Brian Flores blitzes on 79 percent of snaps. Here is how the Bucs can survive it

The number that defines Sunday's game is 79.3. That is the share of defensive snaps on which the Minnesota Vikings have sent a blitz through two weeks, according to Buccaneers.com's weekly By the Numbers column. No other defense is close. Carolina is second at 53.2 percent, and Tampa Bay itself is third at 48.6 percent.

Key facts

• Minnesota blitzes on 79.3 percent of its defensive snaps, the highest rate in the NFL, ahead of Carolina at 53.2 percent.
• The Vikings blitzed Jordan Love on 78.3 percent of his dropbacks in a 39-22 Week 1 win over Green Bay.
• Minnesota has eight sacks in two games and beat Chicago 9-3 in Week 2.
• Tampa Bay allowed four sacks at Cincinnati and three against Cleveland, seven in two games.
• Bucky Irving has 11 catches, tied for the most by a running back in the NFL.

For an 0-2 team whose offense has struggled to protect the ball, it is the worst possible week to meet the most aggressive defense in the league. The Vikings (2-0) visit Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, September 27, at 4:05 PM ET, 22:05 CEST, on FOX.

What Brian Flores has done in two weeks

Brian Flores has made the blitz the identity of his defense, and the first two games show both sides of it.

In Week 1 against Green Bay, Minnesota blitzed Jordan Love on 78.3 percent of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. In the first half it did not work. The Vikings blitzed on 15 of Love's 18 dropbacks and gave up 189 passing yards and two touchdowns on those plays. In the second half the pressure got home: four sacks and an interception on blitzes, and a 39-22 win.

Week 2 at Chicago was a different kind of game. In the rain at Soldier Field, the Vikings held the Bears to a single field goal, blocked a potential game-tying kick and won 9-3. Minnesota now has eight sacks in two games and ranks fifth in the NFL in sacks per pass play.

The lesson from Green Bay matters for the Bucs. When a quarterback beats the first wave of pressure, the blitz leaves defenders isolated in coverage, and big plays follow. When he does not, the game turns quickly.

Why this hits the Bucs where it hurts

Tampa Bay allowed four sacks at Cincinnati and three against Cleveland, seven in two games. The bigger issue has been the ball itself. In Week 1, Baker Mayfield was responsible for three of the four fumbles the Bucs lost, and turnovers have been the thread through both losses, as we laid out in our look at Mayfield's turnovers and accuracy.

A defense that sends extra rushers on four of every five snaps forces fast decisions, and fast decisions under pressure are where fumbles and forced throws come from. The offense has also been searching for rhythm under Zac Robinson, which we covered in what is wrong with the Bucs offense after 0-2.

Mayfield knows what is coming. "You have to have a Cover Zero plan," he said on Bucs Blitz this week, adding that Minnesota does "an incredible job of mixing up looks." His point is that the danger is not only the blitz itself. Flores shows the same look before the snap, then either sends everyone or drops eight into coverage. Reading which one it is, quickly, is the whole job.

The quick answer: Bucky Irving

Buccaneers.com's numbers point to one release valve. Bucky Irving has 11 catches through two games, tied with Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs and Atlanta's Bijan Robinson for the most by a running back in the NFL. He is averaging 4.5 yards per catch, which is not explosive, but against a blitz the value of a quick completion is that the play happens before the pressure arrives.

Short throws to the backs, hot routes against the blitz and quick timing throws are the standard answer to a defense like this one. The Bucs showed some of that approach in Week 1, when Robinson leaned on motion and play action, as we broke down in our Week 1 film study.

The other side of the ball

Minnesota brings its own question mark at quarterback. Kyler Murray has cleared the concussion protocol and is expected to start, as we reported in Kyler Murray cleared to start against the Bucs. A mobile quarterback is a test for a Bucs defense that has had its own problems, detailed in what is wrong with the Bucs defense after two games.

There is one encouraging number. Tampa Bay ranks seventh in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage allowed at 37.5 percent, after finishing last in the league in that category in 2025.

What to watch on Sunday

• How often Minnesota blitzes on early downs, and whether the Bucs make them pay with quick throws to Irving and the tight ends.
• Ball security. The Bucs cannot win a game against this defense with multiple fumbles.
• The second half. Green Bay beat the blitz early and still lost by 17 once the pressure started getting home.

The full matchup page with kickoff times, weather and the live game center is at Bucs vs Vikings, Week 3. If you are watching from Europe, the how to watch guide for this game has every channel.