Vikings film review: How Sam Darnold turned a Colts pick into Jordan Addison’s huge catch in Chicago

Sitting with a 14-10 lead at halftime of Sunday’s game in Chicago, the Vikings wanted to do something they hadn’t done in the past couple of weeks: start the second half with a score.

During the Vikings’ Nov. 18 win in Tennessee, quarterback Sam Darnold and company went three-and-out to begin the second half. On Nov. 10 in Jacksonville, Darnold threw an interception with the first third-quarter series.

Not since the Nov. 3 win against the Colts had the Vikings come out of halftime and generated points right away.

So, coach Kevin O’Connell went back to a play from that Colts win to generate a spark. But this time, Darnold needed to make important adjustments. Because last time, Darnold forced a pass to Jefferson that was intercepted.

“If you go back and look at that play,” O’Connell said, “it was a pretty similar look.”

Let’s start with the Colts play. The Vikings align Jefferson (18) and Jordan Addison (3) to the same side of the field, or the “open” side of the field, which means it’s the side of the formation that has the most space; the ball is on the right hash, so the left side is “open” and the right side is the “boundary,” in football parlance.

Jefferson is running a deep in route, also called a dagger, that O’Connell has said is one of Darnold’s favorite throws to make. They’ve had a lot of success with it. The Colts were aware when Darnold tried to target Jefferson here. Jefferson drew attention from three defenders on this play.

The Colts defense appears to play a Cover 3 with three deep zones. But their boundary defensive back — or the defensive back to Darnold’s right — is playing very close to the line of scrimmage.

The coaching point from O’Connell to Darnold: If the defense isn’t covering deep on the boundary side, Addison will be open again like he was left open on this play.

Fast forward to Sunday’s third quarter in Chicago, where Darnold got a similar play call into his helmet on a first-and-10 play from his own 23-yard line.

Below you’ll see Bears safety Kevin Byard III (circled) creeping low on the boundary side.

“We had had some dialogue about that,” O’Connell said. “If they wanted to play tight down into the boundary right there, Sam, be ready.”

There’s a wrench thrown into the mix.

The Bears defense under coach Matt Eberflus plays sticky coverage. They hadn’t allowed much production by opposing receivers entering Week 12.

In the video below, you’ll see Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards (53) drop deep into his quarters assignment — or deep one-fourth of the field. Edwards does a pretty good job gaining ground downfield, but Addison does a better job of gaining depth over the top of him. Darnold sees it all. He throws a perfectly placed pass that can be better seen from the end-zone angle in the closing seconds of the video below.

“That was one of the prettier throws I’ve seen,” O’Connell said, “considering when you’re getting to that throw, Jordan understanding to take it a little bit higher than maybe normally over the top of the coverage. Just a phenomenal, phenomenal play to get us going.”

“The Addison throw,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said, “just a phenomenal throw in stride and in a tight window, closing in on the sideline. Great finish by Jordan.”

“I’m mad I didn’t score,” Addison said. “One day I need to do more wind sprints or something.”