The situation: The Vikings are down 7-0 with the Saints facing a 2nd and 5 at the Vikings 34 with 4:57 left in the first quarter.
The reason: New Orleans is in scoring range with an opportunity to put the Vikings in a two score deficit. The Saints opt to throw after a productive five-yard gain from running back Khiry Robinson on first down.
The result: Saints quarterback Drew Brees connects with tight end Josh Hill for a 34-yard touchdown to go up 13-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
How it happened:
The Saints are bunched up tight in 13 personnel, meaning one running back and three tight ends. The Vikings are in their base 4-3 defense. We'll focus on the right side of the Saints formation, where Hill (circled in blue) and tight end Jimmy Graham (circled in red) are lined up. Safety Robert Blanton (circled in yellow) creeps up to about five yards from the line of scrimmage right before the ball is snap with cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to his left.
Once the ball is snapped, it appears that the Vikings are in a Cover 3 defense (see here for example of a Cover 3 defense) with Harrison Smith as the lone safety up top defending the middle of the field. Graham (circled in red) runs a five-yard dig route, while Hill runs a seem route. Brees isn't even looking that way at the start of the play however. He's staring down wide receiver Kenny Stills, who is covered by cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Smith slides to his right following Brees' eyes.
As much credit as Brees gets for his ability to elude pressure, he's one of the best at manipulating safeties. He pump fakes to Stills, then looks back to his right. Hill is wide open, and Smith (circled in red) is out of position. Initially, it looked as if it was Blanton's fault (circled in yellow). His assignment, though, is to guard the curl/flat routes. You can see him point back as Hill runs right by him. We should also note that Munnerlyn's assignment based on a traditional Cover 3 look is the deep third of the right side of the field inside the numbers. Instead of playing that spot, he's accounting for Graham underneath along with Blanton. We should note we're not sure if he was given a different assignment in this situation, but he'd be out of a position in a Cover 3 defense.
Brees makes a nice throw with Hill wide open. Right as Hill makes the catch, a few offensive linemen throw their hands up (circled in yellow) in celebration. They know it's either 1st and goal or six points if Hill makes this catch, which he does. Smith is late on the recovery with Blanton and Munnerlyn chasing the down the tight end eight yards away, leading to the Saints second touchdown on their second drive.
