The Vikings managed just 46 rushing yards from their backfield in Week 8, with Aaron Jones contributing 22 and Jordan Mason adding 20. Mason led the way with a 50% carry share, compared with 31% for Jones. Minnesota also mixed in No. 3 RB DeeJay Dallas, who handled one carry and played 34% of the snaps.
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Sunday's usage was a bit surprising.
In Week 7, Mason led in snaps (63%) and carry share (63%). He even topped Jones in route rate (37% to 20%).
But Mason's usage dipped against the Lions, with his snap share even coming in behind Dallas' (28% to 34%). Mason also went without a target for the second time in three games, while he's yet to record a catch this season.
Mason simply wasn't good on his 8 attempts, averaging 2.5 yards per carry. He added -0.5 rush yards over expected per attempt and -4.0 rush EPA.
Jones was slightly better on his 5 carries, but it's clear by now that there's no rhythm to this run game.
"We've got to take a look at it and find the perfect balance to be able to run it when we want to run it," HC Kevin O'Connell said in the postgame press conference.
The Vikings have been named as a potential landing spot for Jonathan Taylor, but any addition would threaten to further shake up the touch distribution here. In the meantime, neither back looks like more than a flex option.
Next up is a Buffalo defense that's allowed at least one rushing score in each game.
