Inside The Vikings

Five things that stood out from Vikings' ugly win over Jaguars

It sure wasn't pretty, but a win is a win.

Nolan O'Hara

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is pressured by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second quarter an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is pressured by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second quarter an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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It wasn't smooth. It wasn't pretty. It frankly wasn't a good game. But the Vikings did just enough to pull out a 12-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville and improve to 7-2.

Ultimately, a win is a win. And even a rough game isn't without its positives.

Here are five things that stood out from the game:

Defense delivers

Mac Jones plowed into the end zone on a quarterback sneak on the Jaguars' second drive of the game to provide Jacksonville a 7-3 advantage. After that, the Jaguars' next drives went as follows: punt, punt, end of the first half, punt, punt, fumble, interception and interception. The Vikings held the Jaguars to a pitiful 143 yards of total offense.

Jones completed 14 of 22 passes for just 111 yards, two picks, a fumble, and no passing touchdowns.

The fumble recovery and interceptions came at particularly critical times. After John Parker Romo's 34-yard field goal gave the Vikings a 9-7 lead in the fourth quarter, Jones fumbled the snap and Harrison Phillips jumped on it. The Vikings stalled again on their next drive, and Romo's 29-yard field goal made it 12-7. Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted Jones on the second play of the next drive, his third straight game with a pick, to give the Vikings the ball with 3:39 remaining.

The Vikings offense again did nothing with that prime opportunity to close it out, giving the Jaguars one last chance to win the game with 2:42 left on the clock. On the drive, Jones was looking for Gabe Davis for a deep shot, and Cam Bynum ran under it for an interception with 1:52 remaining. Bynum's pick and a Jaguars unnecessary roughness penalty on the ensuing possession officially sealed the game for the Vikings.

Red-zone struggles

On their first opportunity in the red zone, Sam Darnold threw a questionable interception. On their second opportunity in the red zone, Darnold threw another pick. A penalty negated a third-down conversion on another red-zone chance that ended with a field goal. A big loss of yards and a sack led to field goals on two more red-zone opportunities.

The Vikings were 0 for 5 in the red zone overall, and they didn't score a touchdown all game. The Vikings moved the ball with 402 yards of total offense and dominated time of possession 42:19 to 17:41. But that rarely resulted in points.

Parker Romo's debut

With rookie Will Reichard landing on the injured list, Romo made his debut as Vikings kicker, and the early returns were pretty good. He was a perfect 4 for 4 on his field-goal attempts (he didn't attempt any extra points).

The long was a 45-yarder that gave the Vikings a 3-0 lead on their opening drive of the game.

In addition to the defense, Romo was another obvious MVP of the game, with his field goals being the difference.

Plenty of picks

It was a rough day for Darnold. It started with an ill-advised throw to star receiver Justin Jefferson on their second drive of the game that deflected into the arms of Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, and his day didn't get much better from there. Darnold threw three interceptions in all on a day he completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards and no touchdowns.

His second interception just before half appeared to hit the ground after it fell into the hands of Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown, but that didn't change the fact that Darnold's throw was well behind Jefferson. That ended a 17-play, 76-yard drive, and his third of the day came in the end zone in the third quarter, putting a scoreless end to a seven-play, 52-yard drive.

The last two weeks have been a concerning trend for Darnold, who is now up to 10 picks on the year. Five of those have come in the last two games after Darnold threw two interceptions in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings may have done enough to win both games against inferior opponents, but the turnovers are worrisome.

Robinson's return

Just weeks after being traded from the Jaguars to the Vikings, Robinson was back in Jacksonville facing his former team. It wasn't the smooth-sailing return he was hoping for, as Robinson was penalized three times for 10 yards.

There was a 5-yard false start penalty on the Vikings' second drive of the game and a 5-yard illegal formation penalty that negated a red zone conversion on third-and-13, instead making it a third-and-18 on a drive that ultimately resulted in a field goal.

Robinson notably got pushed right over by Josh Hines-Allen on a third down in the first quarter, though the Vikings did end up converting. He also delivered a big hit on Savage after he intercepted Darnold in the first quarter, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty that offset an illegal blindside block on the Jaguars.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

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