The Vikings' dam finally broke on Sunday against the Packers. After battling through injury and turnover issues all season and still remaining competitive each week, they got blown out in their own building by their biggest rivals on New Year's Eve. Now their playoff hopes are down to roughly three percent as they head into the final weekend of the regular season.
This was a disappointing loss, make no mistake about it. But in the context of mounting injuries, a carousel of mistake-prone backup quarterbacks, and overall roster talent on the defensive side of the ball, it's arguably impressive that it took until Week 17 for the Vikings to lose a game by more than seven points.
Let's take a look at the offensive and defensive snap counts from the Green Bay game to see what we can learn.
Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Packers (out of 53)
- LT Christian Darrisaw: 53
- C Garrett Bradbury: 53
- LG Dalton Risner: 53
- RT Brian O'Neill: 53
- WR Justin Jefferson: 53
- WR Jordan Addison: 49
- TE Johnny Mundt: 41
- RG Ed Ingram: 35
- WR K.J. Osborn: 33
- RB Ty Chandler: 30
- QB Nick Mullens: 29
- QB Jaren Hall: 24
- TE Josh Oliver: 24
- RB Alexander Mattison: 21
- RG Blake Brandel: 18
- WR Brandon Powell: 9
- FB C.J. Ham: 4
- WR Lucky Jackson: 1
With T.J. Hockenson out, Mundt stepped into his role as the primary route-running option for the Vikings at tight end. He wound up being their second-leading receiver on the day, catching four of seven targets for 39 yards and the second touchdown of his career. Oliver's role didn't change; the blocking specialist has played between 19 and 35 snaps in every single game this season, with an average of just under 27.
Chandler led the backfield again and took ten of the Vikings' 13 carries by running backs, but it was just a 60/40 snap split with Mattison. It'll be interesting to see if that continues in the regular season finale in Detroit.
Mullens replaced a struggling Hall at halftime. Brandel came in for Ingram, who picked up a shoulder injury.
Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Packers (out of 74)
- LB Ivan Pace Jr: 74
- CB Akayleb Evans: 74
- OLB Pat Jones II: 70
- S Camryn Bynum: 66
- S Harrison Smith: 66
- S Josh Metellus: 66
- LB Jordan Hicks: 66
- OLB Danielle Hunter: 63
- DT Harrison Phillips: 53
- DT Jonathan Bullard: 46
- CB Mekhi Blackmon: 37
- DT Khyiris Tonga: 30
- OLB Andre Carter II: 19
- DT Sheldon Day: 18
- S Jay Ward: 17
- DT T.J. Smith: 14
- LB Brian Asamoah II: 11
- CB Andrew Booth Jr: 8
- S Lewis Cine: 8
- LB Anthony Barr: 8
Another player who stepped up into a major role due to an injury was Jones, who played 70 snaps in place of D.J. Wonnum. Carter then took Jones' role at OLB3, seeing a season-high snap count of his own.
It was interesting that the Vikings played both linebackers (Pace and Hicks) on an every-down basis. Usually, there's only one every-down LB in Brian Flores' system. There were a bunch of snaps in this game where Evans was the only true cornerback on the field for Minnesota.
Every-down players Harrison Smith, Bynum, Evans, and Hicks took a seat for the final eight snaps, which allowed guys like Booth and Cine and Ward and Asamoah to get some additional run. A lot of young defensive players saw the field in this game.
Shoutout to Tonga, who earned a stellar 92.6 PFF grade on his 30 snaps. Nobody else was over 71.
Top 11 in special team snaps
- Ivan Pace Jr: 20
- Jay Ward: 17
- Brian Asamoah II: 16
- Nick Vigil: 16
- C.J. Ham: 15
- NaJee Thompson: 13
- Nick Muse: 13
- Lewis Cine: 11
- Jaylin Williams: 11
- Kene Nwangwu: 11
- Johnny Mundt: 11
Thompson was legitimately the MVP of the game for the Vikings.
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