That Explosive Vikings Offense

It's really too early in the 2017 NFL season to start pounding anything in stone but the Minnesota Vikings are sporting a pretty explosive offense. It's been a while. The offense was described as dink-and-dunk last year and that was generous. There was no running game and the offensive line was a sieve. Quarterback Sam Bradford was forced to throw short simply because he had no time to do anything else. If you're a fan of offensive football, and nearly everyone that watches the game is, the Vikings offense have been a tough watch in recent years. Through three games they've been one of the most explosive offensive teams in the league.

Some Team Numbers:

Total Offense (ypg)
1. New England Patriots 440.7
2. Minnesota Vikings 400.3
3. Kansas City Chiefs 397.3
4. Attlanta Falcons 388
5. Tennessee Titans 386.7

Passing Offense (ypg)
1. New England Patriots 340
2. Green Bay Packers 291.3
3. Minnesota Vikings 285.3
4. Arizona Cardinals 284
5. New Orleans Saints 281.7

Most Explosive Plays (pass play of 15+ yards, run plays of 11+ yards)
1. New England Patriots 39
2. Atlanta Falcons 31
3. Arizona Cardinals 29
3. St. Louis Rams 29
5. Minnesota Vikings 28

The Vikings might've totaled 28 explosive plays all of last season.

The interesting thing about the Vikings suddenly explosive offense is that they are doing most of it through the air. Other than the Brett Favre-led 2009 season the offense has run through Adrian Peterson since 2007. They were a running team. Anything that they got through the air was likely because defenses were so focused on stopping Peterson. It was a good plan. Slow Peterson and you slow the Vikings. The 2017 version of the Vikings aren't so one-sided. Most of the offensive production has been generated through the air but the running game is ranked 11th in the league. That's probably the best balance that the team has had since the days of Cris Carter, Randy Moss, Jake Reed, and Robert Smith. Leroy Hoard too. The current team has nearly hit 500 yards in two of the three games (470 in week 1, 494 in week 3). They also hit those totals with two different quarterbacks. Sam Bradford played in week 1. He injured his knee in the game. Backup Case Keenum has been under center for the last two games. Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steerlers was an offensive hiccup (237 yards). Perhaps due to the fact that Keenum learned that he was starting moments before the game. Hopefully that game remains the outlier. Both Bradford and Keenum have been the week's top quarterback by Pro Football Focus. Bradford had a 93.9 rating in week 1. Keenun nipped that last Sunday with a 94.6. There are several reasons for this strong quarterback play. An obvious reason is the playmakers available to the Vikings quarterbacks. Those playmakers can be found among the league's statistical leaders.

Some Individual Numbers

Receiving Yards
1. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh, 354
2. Adam Thielen, Minnesota, 299
3. Stefon Diggs, Minnesota, 293
4. Julio Jones, Atlanta, 265
5. T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis, 259

Rushing Yards
1. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City, 401
2. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota, 288
3. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco, 253
4. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles, 241
5. C.J. Anderson, Denver, 235

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has been able to implement and the players have been able to execute an aggressive offense. Shurmur stepped into an offensive mess last season when then offensive coordinator Norv Turner decided that it was time for him to leave the team. We'll likely never know Turner's reasons for leaving and it doesn't really matter now. This is Shurmur's offense and he's making the most of the opportunity. He's also making the most of the talent on the team. Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs, and Adam Thielen have gained most of the yardage and made most of the big plays but they aren't alone. Tight end Kyle Rudolph, running back Jerick McKinnon, and receiver Jarius Wright have contributed plays that have moved the chains. Shurmur gets another offensive weapon and the quarterbacks get a big target in two weeks when receiver Michael Floyd re-joins the team after serving a suspension. His addition and a hopefully increased role for Laquon Treadwell give the Vikings an incredibly deep receiver group.

None of this early success would be possible if it weren't for a vastly improved offensive line. This is an entirely new line. None of the five played together in an NFL game before week 1 of this season. Three of the five are new to the team.  Left tackle Riley Reiff and right tackle Mike Remmers were signed as free agents in the offseason. Center Pat Elflein was selected in the third round of April's draft. Left guard Nick Easton was a center last season. Right guard Joe Berger has played all three interior line positions in his career but center was his job last season. It's a new line and a much improved one. It was a commonly held belief that if the offensive line could reach simply average it would be a tremendous improvement and the offense might move the ball a bit. Through three games the line has been much better than simply average. The Vikings have a running game after having nothing resembling one last season. The quarterbacks have had time to assess their pass-catching options down the field and get the ball to them. They no longer have to dump the ball short simply because they don't have time to wait for routes beyond six yards to develop. Football starts in the trenches. There are several reasons for the Vikings offensive explosion. The biggest reason is the biggest players on the team. It starts with them.

It's still so early. The fast, explosive start won't mean a thing if the Vikings offense can't sustain it for as long as the 2017 season lasts.