Minnesota Vikings: Fans Were Not Expecting This Going Into The Bye Week After Vikings Dominate 4th London Game

The Minnesota Vikings remain undefeated in London and have won in three different stadiums in England after defeating the New York Jets 23-17 on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Vikings came out hot, starting with a field goal and then a pick-six from Andrew Van Ginkel—his second pick-six of the year! The Vikings quickly went up 10-0, then C.J Ham got involved and caught a touchdown pass from Sam Darnold, and the Vikings were up 17-0.

Despite the hot start, the Vikings’ offense started to slow down, giving Aaron Rodgers and the Jets a chance at a comeback. They started to, and the game ended up coming down to a Stephon Gilmore interception to win the game for the Minnesota Vikings. Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s first London game of the 2024 NFL season.

Minnesota Vikings RB1 Aaron Jones Goes Down Early, What To Make Of His Injury And How It Affected Offense

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones exited Sunday’s game early in the first quarter because of a hip injury,  and coach O’Connell and fans hope he won’t miss any time. Telling reporters:

“Keeping my fingers crossed that hopefully will be short term.”

I think this early injury affected the offense throughout the game, making them have to adjust to a new game plan. For example, I think Kevin O’Connell would have been more focused on the ground attack to keep the clock moving throughout the game if it weren’t for the early absence of Jones. Everything became so much more difficult for the offense once he left the game as Darnold was unable to get anything going really, and Ty Chandler couldn’t do much running the ball, so coach O’Connell probably needs to be better with the rhythm of his playcalling no matter who’s in the backfield.

Minnesota Vikings Defense Plays Out Of Their Mind In London

Luckily the defense once again came to the rescue the already number one defense who’s playing out of their mind still found a way to play even better on Sunday. The defense held its own against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets’ offense, not only did the Vikings’ defense hold their own they carried this ball game for Minnesota.

Between the Van Ginkel pick-six and the Stephon Gilmore interception to close out the game the Vikings got everything they needed from that side of the ball and then some. An incredible performance from the defense that was a huge necessity with how much the offense struggled throughout.

What Happened With The New York Jets “Explosive Young Offense”

Everything went wrong for the New York Jets in the first half. They got off to a poor start on both sides of the football which put them in a bad spot the entire game. New York’s defense allowed Minnesota to put up 17 points of offense very early on before they finally started creeping up after halftime. After halftime, the Jets finally started to turn the game around, the pass rush was finally back, as Darnold was hit seven times and sacked four of those seven.

And against the run they held Minnesota to just 2.7 yards per carry. This rollercoaster of a game for the New York Jets ultimately wasn’t enough in the end. It was a combination of miscues and mishaps, especially for Aaron Rodgers. While the Jet’s defense deserves credit for coming alive they came alive too late and the offense didn’t give them much help.

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