Editing Episode 614 (section)

=== The Blitz Rate ===
Arif published a piece at Wide Left Football on the Vikings' blitz rate and where it sits in NFL history. Key data points:

No team had exceeded a 61% blitz rate before Brian Flores with the Vikings. Last year, Flores broke that record with 63.3% — leading second place by 21 percentage points, a gap equal to the difference between second place and 18th. The 2026 Vikings, through two games, are blitzing at '''83%'''. The dot representing this on Arif's box-and-whisker chart is in the title card of the image — it cannot coexist on the same canvas as the rest of the data.

Against the Bears specifically, the blitz rate was 84.4%, with 27 of Caleb Williams' 32 dropbacks involving a blitz. Arif identified this as likely the most blitz-heavy defence in NFL history, with the caveat that tracking data only goes back to 2006 via PFF. The unique structural feature of the Flores defence: it is the only team running split-safety two-high coverages (Cover 4, Cover 6, Cover 2) behind the blitz, sometimes blitzing six while keeping four deep defenders in quarters. Arif described this as "truly psychotic behaviour."

Caleb Williams — who entered the game with a reputation for performing well against blitzes — finished with 2.5 adjusted net yards per attempt, one interception, zero touchdowns, three sacks, and a 29% success rate. Second-largest offensive point swing in the Super Bowl era, after a 1973 Falcons game. The largest recent comparable was the 2023 Vikings–Raiders game, also a Brian Flores defence.