MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Jefferson stepped to the microphones last week and delivered a revelation that nearly slipped through unnoticed. During his weekly news conference with local reporters, the Minnesota Vikings' receiver casually divulged that coach Kevin O'Connell had "kind of dialed it down for us" on offense as the team prepared for its Week 9 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Vikings' offense hadn't exactly struggled this season -- it entered the game ranked ninth in scoring (24 points per game) and 11th in yards per play (5.7) -- but it had gotten bogged down in recent weeks, ranking 23rd in efficiency and 31st in offensive penalties since the start of Week 5. Overall, the Vikings ranked last in plays run per game (56.7) and had the sixth-longest longest time elapsed per play (41.8 seconds) in the league.
It's an NFL cliché to suggest a team succeeded by simplifying its scheme. That's not really what the Vikings did in producing their best all-around offensive game -- largely via a second-half surge -- in their 21-13 victory Sunday night. More accurately, O'Connell curated his menu of plays and concepts to facilitate a quicker and more efficient pace.
In the process, the Vikings set season highs in plays (71), first downs (29), total yards (415) and time of possession (36:54). They had one offensive penalty (a hold against new left tackle Cam Robinson) and had the shortest amount of time elapsed per play (40.3 seconds) this season. It was enough to overcome two interceptions and a lost fumble, which the Colts returned for their only touchdown, by quarterback Sam Darnold.
"I felt like we played a really clean game as an offense besides my turnovers, which was good," Darnold said. "We were really good with no self-inflicted [mistakes], all those things. Penalty-wise, pre-snap, I felt like we were getting in and out of the huddle. Tempo was really good all day. So we were really efficient as an offense that way. Just got to take care the football."
Two of Darnold's turnovers and two missed field goals conspired to keep the Vikings scoreless in the first half. He found his rhythm in the second half, however, by leaning into his downfield arm and nearly doubling the depth of his average target. In total, Darnold threw three touchdown passes after halftime for the first time in his career and finished with a season-high 290 yards on 28-of-34.
Although it wasn't obvious to casual observers, Darnold surely benefitted from some frank internal discussions about the amount of responsibility he had been shouldering in what can be a complex offense with long playcalls and multiple pre-snap decisions.
Speaking Monday, O'Connell said he cut back some of his "exotic" formations while also working to get the play in to Darnold earlier in the play clock than in previous weeks. In addition, the Vikings modestly reduced the frequency of pre-snap motion from 67.1% of their snaps in the first eight weeks to 54.2% against the Colts, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Finally, to help foster a more efficient huddle, Vikings coaches shortened the play clock during practice to impose greater urgency on getting to the line of scrimmage.
"Sam has done so many really high-level good things, especially throwing the football for us," O'Connell said last week. "We've all got to remember sometimes that it is his first year starting [in Minnesota], and we tried to prepare him as best we could, and there's still going to be some times in games where the urgency of just playing a lot of football comes into play. I think he's done a really good job improving on that as he goes through a process of preparation.
"But there's some other times where part of the bigger picture, the orchestrating of our offense, [is], 'Can we make it a little easier on him? Can we make it easier on the guys around him to have clarity?'"
O'Connell has earned a reputation as one of the NFL's best play designers, and anyone watching in person or via All-22 video can see receivers breaking open on nearly every play. O'Connell often refers to an ideal of having an "answer" within the concept for any approach a defense might take.
That can be a lot for a quarterback to shoulder, however, and it's worth remembering that former starter Kirk Cousins talked openly about his own slow consumption of the scheme when O'Connell arrived in 2022.
Jefferson seemed to be reflecting a similar challenge for Darnold last week. In words that were more pointed than they sounded in Jefferson's soft-spoken phrasing, he said: "It doesn't have to be something that we draw up the best play that you've ever had." Sometimes, Jefferson added, the best solution is simply allowing players to "go out there and play."
O'Connell and his coaching staff appeared to be in agreement.
"I just think coaching in general, as much as we try to hold the pen, as much as we try to give our players an advantage for their benefit, it's just a constant evaluation and reflection of the value received off of the things we do," O'Connell said. "It could be great on one play, and then it could cause some things to be either hard to execute ... or putting a little bit more on Sam's plate and [say], 'Hey, do we need to do that?'
"Well, it'd be great to do it, but let's be smart about this and treat each individual phase as, 'How do we build the best game plan to have success this week?'"