An ugly win is still a win. That seems to be the motto that the Minnesota Vikings are living by lately, as they just barely eked out their second straight win on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If you look up the definition of “ugly football” in the dictionary, you’re going to see a picture from this game. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t for the faint of heart. But at the end of the day, the Vikings came out on top, and they move to 7-2 on the season.
The offense seemingly did just about everything they could in this game to give the win to the Jaguars, but the Vikings’ defense — particularly their fourth quarter defense — wasn’t having it. With three takeaways in the final quarter, the defense willed the team to a win, and with the Detroit Lions’ improbable win on Sunday Night Football, the Vikings stay just a game back in the standings. You can make a case that neither team deserved to win, but good teams find a way to win when they shouldn’t.
However, unlike the Lions who can feel fairly confident that the 5-interception performance from Jared Goff was just an aberration, the Vikings have to be a bit more concerned about their quarterback situation. How that is going to play out the remainder of the season remains to be seen. For now, it’s another Victory Monday for the team. Let’s take a look at the Studs and Duds from an ugly win, but a win nonetheless.