In one of his last meetings of the day on Saturday, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell let the team’s skill position players know he was making a slight change to a pass play they had in the game plan for their matchup with the Packers on Sunday.
The play called for Jordan Addison to stop on a short route from the slot, before turning and breaking downfield while Justin Jefferson ran an intermediate in-breaking route. O’Connell wanted to adjust the timing of the play slightly, to account for the possibility the Packers would send pressure.
“For him to be able to take the verbal cues of that adjustment, really not get a chance to practice again, and then do it in a pretty big spot there, kind of [shows] his ability to take some of those things and make them come to life,” O’Connell said of Addison.
Addison stopped his route about 4 yards past the line of scrimmage, baiting safety Javon Bullard into a short throw, then swiveled his hips around to sprint upfield and gain a step on Bullard. He stretched out to haul in the 18-yard touchdown pass from Darnold, who threw before Edgerrin Cooper could reach him on a blitz. The pass put the Vikings up 20-3 in the third quarter of a 27-25 win.
”Kind of a unique play there, where he’s stopping and restarting again,” O’Connell said. “What makes him so special, he puts on display.”
The second-year receiver has done it especially in the past four weeks, scoring five touchdowns in that time to give him 10 (one rushing) for the season to tie Justin Jefferson for the team lead. The Vikings had Jefferson and Addison on the field together for only 10 games last year, and only five of those came with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. This year, Jefferson and Sam Darnold have been healthy, while Addison returned from a preseason left ankle sprain and the sprained right ankle that caused him to miss two games after a hip drop tackle in the season opener.
Jefferson and Addison have referred to themselves as the best wide receiver duo in the league; Addison’s production in his second season has helped the Vikings make defenses pay for keying on Jefferson. On Sunday, he showed the footwork that attracted O’Connell to him in the first place.
”His route-running ability was what jumped off the tape from college, both at Pitt and USC in totally different offenses, doing totally different things in a lot of ways,” O’Connell said. “You pair his detail and what [wide receiver coach] Keenan [McCardell] has equipped him with in our system, and really, the versatility.”