snap count analysis
Mattison outsnapped Chandler 2:1 on Sunday and that is due to the little things. Mattison is a better pass blocker and it manifested itself on Sunday night, as Chandler allowed a blitzer to hit Dobbs, which forced an interception.
It’s also noteworthy that Powell was the third wide receiver over Jalen Nailor, as he outsnapped him 44 to three. Powell has been really good since the start of training camp and made some nice plays for the Vikings. Is this due to Nailor’s performance last week or just a game script thing? Time will give us that answer.
Defensive snap counts
- 55: Josh Metellus, Ivan Pace Jr., Camryn Bynum, Byron Murphy Jr., Harrison Smith
- 53: Mekhi Blackmon
- 52: Danielle Hunter
- 51: D.J. Wonnum
- 40: Harrison Phillips
- 31: Jonathan Bullard
- 27: Pat Jones II
- 17: Joejuan Williams
- 9: Dean Lowry
- 8: Khyiris Tonga
- 4: Theo Jackson, Jaquelin Roy
Defensive snap count analysis
The biggest takeaways are relatively simple. Pace playing every snap shows a real confidence for him long-term, especially with Hicks unlikely to return next season. He was a menace in the running game all night long and played really well considering the circumstances.
The really interesting one was seeing Blackmon playing in 53 snaps but Andrew Booth Jr. didn’t play a single snap on defense. Why would Blackmon play all but two and Booth not play one? It was really odd to see, especially with how much Blackmon was targeted all night long.
