Editing Episode 617 (section)

=== Historic Blitz Rate and Pressure Statistics ===
The Vikings' blitz rate varies by data source: 63.8% (Sumer), 67.9% (Next Gen Stats), 77.3% (TFF). Regardless of which figure is correct, all three put the Vikings between 20 and 25 percentage points ahead of the second-most-blitzing team in the league — the Washington Commanders under Dorante Jones, formerly a defensive backs coach for Brian Flores.
 
Arif is in the middle of hand-charting historic high-blitz defences — the Buddy Ryan Eagles, the Rex Ryan Ravens and Jets, the Cowboys Doomsday defence — to compare their blitz rates to the current Vikings' figure and contextualise whether the blitz rate itself is historic.
 
The Vikings also lead the league in pressure rate: 46% (PFF), 48% (Sumer), 46.8% (Next Gen Stats), with all three companies ranking them first. They lead the league in sacks at a 10.3% sack rate. The standard schematic design, per analyst Derek Klossen writing for the Athletic, is a five-man rush as the base with the four-man rush as the changeup — the inverse of conventional defensive philosophy. Blitzes are designed with run-containment principles built in, particularly on first down, to preserve the right to use more aggressive packages on third and long.
 
The run defence is adequate: the Dolphins' Ollie Gordon ran for 110 yards on nine carries including a 53-yard run, with a 44% success rate; the Vikings rank fifth in EPA allowed per rush, meaning the long run distorts the box score more than the underlying performance.