How Brian Flores Beat the Lions: A Deep Dive on Interior Pressure and "Plus-Two" Coverage
A film breakdown of the 'Cross-Dog' and '3-Thru' pressures that stifled Jared Goff.
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The Brian Flores Minnesota defense is an enigma wrapped in a paradox that NFL offenses have been trying to figure out since 2023. How can a defense be the most aggressive team in the NFL, yet at the same time, the most conservative? It’s the central riddle to attacking the Vikings.
Minnesota leads the league in Blitz Rate (48.7%) and in zone coverage (76.4%). They are a statistical anomaly and reflect the genius of Brian Flores, who is blending precision all-out pressure with disciplined, split-field coverages.
The Vikings’ approach on defense is akin to playing a Flexbone offense in today’s pass-centric world. Just as the option fundamentally changes the way a defense attacks on standard downs, the Vikings replicate that philosophy on defense. Above, the chart displays how aggressive (Blitz Rate) and split-field dominant (passive) the Vikings defense is.
In Miami, Flores was famous for running all-out pressures with a modified Cover 0 behind them, which he calls “Hawk” coverage. After being fired and spending time in Pittsburgh, Flores met with Pat Narduzzi, the godfather of “Hot” pressures, which uses two underneath “vision” (Eyes) defenders with a Cover 3 shell (3-deep).
When designing a defense for the Vikings, Flores drew on his new knowledge and adjusted his Hawk coverage. He also shifted to more disguised or “simulated” pressures. In the chart above, the Vikings are not only the most aggressive defense in the NFL, but they also lead the league in disguised or simulated pressures.
Flores has completely flipped the defensive metas in the NFL. Blitzing overall in 2025 through nine weeks has risen to ~30%. That is up from 27.2 in ‘24, a shift also seen with other coordinators like Todd Bowles (Bucs), Raheem Morris (Falcons), and Anthony Weaver (Dolphins). Bowles has always been blitz-heavy, but the pivots by both Morris and Weaver illustrate a shift in pressure trends across the league.
For context, last season, the average zone coverage usage behind blitzes was ~34%. In 2025, that number has jumped to ~46%. Teams are shifting to zone pressures league-wide this season.
Where Flores remains distinct is early down pressures, where the Vikings are almost 14 points higher (51.4%) than the second-best team, the Dolphins (37.9%). When an offense has to play the Vikings, they have to account for pressure on early downs and coverage disguises (mostly non-traditional Tampa 2s) on later downs. Thus, the paradox of conservatism (shell coverage) and aggressive behavior (high blitz rates).
Traditionally, when defenses blitz, they use Fire Zones (3-under/3-deep) or Cover 1 (manup/protect the post). Since becoming the defensive coordinator in Minnesota, Flores has opted to run most of his coverages from the split-field menu.
Minnesota runs zone on a league-high 76.4% of its snaps. Even when blitzing, the Vikings opt for split-field coverage, running it on 52.8% of their pressures. The league average for 2-High pressures in ‘25 is ~26%. Flores has built a defense that counters the current play-action on early downs meta found offensively throughout the NFL.
Most of the Vikings’ simulated pressures come on later downs, but early in the series, Flores wants to punch the offense in the mouth. So much focus has traditionally been on winning 3rd Downs, when in reality a defense should be focusing on winning first. The offense has most of the leverage on later downs near the line of gain.
By making 3rd Downs longer, the defense has flipped the advantage. Win first; win third.
The defense in Minnesota is designed to stifle the run while layering coverages to defend early-down passing. Against the Lions in Week 9, and with a healthy roster, Fores illustrated his philosophy to perfection, resulting in a 27-24 victory over division rival the Detroit Lions.
Overall, the Lions are ranked 28th in early-down dropback passing attempts per game (20), but first in completion rate (78.1%) and tied fourth in yards per attempt (8.4). Against the Vikings, those numbers dropped significantly. Early down rushing in their Week 9 matchup also saw the Lions struggle to gain traction on the ground, averaging just 3.1 yards per rush (FTN).
Minnesota consistently put the Lions in obvious passing situations on 3rd Downs. That let Flores dive deep into his bag of disguised pressures. Overall, the Lions were 5-17 on 3rd Down (~29%), and of their 14 total dropbacks, only four resulted in a first down (28.5%). Goff also took a season-high five sacks.
Flores’s plan on passing downs was to attack the interior of the Lions’ offensive line and force the running backs, mainly Jahmyr Gibbs, to stay in for protection. Consistently throughout the game, the Vikings ran cross-dog and 3-Thru (the A-gaps) patterns. Plus, Gibbs consistently failed at his protection objective.
For a traditional “stand in the pocket” quarterback like Jared Goff, the internal pressure knocked him off his spot in the pocket. The Vikings also used multiple different coverages to keep the Lions honest in the passing game and compound the internal pressures. Let’s dive into the tape!
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