For better or worse, O’Connell’s aggressiveness was based on faith

GREEN BAY – The Minnesota Vikings’ victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday brought a wide range of emotions for purple-loving spectators, from the thrill of the first half to the terror of a near meltdown in the second half .

When everyone wakes up Monday morning and the Vikings are 4-0, nerves will have calmed down and the frustration of not putting the Packers away will be in the rearview mirror, but it’s worth spending some time on the second half of the 31-29 win because of what it says about the way head coach Kevin O’Connell approaches his team.

As the Vikings blew a 28-7 first-half lead in the second half, there were several instances where O’Connell could have pulled the emergency brake and tried to run out the clock through ground play, screens and short passes. Instead, he still leaned on the pass button, which kept getting the Vikings into trouble.

The first time we saw the duality of O’Connell’s aggressive playing style was at the start of the second half. After forcing a Green Bay punt early in the third quarter, quarterback Sam Darnold hit Jordan Addison for a 25-yard gain on a third-and-10 to set up a potential stab in the back. Then Darnold scrambled for a first down and running back Aaron Jones surged 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 have sure-footed kicker Will Reichard give them at least a 31-7 lead. Instead of hiding and taking the three extra points, the Vikings chose a pass and Darnold threw an interception, marking the second time in four games that he has thrown a red-zone pick with the opportunity to run away from an opponent (the others was vs. San Francisco).

The Vikings then had two more drives in the third quarter and only needed 5:18 minutes, which opened the door for the Packers to take off. Early in the fourth quarter, QB Jordan Love found his groove and led an 89-yard touchdown drive that lasted just 3:55, cutting the deficit to two points.

Again, O’Connell could have tried to waste time with his running backs or his screen game, but he made consecutive passes. The first time, Darnold slipped and twisted his feet, and the second time he was strip-sacked. Two games later, the Packers were within six points.

At this point, the head coach stuck to his strategy instead of 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. He then completed a short pass to Josh Oliver and found Jefferson again over the middle for a 27-yard gain.

When the dust settled, the Vikings scored a field goal that cut the lead to two points.

But we weren’t done with the head coach’s big swing mentality. After a stunning catch by Jefferson down the sideline, the Vikings were able to kick a field goal and take a 12-point lead with 2:21 to play. O’Connell went for fourth down and came up short, giving the Packers one last gasp.

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

After the win, O’Connell said his mindset wasn’t so much about game management theory, but about sending 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 that I’m going to be aggressive. I have nothing but confidence in the 11 guys in every phase of our team going out in those moments.”

Since the start of the season, O’Connell has expressed his confidence in tangible ways, be it by scoring his first fourth down of the season in the red zone and a touchdown, or by throwing a bomb from the Vikings’ 3-yard line and was rewarded with a 97-yard touchdown.

The Packers almost took advantage of some of the fumbles amid O’Connell’s bouts of aggression, but in the biggest moment of the game – the reaction to taking a nine-point lead late – Darnold once again proved his head coach right by trusting him.

“I’m just leaning on our quarterback and our guys in that group to get a really good drive right there,” O’Connell said. “I would have liked to get seven, but our boys executed critically and were able to react in the moment after losing a significant lead and then fighting back. I think this team is exactly what I want. I think they’re made of the right stuff and we’ll just keep playing.”

The more confidence Darnold shows in pressure situations, the more trust he will gain from O’Connell and the entire team. Aaron Jones described the way Darnold led them from the huddle in the fourth quarter when things seemed to be falling apart.

“He let everyone know, ‘Hey, one play at a time, we have to have it now,'” Jones said. “He said, ‘If you have any questions, ask me.’ He did a great job ordering that.”

Darnold finished the game with another great stat line: 20 of 28 for 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 when they come back. You always have to keep the attitude of taking one step before the other. As long as we continue to have that mindset on offense as a whole team, I think we’ll be fine.”

While the outside world maintains that the Vikings are the NFL’s biggest “surprise” team, O’Connell revealed last week that he had told the team before the season that his projection for them was much higher, so no success is likely to come as a shock to them.

“I just think it’s consistent with what I’ve been talking about,” O’Connell said. “Long before the first win came, the second, third or fourth win came… I just say the obvious in the locker room and confirm to them that I believe in them, that I love them and that we will ride together and we will stay aggressive and be smart at the same time. There’s always a line there, but I’m really proud of our guys.”

There is actually a line. No matter how much he believes in the team, the decisions in the future have to become more pragmatic and less symbolic.

On the other hand, this attitude helped the Vikings to 4-0. Relying on Darnold has gotten them to 4-0. They are now in the driver’s seat of the NFC, traveling to London to play the New York Jets.

“Nothing matters except the next thing. “It’s a hell of a challenge to go to London and play against a really good football team,” said O’Connell.