MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings were presented with several opportunities on Sunday at FedEx Field to seize control of their game against the Washington Redskins, had they been able to gain a yard to earn a first down and extend one of their drives.
Instead, the Vikings' lead morphed into a fourth straight loss because of the ineffectual runs that coach Mike Zimmer had hoped would disappear from their offense. The Vikings have been stopped on five of their 13 attempts to pick up a yard on third or fourth down in their four-game losing streak, Zimmer said Monday, and their stalled drives on Sunday cost them a chance to keep the Redskins on their heels following a three-touchdown second quarter.
"The line of scrimmage is exactly where it started. To pick up plays in short-yardage situations, you have to advance the line of scrimmage by at least a yard to gain a yard," said ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen, who played seven season as a defensive back for the Rams, Packers, Redskins and Bills. "You can't ask the running back to run through three tackles."
The first of the Redskins' run stops came on a third-and-1 with 7:43 left in the third quarter on Sunday, after the Vikings stopped Washington's opening drive in the second half in the red zone and only allowed a field goal. With a three-point lead and the ball on their own 34, the Vikings brought in guard Nick Easton as an extra offensive lineman.
The Redskins countered by putting eight defenders in the box, with cornerback Josh Norman in man coverage on tight end Rhett Ellison. When Ellison motioned into the backfield, it brought Norman -- a strong run defender -- into the box with him.
"What they're running here is a double lead. That's all it is," Bowen said. "You have the fullback kicking out on the edge support, Preston Smith, and you have the tight end off the ball [Ellison] leading up on the inside linebacker. You should make this play. Even with eight guys in the box, you should make this play."
But on the backside of the play, defensive end Ricky-Jean Francois split Alex Boone and Jake Long and helped collapse the running lane for Matt Asiata, and the Vikings were unable to move nose tackle Chris Baker off the line of scrimmage.
"The nose is shaded to the play side. You get a double-team combo at the point of attack; that allows the center to come off and pick up the weakside inside linebacker," Bowen said. "But they don't move the nose. They don't move him at all. Now, you're allowing Washington to control the point. Think about all these factors: You're not moving the nose. You've got backside penetration from the defensive end. You have Josh Norman coming downhill, and he slips the lead block. Now you have three defenders at the point of attack, and you haven't moved the line of scrimmage."
The Vikings' second 1-yard run of the half was on the first play of the fourth quarter, out of a similar three tight-end package to the one that cleared room for Adrian Peterson's game-breaking 80-yard touchdown against the Oakland Raiders on the same weekend in 2015.
"This is one of the plays that Adrian Peterson has made a living on," Bowen said. "It's just an inside zone; it looks like a wedge blocking scheme. Everyone blocks down -- you just zone step to the inside here -- and you're telling the running back to come downhill or you bounce it outside."
But the play, as Bowen said, is "over from the jump," as T.J. Clemmings fails to secure a combo block on Cullen Jenkins after Brandon Fusco works up to linebacker Mason Foster. Jenkins drives Clemmings into the backfield, forcing Asiata to spin away, and Donte Whitner brings him down after a yard. It nets what the Vikings needed for a first down, but no more.
"Instead of going straight downhill, [Asiata] is forced to bubble, or bounce, immediately," Bowen said. "And now, the corner can make the tackle, because [Asiata]'s not square. He has to use a spin move; he's off-balance. He's not where he can naturally bounce that ball out, like A.P. did versus the Raiders. That's what you want as a defensive back."
Finally, on a third-and-1 three plays later, the Vikings put Asiata in the shotgun next to Sam Bradford and line up with three receivers. The Redskins, though, keep seven men in the box against the Vikings' six-man front, and Asiata's inside zone run is stopped for a 1-yard loss when Will Compton knifes into the backfield.
"What you're banking on there is, you're going to get a six-man box," Bowen said. "You're hoping it's going to be 6-on-6, but they're outnumbered, because Washington doesn't buy into it. They're not playing the zone coverage. They're playing downhill, and they're rolling the safety to the tight end side of the formation. It's almost like a run blitz, and it might be -- I'm not in their meeting room -- but this could be a 'single dog' blitz. The center and the guard are working on their original combo block; they're going to combo inside on the defensive tackle, and the center's going to work off to the linebacker. But the Redskins run this stunt, and the center's already past."
The play, Bowen said, is designed to go to the open side of the formation, away from the tight end, but the Vikings again give up backside penetration as Jake Long gets beat.
So what's the fix for the Vikings? They'll have to shuffle their line again this week, as Long has surgery on his Achilles tendon, and Bowen said the Vikings might benefit from more film work and correction periods than practice time at this point. They could also try to incorporate more misdirection and motion, to create matchup advantages. But the basic problem remains.
"You cannot fix an offensive line when it's almost Thanksgiving," he said.
