Vikings mailbag: What's up with all the penalties by the offense lately?

As part of our expanded Vikings playoff coverage this week, we will answer daily reader questions. You can email your questions to andrew.krammer@startribune.com, or send them to @Andrew_Krammer on Twitter.

Q: For most of this season, I've been impressed with how well Kevin O'Connell's staff runs games. Kirk Cousins has had plenty of time to get plays off, few penalties, etc. But in the last couple games, we've had delay of game calls, 12 men on the field, and more. What happened? – Rick Cornish

The Vikings offense had 10 operation penalties – five false starts, four delay of game penalties and one 12 men on the field call – in the last two games. Not coincidentally, those games have come when they've shuffled the offensive line around with No. 3 center Chris Reed taking over and Oli Udoh stepping in for the injured Brian O'Neill. While quarterback Kirk Cousins has had some delay of game penalties this year (six in 15 games before this stretch) because he's handling a lot at the line, these operational penalties are uncharacteristic of Kevin O'Connell's Vikings.

Minnesota enters the playoffs as the NFL's fifth-least penalized team (98 total flags accepted, declined or offset) and the least penalized among NFC playoff teams during the regular season. All five false start penalties in the last two games are attributed to backups playing. Reed didn't snap on time twice during his emergency action in Green Bay; rookie tackle Vederian Lowe had two flags in his NFL debut on offense, and Udoh had a false start in Chicago. Depending on how center Garrett Bradbury's back and tackle Blake Brandel's knee respond to practice this week, the Vikings could be relying on Reed and Udoh again against the Giants.