The Minnesota Vikings should preserve Kyler Murray’s freedom to scramble when a passing play opens up, while being picky about the contact he risks along the way. His progress against New Orleans offered a useful case for accepting that trade-off.
Murray had seven scrambles for 54 yards, plus three kneel-downs that left his official line at 10 carries for 51 yards. He converted three third downs with his legs. His 18-yard escape on third-and-10 ended out of bounds and sustained the drive that ended with Justin Jefferson’s touchdown.
Turning a potential third-down stop into another chance for Jefferson is exactly the payoff Kevin O’Connell should want. A scramble exploits an opening on a passing play; a designed keeper turns the play into a run. Seven scrambles shouldn’t become a quota O’Connell needs to fill.
Minnesota Vikings should evaluate how Kyler Murray finishes scrambles
Preserving those improvised gains is worth some exposure. "There's just a certain risk-reward here that I think is worth taking, and I think we found it against the Saints," said SKOR North's Judd Zulgad on the Oct. 17 episode of the "Purple Daily" podcast.
Early exits are part of that bargain. "He's smart to make sure it's a baseball slide," observed Zulgad. Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins thought Murray appeared to go down earlier against New Orleans than against Green Bay.
"That and, maybe this is just me reading it, but it also felt like he slid a few yards before he got to the contact, right," said Scoggins. "He saw he was going to take a hit, and then he went down. That's a veteran understanding: I won't get two extra yards, but I'm going to be healthy."
Murray’s concussion against Green Bay also came off a slide, with Javon Bullard flagged for unnecessary roughness. Scoggins’ impression deserves consideration, but it doesn’t show that Murray can slide his way out of every dangerous hit.
A lane to the sticks can justify taking off; a defender closing from the side can change where the run should end. Once he’s secured the first down, two extra yards into a converging defender offer little payoff.
Even a scramble short of the marker can matter. Murray’s seven yards on third-and-13 set up Will Reichard’s 55-yard field goal, pushing Minnesota’s lead to 23-13 with just over seven minutes left. That kick had value even without converting, a good reminder to weigh field position before demanding he squeeze out more yards.
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