The Vikings blitzed more than any team in the NFL last season.
According to Pro Football Reference, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores utilized blitzes on 38.9% of dropbacks. Since Flores joined the Vikings in 2023, he has made it a staple of his defense to bring extra pressure.
In the two matchups against the Bears last season, Flores blitzed Caleb Williams on 50.5% of his dropbacks. As a rookie, Williams completed 27 of 39 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns when Flores elected to blitz.
That’s a good start for Williams because he will no doubt see more blitzes on Monday night when the Bears host the Vikings at Soldier Field to kick off their 2025 season.
How can the Bears deal with the Vikings' blitz packages on Monday?
There are ways Williams and head coach Ben Johnson can combat the blitz. Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle confirmed that getting to the line of scrimmage early in the play clock can help.
“I think that's a really good point to make,” Doyle told reporters on Friday. “A lot of this stuff is the chess match. This is a scheme that provides challenges. I think it's always good to have good tempo going to the line of scrimmage, the earlier we get there the more we might be able to help the quarterback or whatever that may be. Certainly, against a scheme like this that varies a lot. You want to be playing with good tempo as an offense.”
Flores’ defense tends to move players around, especially outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. So identifying where he is early in the play may help diagnose what a player like him is doing on a specific rep.
After Williams and the rest of the offense get to the line of scrimmage, designed presnap motions can then help identify how the Vikings want to apply pressure.
“I think a lot of times with movement as things change and pieces move, defenses have to one, communicate, and secondly, a lot of times they have to show you and tip their hand a little bit,” Doyle said. “Because they don't know whether you are getting ready to snap it or you're going to move and get set, whatever that may be. A lot of times you can get a defense a little bit off balance and make them play left-handed just by moving guys around.”
Since the early days of OTAs, Johnson’s offense has incorporated presnap motion. Expect plenty of it on Monday night against Flores.
Also, expect Williams to weaponize his cadence against the aggressive defense. It’s something that benefits the offense while also slowing down the opposition.
“On every given snap, anytime you're throwing the ball or running the ball, but specifically throwing it, we're in a race,” Doyle said. “The wideouts are in a race really with the D-line. Anytime you can give your guys a head start or slow them (the D-line) down, that can be a weapon that we can utilize. Everything is so timing-related in the passing game. Same thing with our get off in the run game. Really trying to give our guys an advantage at all times and making sure that he's consistent with that cadence. We vary it, that's just something we work every day.”
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Johnson will have plenty of tactics at his disposal on Monday night to combat the Vikings’ blitz-heavy scheme. If the Bears can take away Flores’ signature on defense, then Williams will have a good opportunity to earn his first career victory against the Vikings to open up the 2025 NFL season.