Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer wanted Pro Bowl cornerback Xavier Rhodes to shadow Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson on Saturday.
Rhodes and the Vikings defensive backs had other plans.
In an amazing post-game admission, Rhodes said he and his teammates in the secondary decided against following Zimmer’s plan for Nelson in the first half, per Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"Us, as DBs, felt we could handle him." #Vikings defenders go against Mike Zimmer's game plan for Jordy Nelson https://t.co/LqD9RYv9wU
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) December 24, 2016
Nelson torched the Vikings for nine catches, 154 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t until the second half that Zimmer fixed the problem and reinstated his original game plan for Nelson.
Rhodes said the secondary made their own decisions on how to cover him in the first half.
“We felt as a team, as players, we came together and we felt like we’d never done that when we played against the Packers,” Rhodes said, per Krammer. “Us as DBs felt like we could handle him. That’s how we felt as DBs that we could stay on our side and cover him. In the beginning, we’d always played against them and played our sides, so that’s what we as DBs went with.”
Neither Rhodes nor Zimmer identified which player made the final decision to defy the head coach.
The Vikings went into half time trailing 28-13, with Aaron Rodgers hitting Nelson for two scores during the first two quarters. He caught just two passes after half time.
Teammates rebelling against coaches isn’t unprecedented in the NFL, but such a blatant disregard for a gameplan of a respected coach like Mike Zimmer is certainly surprising.
The Vikings, who are now 7-8 after a 5-0 start, were eliminated from postseason contention with Saturday’s loss to Nelson and the Packers.
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