The Minnesota Vikings eking out a 12-7 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Like last week, Minnesota’s offense suffered from self-inflicted issues in the first half, with Darnold throwing two red-zone interceptions. One came from a deflected pass intended for Justin Jefferson, and the other was on a third controversial call in three weeks as Buster Brown intercepted a pass that almost certainly touched the ground.
The offense moved the ball in the first half. However, the Vikings were inexplicably unable to find the end zone, allowing the Jaguars to go into the half with a 7-3 lead.
Much of the same happened at the start of the second half. Darnold threw his third pick in the red zone early, again targeting Jefferson. Deep into the fourth quarter, the Vikings had possessed the ball for most of the game (with over half their snaps in Jaguars territory) but still had to settle for three. While they ended up extending the lead to 12-7, the defense bailed the offense out twice, causing a Jaguars turnover with good field position — only for the offense to squander it and get a combined three points.
Jacksonville’s offense had a chance to win the game late. However, Mac Jones‘s overthrow to a waiting Cam Bynum ended their hopes.
Here are five numbers that shine maybe more light than you’d like on a pretty ugly game.
95.5%
In the first half, the Jaguars played split safety coverage on 21 of the 22 passing snaps. Last week, on the Vikings Mic’d Up, Jefferson spoke about how excited he got when the Indianapolis Colts’ defense showed him a single-high press look. He got no such looks throughout the first half of the Jaguars game. They seemed intent on committing defensive backs to limit Jefferson’s production.
The Vikings offense shifted its identity somewhat to counteract the split-safety looks it was getting, relying more on Josh Oliver and T.J. Hockenson to capitalize on the soft middle of the defense. It worked, and the offense could move the ball through the first half. Still, Darnold threw all three interceptions in the red zone when targeting Jefferson in the split-safety coverage.
Minnesota’s pass-heavy offense avoided mistakes and turnovers throughout the first seven weeks of the season. However, it has four interceptions in the red zone in two weeks.
2021
Sam Darnold last threw three interceptions on November 17, 2021. Entering the game, Jacksonville’s defense had recorded only two total interceptions this season, the least of any NFL team. Darnold gave them the ball three times. Coming into this week, the Jaguars ranked 31st in passing defense, but Minnesota’s offense failed to capitalize on that.
In games like these, the more you allow a team that is down and dejected to hang around, the more you give them the belief that they can pull off an upset. Darnold didn’t seem to be the answer today. The Vikings eventually took the lead by settling for three instead of forcing the issue.
3
After recording another interception this week, Byron Murphy has three straight games with a pick. Before the bye week, Murphy seemed to be the weak link on this defense; teams would look to isolate him in man coverage and pick on him. However, he has arguably been Minnesota’s best cornerback since the bye.
While the offense sputtered and struggled all game long, outside of one drive, the defense was almost flawless against a Mac Jones-led Jaguars offense. The defense allowed just 3.1 yards per play and limited the chunk plays that had killed them in weeks prior. While the offense put this team in a hole with all the wasted opportunities and boneheaded mistakes, the defense gave the offense more opportunities to extend the lead with their three turnovers.
28
The Vikings had 28 first downs today with zero touchdowns. The only time a team has had more first downs with no touchdowns scored was November 11, 2011, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Washington Commanders. The Vikings also had the highest time of possession in any game this season with 42:19.
While the scoreline might read 12-7, the game was far from a conventional close game. The Vikings had possession of the ball for almost three quarters. They also outgained the Jaguars 402 to 143 and had 82 plays to Jacksonville’s 43. At one point, the Vikings had more plays in Jaguars territory than the Jaguars had in total.
While the biggest part of the game is getting in the end zone and scoring points, the Vikings deserved this win. They outperformed or flat-out dominated in every statistical facet of the game. While they will need to figure out how to be better in the red zone, it’s important to acknowledge how well the offense and defense played for most of the game.
4
Hockenson was back and extended drives on four third downs today, finishing the game with eight grabs for 72 yards on his way to being Minnesota’s leading receiver. Last week, fans wondered how he would fit into this offense. Today, they got their answer.
With the Jaguars playing split safety coverage for most of the game, Hockenson and Oliver took advantage of the soft underbelly of the defense and served as the check-down options for the offense. Hockenson seems to have seamlessly integrated himself into the offense to serve as the safety blanket and an option for Darnold when things are tough. With defenses playing two-high safeties more to bracket Jefferson, Hockenson and Jones underneath will be instrumental in moving the ball.