Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips ‘embarrassed’ by eight false-start penalties

Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, who usually skips an opening statement in his weekly remarks to local media, dived in right away Tuesday on one of the most important issues in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens: eight false-start penalties.

“Obviously something we can’t have,” Phillips said. “That’s losing football. To lose the turnover battle, pre-snap penalties — that’s not winning football. I personally am embarrassed by it. We got the unit together. We have a plan going forward to make sure none of that happens again."

Five false starts were against offensive linemen, including three on veteran right tackle Brian O’Neill. Rookie tight end Ben Yurosek, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback J.J. McCarthy were also guilty parties.

Five of the flags flew on first downs, putting the Vikings behind the sticks early, and the other three came on third or fourth downs, putting them in must-pass situations on late downs.

Phillips was vague about the details of the fix for the problem, but said clarity on “expectation and procedure throughout” was an emphasis and that the team had found “the right group of guys.”

Center Ryan Kelly is still on injured reserve, though the Vikings could open his practice window soon.

“As a football coach, you want to see a clean operation, particularly at home,” Phillips said. “We’ve actually functioned better in a crowd at times, obviously, than we did last week.”

The Vikings will face the Bears and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams for the second time this season on Sunday.

They beat the Bears in Chicago 27-24 in Week 1. That game, though, required a major fourth-quarter comeback because of Williams’ ability to evade tackles early in the game.

Ten weeks later, Williams and the Bears have settled in more under new head coach Ben Johnson. They’re on a two-game win streak with six total wins under their belts.

“You can see major improvements just from mechanics, command of the offense,” Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores said of Williams. “He’s still one of the most elusive and big-time quarterbacks in terms of mobility and arm strength and can make throws from every angle, but certainly a lot better at just sitting in the pocket and making throws.”

Williams, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings in Week 1, has the eighth-most carries (48) and rushing yards (246) league-wide for quarterbacks this season. He averages 5.1 yards per carry and 2.25 yards after contact.

Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman commented Monday on “how slippery Caleb is.” Cashman suffered a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve chasing down Williams on a second-and-6 scramble that resulted in a 13-yard pickup in Week 1.

“He’s given us problems in the past, so we’re gonna have to do a really good job of getting the ball out fast and containing him in the pocket and getting a little push,” Cashman said.