Many adjustments needed to be made for the Vikings' last-place defense entering Saturday's historic comeback against the Colts, and the changes were evident from the first snap.
Patrick Peterson, typically the left corner, flipped sides of the field with cornerback Duke Shelley, who got his second start for Minnesota, and got face to face with Colts receiver Alec Pierce — an aggressive, pressing pose not often seen from the zone-heavy scheme.
Peterson, the 32-year-old stalwart, wasn't necessarily following a specific receiver throughout the 39-36 win. He consistently played the "boundary" position, or short side of the field based on where the ball was placed on the left or right hash mark. This was one of the many changes by coordinator Ed Donatell that allowed the defense to heed head coach Kevin O'Connell's call for a more aggressive approach.
Peterson often played man-to-man coverage without safety help, a big departure from the deep zones he's played all season. Safety Harrison Smith lurked around the line of scrimmage and made plays. Safety Camryn Bynum then often inched toward Shelley's side in deep support.
Changes in coverage and a second-half flurry of blitzes against Colts quarterback Matt Ryan led to the turnaround that allowed just 22 points (a mark bloated by field goals off offensive and special teams errors) and somehow kept the deficit surmountable.
By the final whistle, the Vikings sent five or more rushers on 14 of 37 passing downs, a 38% blitz rate that's well above the season average of 16.2% as tracked by Pro Football Reference. Extra rush came on the defense's final snap in overtime: Smith blitzed on third down and edge rusher Danielle Hunter got his fourth hit on Ryan to force an incompletion.
"Bringing a couple pressures on third down," linebacker Jordan Hicks said. "Even first and second down, we were bringing some pressures. Ed did a great job calling the game."
Donatell really cranked up the heat in the second half.
