Minnesota's offensive line has been depleted all year. They are having a hard time creating anything on the ground and keeping Cousins clean.
It is very hard to win in the NFL if you don't have balance. Minnesota currently ranks #31 (out of 32) for rushing attempts per game at 21.1. Also, they only average 4.1 yards per attempt and rank #30 in total yards rushing. To make up for that, Minnesota ranks #3 for passing attempts per game at 40.3.
Minnesota is behind only Pittsburgh in the ratio of passing to rushing. Teams in the top half of that ratio are 87-117-4 (41.8%) and teams in the bottom half are 119-89 (57.2%).
Teams in bold below are either leading their division or have high winning percentages.
TEAM - (Pass:Run Ratio)
Pittsburgh Steelers 1.99
Minnesota Vikings 1.91
Atlanta Falcons 1.87
Green Bay Packers 1.79
Cincinnati Bengals 1.69
Indianapolis Colts 1.69
New York Giants 1.64
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1.6
Philadelphia Eagles 1.55
Kansas City Chiefs 1.49
Detroit Lions 1.48
Oakland Raiders 1.47
Denver Broncos 1.41
Jacksonville Jaguars 1.37
Cleveland Browns 1.36
Arizona Cardinals 1.35
Carolina Panthers 1.35
Los Angeles Rams 1.29
Washington Redskins 1.29
Los Angeles Chargers 1.26
New England Patriots 1.26
New York Jets 1.26
Miami Dolphins 1.22
San Francisco 49ers 1.2
Baltimore Ravens 1.18
Chicago Bears 1.15
Dallas Cowboys 1.13
New Orleans Saints 1.08
Buffalo Bills 1.07
Houston Texans 1.0
Tennessee Titans 0.99
Seattle Seahawks 0.82
Bottom line is that NFL teams must be able to run the ball effectively to have regular season success. Minnesota cannot do that this year.
It is very hard to win in the NFL if you don't have balance. Minnesota currently ranks #31 (out of 32) for rushing attempts per game at 21.1. Also, they only average 4.1 yards per attempt and rank #30 in total yards rushing. To make up for that, Minnesota ranks #3 for passing attempts per game at 40.3.
Minnesota is behind only Pittsburgh in the ratio of passing to rushing. Teams in the top half of that ratio are 87-117-4 (41.8%) and teams in the bottom half are 119-89 (57.2%).
Teams in bold below are either leading their division or have high winning percentages.
TEAM - (Pass:Run Ratio)
Pittsburgh Steelers 1.99
Minnesota Vikings 1.91
Atlanta Falcons 1.87
Green Bay Packers 1.79
Cincinnati Bengals 1.69
Indianapolis Colts 1.69
New York Giants 1.64
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1.6
Philadelphia Eagles 1.55
Kansas City Chiefs 1.49
Detroit Lions 1.48
Oakland Raiders 1.47
Denver Broncos 1.41
Jacksonville Jaguars 1.37
Cleveland Browns 1.36
Arizona Cardinals 1.35
Carolina Panthers 1.35
Los Angeles Rams 1.29
Washington Redskins 1.29
Los Angeles Chargers 1.26
New England Patriots 1.26
New York Jets 1.26
Miami Dolphins 1.22
San Francisco 49ers 1.2
Baltimore Ravens 1.18
Chicago Bears 1.15
Dallas Cowboys 1.13
New Orleans Saints 1.08
Buffalo Bills 1.07
Houston Texans 1.0
Tennessee Titans 0.99
Seattle Seahawks 0.82
Bottom line is that NFL teams must be able to run the ball effectively to have regular season success. Minnesota cannot do that this year.
