The Vikings give up a lot of receptions and the Chiefs drop a lot of passes. Something has to give when they square off Sunday in what could very well become the newest episode of the Jim Nantz Curse in Vikings history. Anyway, here are 10 numbers that stand out when looking ahead to the showdown between Minnesota and KC.
13 — Chiefs receivers lead the NFL with 13 drops through four games. That’s literally 9.1% of Patrick Mahomes passes that have been dropped. Now Mahomes gets to go up against a Minnesota defense that has allowed a ton of completions.
80.8 — That’s the completion percentage for opposing quarterbacks against the Vikings, excluding Baker Mayfield’s 3 of 11 start in Week 1. Mayfield connected on 18 of 23 passes to end that game and then Jalen Hurts went 18 of 23, Justin Herbert was 40 of 47 and Bryce Young was 25 of 32. Add ’em all up and that’s 101 of 125, or 80.8%.
3.7 — Chiefs runners are averaging 3.7 yards before contact. In other words, running back Isaiah Pacheco is getting the ball and getting 3.7 yards of positive gain before defenders typically make contact with him. That’s a nod to KC’s offensive line for moving the defensive line down the field.
0 — Vikings have zero broken tackles on running plays. Kansas City has 10. The Lions lead the NFL with 19. How it’s possible to have a running back without a broken tackle through four games is a mystery to us, but that’s what the Football-Reference data shows.
24 — Kirk Cousins has taken 24 hits through four games. No quarterback has been hit more than Cousins, though Mahomes is close, tied for second at 21.
22 — Mahomes has been hurried an NFL high 22 times. That’s a big number that Minnesota will need to mimic to limit Mahomes on Sunday. The Jets pressured him 18 times and the result was Mahomes going 8 of 15 for just 58 yards, one interception and one sack. The Bears pressured him just seven times in Week 3. The Jags got to him 11 times in Week 2 and he was 5 of 10 for 111 yards and an interception. In Week 1 Mahomes was pressured 20 times by the Lions he went 8 of 16 for 127 yards and a touchdown.
2.6 — An average of 2.6 seconds passes before Kirk Cousins feels pressure in the pocket, according to the advanced stats from Football-Reference. That’s better than the 2.4 seconds Mahomes is getting. The best pocket time in the league is 2.7 seconds (Bears, Broncos, Browns) and the worst is 1.7 seconds for Giants QB Daniel Jones.
6 — The Vikings have lost six consecutive games when Jim Nantz is the television play-by-play announcer. And these aren’t your typical losses. The six include blowout losses to the Cowboys and Packers last season, the Josh Allen jumping over Anthony Barr game, a walk-off loss to the Lions and a defeat at the hands of Chase Daniel and the Bears.
14 — That’s the number of pressures allowed by Chiefs left tackle Donovan Smith and Vikings right guard Ed Ingram. The difference this week however might be that Smith is still starting while Ingram could be replaced by Dalton Risner. Only nine offensive linemen in the NFL have allowed more than 14 pressures this season.
16 — That’s how many “missed tackles forced” Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco has, according to Pro Football Focus. That ranks fifth in the NFL and his PFF elusive rating of 115.2 is also fifth best in the league. On the flip side, Alexander Mattison of the Vikings has an elusive rating of 37.1, which ranks 37th in the league.
