6 Immediate Takeaways from Vikings at Jaguars
The Minnesota Vikings are 7-2 after escaping Week 10 with a second consecutive victory. It was a rough game, as self-inflicted wounds made life much harder for Kevin O’Connell’s operation than it should’ve been. The good news is that nobody will care about that in a month when looking at the standings in the playoff race.
6 Immediate Takeaways from Vikings at Jaguars
Still, we’ve learned some things about the Vikings.
1. The Defense Continues to Dominate
It surely wasn’t fun to watch the offensive performance, but the defense played a flawless game outside of a touchdown drive in the first quarter, holding the Jaguars to only seven points. Mac Jones looked like a backup quarterback, running backs Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne were held in check for a combined 48 yards and standout rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr. was a non-factor.
The Jaguars generated 143 total yards, threw two interceptions, lost a fumble, and earned only ten first downs. There are some concerns about how the unit holds up against good opponents after the breakdowns versus the Lions and the Rams, but Brian Flores and his crew are outstanding at making bad offenses look even worse.
2. The RB Hierarchy Is Clear
The Vikings opened the season with Aaron Jones as the bell-cow rusher, and Ty Chandler got a handful of weekly snaps to give the veteran a breather. Cam Akers was acquired last month and has clearly replaced Chandler as the team’s RB2, pushing the 2022 draft pick to the RB3 slot.
When Jones was evaluated for a chest injury, it was Akers getting most carries. In back-to-back games, Akers was the obvious backup option. Against the Jaguars, Jones rushed 17 times, Akers had 13 rushes, and Chandler four.
3. Hockenson Is Back
Tight end T.J. Hockenson made his season debut against the Colts in Week 9 after missing the first half of the campaign recovering from his devastating knee injury. The Vikings took it easy on their franchise tight end versus in his comeback, but he was asked to be the usual target hog this time, catching eight passes for 72 yards.
It’s fair to say that the Vikings would’ve lost the game without Hockenson, considering his play on crucial third downs. His presence gives the Vikings a reliable option on short passes, matching perfectly with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison downfield.
4. Sam Darnold’s Decline
Quarterback Sam Darnold was excellent early in the season, throwing for 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions in the first four games. Since then, however, he has produced six touchdowns and seven interceptions in the last six games.
Defenses might have caught up with Minnesota’s offense, or he simply overachieved early in the season. If the Vikings want to be a competitive team into January, they need their passer to make fewer mistakes. The theories of him becoming Minnesota’s quarterback beyond the 2024 season have vanished.
5. The Vikings Evidently Have 2 Good Kickers
Rookie kicker Will Reichard was excellent in his first seven games, but he missed a couple of kicks against the Colts, suffering a quad injury in the process. He had to be placed on IR, confirming a four-game absence, at the very least.
To combat that, the franchise re-signed Parker Romo, who spent the offseason and part of training camp with the club. In his NFL debut, he hit all four of his kicks and was responsible for all 12 points. Rarely has a game ball been more deserved.
6. The Offense Is Explosive But Broken
O’Connell’s offense gained 415 yards against the Colts and 402 yards against the Jaguars. Ultimately, they scored only 33 points despite that. Yards are important but don’t mean much if they don’t translate to points.
The reason is pretty obvious: the Vikings just continue to turn over the football. Ball security has been a focal point for head coach O’Connell before, and it should be the major point of emphasis going forward. His offense is built to aggressively throw the ball into tight windows, but sometimes, going the conservative route is the better way. Slowing down Darnold heading into Week 11 is O’Connell’s most important task.
The Vikes either stop committing this many turnovers, or they will struggle to make the playoffs despite the 7-2 record.
Editor’s Note: Information from ESPN helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt