A quick look at the raw stats from Sunday’s game in Jacksonville would lead you to believe that the Vikings dominated the Jaguars, but that’s not how things actually played out.
The Vikings needed to pick up a first down in the final minute in order to close out a 12-7 road win and running back Aaron Jones was stopped short of the sticks, but Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker was flagged for unnecessary roughness and the Vikings were able to kneel it out for their seventh win of the year.
The Vikings outgained the Jaguars 402-143, picked up 18 more first downs, and possessed the ball for more than 41 minutes, but their red zone futility kept the Jaguars alive. They failed to reach the end zone on all five of their trips inside the 20-yard-line and Sam Darnold threw two of his three interceptions in that setting. The other three resulted in second half field goals for Parker Romo, who didn’t miss a kick in his regular season debut.
Any hope the Jaguars had for a comeback were dashed by their own quarterback’s sloppiness with the ball. Mac Jones fumbled a snap and threw an interception to set up two of Romo’s field goals and then got picked off on a deep shot just after the two-minute warning. Jones, who was making his first start for the Jags, was 14-of-20 for 111 yards when he wasn’t intercepted.
The loss drops the Jags to 2-8 and they have a trip to Detroit next week, so things probably aren’t about to get better whether Trevor Lawrence is able to return or not. They’ll have a bye in Week 12 and another loss to the Lions will make head coach Doug Pederson’s status an issue heading into that break.
Darnold was 24-of-38 for 241 yards and Jones ran for 88 yards around a brief trip to the locker room to get a chest injury checked out. Tight end T.J. Hockenson led the way with eight catches as the Jaguars directed their defense to Justin Jefferson. That paid off in interceptions, but the Vikings were still able to pull out the win.
The Vikings will try to move to 8-3 in Tennessee next Sunday.
