Vikes Views: Sunday King

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the New York Jets in London, 23-17

Andrew Van Ginkel – Van Ginkel is a man on fire this year. He’s playing out of his mind. You can see the excitement he has playing for Flores and he’s a perfect fit. The pick-six was a thing of beauty. It would’ve been easy to run out of bounds or go down as soon as he intercepted. Van Ginkel had a nice run back for the TD. That is huge on a day when the offense was struggling to score. That play changed the game. Made it seem like the Jets were miles behind.

Stephon Gilmore – The player that made the play to end the game. You can see why teams avoid him. Gilmore has been a beast all year. He’s allowing a less than 50% completion percentage for the year and this is his 2nd INT.

Brian Flores – You have to give credit to the man leading the defensive group. It was Aaron Rodgers worst statistical game of his career. The only time he has ever thrown two interceptions in the first quarter. The defensive energy is intense. Josh Metellus was out there encouraging the offense after getting stopped on 4th and short. The team is being lead by this defense.

Harrison Smith – The future Hall of Famer was all over the field. Every time I get to see the Hitman play in person I am in awe. It’s hard to see all he does on TV. He is a fierce competitor. Probably the peak of the game for the Vikings came when Smith sacked Rodgers on a 3rd and 6. He celebrated with the Championship Belt/Discount Double Check celebration. Harrison Smith remembers.

Justin Jefferson – Justin Jefferson is so damn good. It seems impossible how he gets open consistently. One of the reason the offensive stats look so bad is the Jets defense kept grabbing him. 53 yards for pass interference and another holding penalty that would’ve been a 4 yard TD, before the Ham touchdown. Add those yards to his 92 and it’s a very nice game. Jefferson is a huge reason the team was able to build a lead early. You can’t talk enough about how much better he is than any other receiver in the league.

Will Reichard – Will the Trill is still perfect to start his career. He was 5 for 5 on kicks on Sunday including two over 50. The best kicker in the league wears purple and it feels weird. He misses one of those field goals and it is a different game. Kicking is so important.

Honorable Mention – Aaron Jones was playing well and running hard before the injury. He iced his knee for most of the 2nd half, but the leg was unwrapped mid 4th quarter. I think he’ll be back sooner than later, but it’s going to be a task to keep him fresh for the late season run (too early to talk playoff run?).

Also, have to mention the wonderful host city London. They had a bad fully decked out in Vikings decorations and had the fight song written on their steps. The city loves the NFL and you see every team represented on Sunday walking through it. They’re not used to the sports bar atmosphere of the US where we need to watch 8 games at once, but they’re getting there. Tried to watch the noon games in a casino and it was just a big room with chairs in it with 4 or 5 TVs. Welcome to the world of excess gents. It was an amazing trip and the people of London are awesome. Also, shoutout to the Viking faithful. We were loud out there on Sunday. Outnumbered the Jets 10 to 1 at least.

2024 Winners:

Week 1: Sam Darnold

Week 2: Sam Darnold

Week 3: Brian Flores

Week 4: Sam Darnold