Vikings survive in Jacksonville as Mac Jones out-disasters Sam Darnold

The Vikings' defense came up with three key takeaways late in a low-scoring win.

Nov 10, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) runs the ball against Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips (97) in the second quarter at EverBank Stadium. / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold did his best to lose this game for the Vikings. Mac Jones wouldn't let him.

Jones turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter, failing to take advantage of several opportunities to take back the lead. The Vikings' defense stepped up in a big way, leading Minnesota to a 12-7 victory on Sunday in Jacksonville despite three interceptions from Darnold and remarkably poor red zone execution by Kevin O'Connell's offense.

The takeaway that sealed it was an interception from Camryn Bynum after the two-minute warning. Byron Murphy Jr. also had a pick and Harrison Phillips had a fumble recovery for Minnesota in the decisive final quarter. Jones, starting in place of the injured Trevor Lawrence, managed to out-disaster Darnold to send the Jaguars to 2-8 and the Vikings to 7-2.

The Vikings dominated this game on the stat sheet. Total yards, time of possession, first downs — they all were so one-sided that you'd think this game was a blowout. The Vikings' time of possession was the most by any team in the NFL this season.

The problem is that Darnold was a mess. One week after throwing two interceptions, he threw a season-high three of them on this afternoon, all of which came as he was targeting Justin Jefferson. The first came off a deflection as Jefferson was blanketed, the second was a bizarre pick in the end zone that was controversially upheld after review, and the third was another instance in the red zone where the two weren't on the same page.

Somehow, the Vikings didn't score a single touchdown on seven trips to at least the Jaguars' 30-yard-line. All three of Darnold's interceptions came in those situations, and the Vikings also settled for four field goals from new kicker Parker Romo, who delivered in a big way in his NFL regular season debut.

For the second consecutive week, the Vikings found themselves trailing after an ugly first half. But just like last Sunday night against the Colts, when they were down 7-0 at half, the good news was that the game was right there for the taking despite their struggles. Even after two Darnold interceptions before the break, the Vikings only trailed 7-3 because they controlled the time of possession and got a solid performance from their defense.

Against the Colts, the Vikings came out of the halftime locker room and took command of the game with a 14-0 run in the third quarter. That didn't happen in this one. Things got worse before they got better, as Darnold threw his third interception in Jaguars territory and then the offense settled for a short field goal on its next trip into the red zone.

Heading to the fourth quarter, the Vikings trailed 7-6, thanks to a defense that continued to do its job outside of the one Jaguars touchdown drive in the first quarter. It was more of the same in the final quarter, as they added two more field goals and got defensive stand after defensive stand from Brian Flores' group.

It was far from pretty, but the Vikings survived for their seventh win of the season. They'll look to move to 8-2 against the Titans next Sunday.