Oct 6, 2024; Tottenham, ENG; Minnesota Vikings Defensive Back Camryn Bynum (24) celebrates an interception with Defensive Back Josh Metellus (44) in the 2nd Quarter against New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shaun Brooks-Imagn Images.
Just get the W—in three weeks, few people will remember or care how it happened. That’s what I always told our players and coaches during my GM and team president years.
The Vikings left London with a 4-0 record in London games and 5-0 this season after beating the Jets. They’re still the only unbeaten team in the NFC as they head into a needed bye week. They’ll rest up, hope to get Aaron Jones and T.J. Hockenson ready to go in two weeks and work on their overall consistency in all three phases—offense, defense, and special teams.
The defense bailed out the offense in the 23-17 win over the Jets by intercepting Aaron Rodgers three times, including two in the first quarter—a career first—with the big one being Andrew Van Ginkel’s 63-yard Pick Six (his second of a New York QB this season after pulling it off against the Giants’ Daniel Jones in the opener). Stephon Gilmore sealed the victory with his game-saving diving pick at the Minnesota 9-yard line with 49 seconds remaining.
It was, in effect, the defense returning the favor to the offense, which came up with the key drive to a game-clinching field goal in Green Bay when the defense tired and gave up three TDs in the fourth quarter in Week 4.
Next up is a huge game after the bye: the defending NFC North champion Lions are coming to town. Detroit was on their bye in Week 5 and travels to Dallas next Sunday. If the Lions beat the Cowboys, they’ll be 4-1, so first place will be on the line when they come to Minnesota on October 20. A Lions win would tie the two teams at 5-1, with Detroit holding a head-to-head win (they meet again in Detroit in the regular season finale).
A Vikings win over the Lions would give the Vikings at least a two-game lead on all other division teams (Green Bay and Chicago are now 3-2 after winning on Sunday).
Meanwhile, the Vikings and their fans can enjoy the bye week as the NFL’s most surprising team, at 5-0, which has trailed for only three minutes and 26 seconds over its first five games.
Here are my other reactions to the win over the Jets in London:
1. The Vikings followed their season-long winning formula by outrushing the opposing team and either being even or plus in turnover margin for the fifth straight game: the Vikings outrushed the Jets 82-36 (the Vikings have the No. 2 rushing defense, which sets up a good test against Detroit’s sixth-ranked run game).
The Vikings were plus one in turnovers with three interceptions of Rodgers (including Andrew Van Ginkel’s second Pick-6 of a New York QB this season with his great play on a Rodgers first-quarter pass that he grabbed and returned 63 yards after his opening day Pick-6 of Daniel Jones). Sam Darnold threw a fourth-quarter interception that led to the TD that pulled the Jets within 20-17, and Ty Chandler mishandled a pitch for a first-quarter fumble.
The Vikings have 13 takeaways this season, second only to Green Bay’s 14. They also made a fourth-down stop against the Jets, which is essentially a turnover.
2. It was a rough day for Darnold. The Jets have an excellent defense (second-ranked), which made it difficult on Darnold and the offense. He was under pressure with four sacks and seven QB hits and missed many open receivers due to pressure. He also misfired several times when he was protected.
Darnold overthrew Jordan Addison on a costly pick in the fourth quarter, leading to the Jets’ TD pass from Rodgers to Garrett Wilson, which pulled the Jets within 20-17. Darnold completed only 14 of 31 for 179 yards and no TDs with one interception. His passer rating was 50.3, his first game this season under 109. But Rodgers’ rating was 54.9, and he threw three picks to go with his two TD passes.
Darnold still had a lot of big completions early in the game and on the important drive in the final six minutes when he hit Jefferson (25 yards) and tight end Johnny Mundt (20 yards) to set up Reichard’s 41-yard field goal to give the Vikings a six-point lead and force the Jets to get a TD and PAT to win. Darnold also was willing to throw to Jefferson while he was interfered with or held several times. It was surprising that third WR Jalen Nailor was not targeted in this game after his solid first four games.
3. A big part of the problem on offense was the lack of a running game in the second half. After rushing for 75 yards in the first half, the Vikings had only seven yards on nine carries in the second half. The Vikings badly missed Aaron Jones when a hip injury knocked him out of the game in the second quarter (he had seven carries for 29 yards before leaving the game, and Ty Chandler was held to 30 yards on 14 carries).
The offensive line and the rest of the offensive players involved in run blocking had a tough time after the great start in the first quarter. But they’ll face a few defenses that are as good as the Jets unit.
It’s obvious how valuable Jones is on offense with his vision and speed. The Vikings need him rehabbed and ready to face the Lions, along with Hockenson, a Pro Bowl tight end who will add another big weapon for the passing game that now ranks 18th.
The Vikings must improve on third downs moving forward after converting 4 of 13 against the Jets’ defense. They were 4 of 7 in the first half and 0 of 6 in the second half.
4. The Jets could not cover Justin Jefferson: he caught six passes for 92 yards and drew five penalties, including three on the second-quarter drive that led to C.J. Ham’s two-yard TD run and a 17-0 lead. All-Pro corner Sauce Gardner had a pass interference and hold on Jefferson on that drive that set the Vikings up with first-and-goal at the Jets 2-yard line. Jefferson would’ve had a bigger day if Darnold had been on his game and had better protection.
Addison had three receptions for 36 yards, and Darnold missed him several times as the game went on. Johnny Mundt had a good game with two catches for 31 yards, including a 20-yarder that set up Will Reichard’s critical 41-yard field goal to put the Vikings up by six points with 3:11 left in the game and force the Jets to score a TD and extra point to win.
5. Another great game for Brian Flores and the defense, but forget about the three-man pass rush: Flores blitzed Rodgers often, and the defense had the three picks, 11 QB hits, four tackles-for-loss, held Breece Hall to 23 yards rushing on 13 carries to make the Jets one-dimensional and added the fourth-down stop in the second quarter by Dallas Turner and Blake Cashman that led to C.J. Ham’s TD that put the Vikings ahead 17-0 in the second quarter.
I didn’t like the three-man pass rush the Vikings employed, which gave Rodgers too much time on both of his TD passes—on 3rd-and-10 from the Minnesota 14 with 42 seconds left in the first half (Rodgers TD pass to Allen Lazard) and in the fourth quarter on the one-yard TD pass to Garrett Wilson that made it 20-17. The Vikings rank second in the league with 20 sacks, and they should always rush at least four and often send five or six rushers.
6. What a great player Andrew Van Ginkel is. His Pick-6 was another athletic play in which he tipped the ball to himself. It was amusing when Van Ginkel said Rodgers told him Christmas came early on that pivotal play.
Ivan Pace had an excellent game in his return after missing the Houston and Green Bay games with a sprained ankle. Pace had a fourth-quarter sack inside the Jets 10 that helped lead to a field goal after the Jets had closed within 17-10. He also had two QB hits, two tackles-for-loss, and four tackles.
Harrison Smith had a fine game with a sack of his old foe Rodgers and six tackles plus a tackle-for-loss. And, of course, Gilmore again showed his value as a huge upgrade at corner with his game-saving pick—along with Shaq Griffin, who has played well.
7. What a fantastic season Will Reichard is having, and it’s a good day for Ryan Wright, but special teams mistakes must be corrected: Reichard is an outstanding sixth-round rookie who is perfect this season—9 of 9 on field goals, including from 54, 53, and 41 yards vs. Jets in not ideal conditions. He’s now 9 for 9 on field goals, including 3 for 3 from 50 plus and 16 for 16 on extra points.
Wright has 11 inside the 20 punts (fifth-best in the league), including two against the Jets. His season average is a solid 46.1 yards per punt.
But the Vikings made three mistakes on special teams. Jay Ward’s block in the back on a punt return forced the Vikings’ offense to start a late second-quarter drive from their 5-yard line, which led to a punt, which Xavier Gipson returned 31 yards to the Vikings 31, leading to the Jets’ first TD.
A roughing the punter call on Ivan Pace extended a third-quarter drive that resulted in a field goal (to make the score 17-10). There was no need to go after the punter at that time, given that the Jets were already pinned back in their own territory.
These special teams issues and the Darnold fourth-quarter interception led to all 17 Jets points.
8. Cut down on the pre-snap penalties—Blake Brandel has played a significant role in upgrading the run blocking and has been solid overall in pass protection at left guard. But he’s had too many false starts this season, including on Sunday.
The Vikings had 11 penalties for 80 yards, but the Jets were just about as bad in this area, with eight penalties for 76 yards. O’Connell said postgame that cutting down on pre-snap and all penalties is a focal point for the team moving forward.
9. With the bye week here, I’ll be back on Friday, October 18, with my Vikings-Lions preview and prediction. We know U.S. Bank Stadium will be rocking that day as Vikings fans will try to make it difficult for Jared Goff and the prolific Lions offense that scored 30 points in both wins over the Vikings last season. But as we know, after five weeks, this Vikings defense is much better than the 2023 version—especially in run D, causing turnovers and sacking the QB.
The Lions game must be the next step in reaffirming that with the D in this exciting 2024 season. And the Vikings will have to play better in all phases than they did against the Jets to beat the Lions in two weeks.
Around the NFL in Week 4 & a look ahead to Week 5:
1. In the NFC North, Caleb Williams continues to improve for the Bears, and he had his best game with 304 passing yards and two TD tosses plus 34 rushing yards in a 36-10 home rout of Carolina. The Packers held on for a 24-19 win over the Rams in L.A. Jordan Love overcame a second-quarter pick-6 to throw two TD passes to tight end Tucker Kraft. Packers safety Xavier McKinney had his league-leading fifth interception and a fumble recovery.
Every team in the NFC North—the league’s best division—has a winning record, with the Vikings 5-0, Detroit 3-1 (they had their bye on Sunday), and Green Bay and Chicago both 3-2.
2. The Ravens won their third straight in the most exciting game of the day—a 41-38 OT win over the Bengals in Cincinnati. Lamar Jackson passed for 348 yards and four TDs and rushed for 55 yards. Joe Burrow threw five TD passes—two to Ja’Marr Chase—but had a costly fourth-quarter interception.
3. Dak Prescott threw a five-yard TD pass to Jalon Tolbert with 20 seconds left to get a much-needed win in Pittsburgh for the 3-2 Cowboys, who trail the Commanders by one game after Washington walloped Cleveland 34-13. Rookie sensation Jayden Daniels passed for 238 yards (one TD) and ran for 82 yards. Deshaun Watson had another awful game for the Browns, with only 125 passing yards, and was sacked seven times.
4. The 49ers are in a bit of trouble after Brock Purdy threw two interceptions, and the Niners blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 24-23 home upset by the Cardinals. San Francisco fell to 2-3, but they’re still only one game behind Seattle. The Seahawks were upset 29-20 at home by the Giants behind a strong game from Daniel Jones (257 passing yards and two TDs), and a blocked field goal returned 60 yards for a TD on an attempt that would’ve tied the game in the final minute.
5. Ka’imi Fairbairn booted a 59-yard walk-off field goal for the host Texans to beat the Bills 23-20. Stefon Diggs had six catches for 82 yards against his former team.
6. While the Vikings are on their bye weekend, big games in Week 6 besides 3-1 Detroit at 3-2 Dallas include: in the NFC North, the 3-2 Bears meet the 1-4 Jaguars in London, and the 3-2 Packers have a dangerous 2-3 Cardinals team (off their upset of the 49ers) at Lambeau.
On Thursday night, 2-3 San Francisco is at 3-2 Seattle, with first place in the NFC West on the line. 3-2 Tampa Bay comes off the tough OT loss at Atlanta (when Kirk Cousins threw for a career-high 509 yards and four TDs, including the OT winner). The Bucs are at New Orleans (2-2 going into last night’s game at the Chiefs) in a key NFC South game.
There’s a regional rivalry game involving two division leaders when the surprising 4-1 Commanders are at the 3-2 Ravens. The 1-4 Bengals will try to get back on track at the 2-3 Giants in a Sunday nighter that is not what NBC had hoped for when the schedule came out. Then, on Monday night, the 2-3 Jets and Aaron Rodgers have a big home game against the 3-2 Bills, who have dropped two straight to set up this game for first place in the AFC East.
Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year after the Vikings’ 15-1 season in 1998. He now works for the NFL agent group IFA based in Minneapolis and does other sports consulting and media work along with college/corporate speaking. Follow him and direct message him on Twitter– @jeffdiamondnfl.