The Jaguars aimed to take away Minnesota's explosive passes. Other teams will likely follow suit.
Coming into last weekend's game against the Vikings, the Jacksonville Jaguars had primarily been a man coverage, single-high safety defense this season. But when Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota offense stepped onto the field, that changed. The Jaguars mixed up their defense completely, playing with two high safeties on 93 percent of their snaps in an effort to prevent Jefferson from beating them with explosive plays.
To be clear, this isn't some new, groundbreaking strategy. Teams have used two-high shells, safety help, double-teams, and all kinds of coverages against Jefferson throughout his prolific career. Kevin O'Connell is used to No. 18 being the primary focus of defenses every week. But the Jaguars seemed to lean into it more than anyone else had this season.
"For me personally, it's about taking what the defense gives me," Darnold said. "Obviously, it's a cliche, but for a reason. If they want to play it deep to short on first and second down, having that mindset of just finding completions. But at the same time, if we have something on to be able to beat that coverage, let it rip and have all the confidence in the world doing it.
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