Vikings RB Wants to Set the Tone on Sunday
The Minnesota Vikings head to Lambeau Field for a Week 12 NFC North division matchup against the Green Bay Packers. One man who swapped green for purple last year wants to be the man to set the tone as the Vikings look to resurrect their season in Wisconsin.
A Minnesota Vikings running back wants to set the tone on Sunday, aiming to spark the offense and steady the ground game heading into a key matchup.
In March last year, Aaron Jones was released by the Packers after seven seasons, and the Vikings swooped in to sign the veteran running back to a one-year contract.
Aaron Jones Wants to Steer the Vikings in Right Direction at Lambeau
After a 1000-yard season, Jones was brought back for Year 2. He doesn’t just bring his ability back to the team. He is a leader, and he was putting that on show this week when talking to the media.
“I feel like every week is a must-win now,”ย Jones told reportersย this week. “So I mean you’ll get that urgency from me and spreading that around to the guys.”
Jones has been around long enough to know when a season is on the brink of failure. It’s the job of senior players like him to set the tone and perhaps show others it’s time to dig a little deeper. He also expressed that there’s a fine line between that and trying to do too much. “I feel like we don’t need to necessarily press anymore because that’s when guys start to press, they feel like they got to do more than their job, and just everybody just has to do their job.”
Sunday will mark the second time Jones returns to Lambeau Field as a visiting player, and he was full of praise for the welcome he received. The 30-year-old continued to enjoy himself once the game got started, with 139 yards from scrimmage in a Vikings win. A repeat of that this week will do very nicely for Minnesota and should at least keep the team interested, even if the playoffs will still look a long way off.
Jones on J.J. McCarthy
All the chatter around the Vikings this week has revolved around JJ McCarthy. The young QB has been under heavy fire this week, and calls to help McCarthy byย leaning more into the run gameย have been heard for weeks.
There have been moments when the Vikings’ offense has significantly benefited from the run game in recent weeks, but still, we aren’t seeing Kevin O’Connell use it as would seem sensible. Letting Jokes and Jordan Mason take on a heavy workload is the way to go in the short term.
Jones had his say on the Vikings’ young QB this week, praising his never-say-die attitude.
“I told J.J. after the game [against the Bears] I was proud of him.” Jones continued, “Just that, never quit. I’ve seen guys turn the ball over, maybe fumble the ball, and they get in a place where they can’t really go back on the field, or when they step back on the field, they’re not themselves. And for him to always keep us in the game, or even give us a chance at the end, where we go up and win it. That’s what I’m most proud of: That he’s not giving up. He’s not quitting.”
Jones was also impressed by the young QB’s accountability. “He makes a mistake. He’s holding himself accountable, and then he’s coming on the sideline like, ‘Hey, I can’t do that.’ “The Vikings RB also reiterated all of the noise that is coming out of Minnesota at the moment.
“We know it’s going to take reps; there’s going to be some growth, and he’s been doing that all year, but with him doing that all year, we’re still in every game that we can win every game. That’s why I have the utmost confidence in J.J. and we can get this thing done.”
If the Vikings are going to win the number of games required to make an unlikely playoff push, they will need McCarthy to be much more consistent. Jones can be a big part of that, setting the tone as a runner and pass catcher.
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