The first three quarters of Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals seemed to be a competition of which offense could most comfortably settle for a field goal. Neither team was able to get into the end zone and had to settle for opposing threes, keeping the game close even as Arizona racked up more yardage.
Then, after an opportune flag extended a drive, the Cardinals were able to punch it in to up 19-6 against a Vikings defense that was piling up injuries. Minnesota’s offense counterpunched out of nowhere, coming out of their comatose state to score a touchdown to make it a 19-13 game going into the fourth quarter.
They traded field goals again until Sam Darnold led the offense down the field for a touchdown to take the lead the defense would seal with a solid series, concluding in an interception. In the final 15 minutes, a sluggish game transformed into a thriller.
Here are five numbers that tell the story of the game.
5
Aaron Jones has fumbled the ball five times this season and three times in the past two weeks. The Vikings struggled with their turnovers via the air earlier in the season. Darnold had some untimely interceptions. But recently, Jones has been the one having issues with ball security.
Last week, Jonathan Owens stripped Jones at the goal line on the opening drive. On Sunday, Jones fumbled twice in the opening quarter.
Brian O’Neill recovered the first one, but on the next drive he lost the ball on the first play of the first series. Sean Murphy-Bunting punched the ball out, leading to an Arizona recovery. The defense bailed Jones out, forcing a 45-yard field goal, which Chad Ryland missed.
Jones’ day didn’t get much better as he saw a decrease in his usual workload and even dropped a tough catch that would have put the team up in the fourth quarter. While he did get the reception that would put the team up by one point, he needs to be much more careful with the ball.
While Jones has been pretty good at securing the ball in his career, he has already matched his career-high in fumbles this season. Jones sorting out these issues will be critical for Minnesota in the home stretch of the season.
3
Sam Darnold was sacked three times … on third down … in the first half. (That sentence just keeps getting worse.) The Vikings offense has been good at moving the ball on third down and extending drives this season. However, Darnold’s protection did him no favors in the first half.
Former Mike Zimmer assistants Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis got deep into their bags on third down, mixing up blitzes and coverages, making it hard for Darnold and Co. to move the ball successfully. Arizona linebacker Mack Wilson hit Darnold twice, stalling two drives and extending Minnesota’s slump. The offensive line seemed to struggle with their communication when picking up blitzes and stopping free rushers.
2
Fabian Moreau committed two pass interference penalties to extend drives. With Stephon Gilmore suffering a hamstring injury in the second quarter, Moreau had to defend Marvin Harrison Jr. While he occasionally played well, Moreau did commit two costly mistakes on third down, leading to 10 points for the Cardinals.
The first flag felt a bit harsh, as Moreau looked to have gotten to the ball before getting to the receiver. Despite that, it bailed out the Cardinals’ offense on a third-and-13 situation and allowed them to ultimately score three points.
The second flag was much more obvious. On third-and-nine, Moreau dragged down a wide-open Zay Jones, bringing the ball to Minnesota’s 15-yard line. Murray would again target Moreau on the next play, hitting Harrison for a score.
Moreau had his moments in this game. However, if Gilmore is set to miss some time with his hamstring injury, Moreau will need to cut back on the flags, especially in high-stakes moments.
4
Justin Jefferson became just the fourth receiver in NFL history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in five consecutive seasons to start his career. Only Mike Evans, Randy Moss, and A.J. Green have accomplished this feat.
It feels like every week Jefferson is creating some new piece of history. He also eclipsed Kyle Rudolph to become sixth on the Vikings franchise receptions list. It was his play and involvement in the offense that sparked this team back to life from their initial struggles. Jefferson was crucial late in the game, converting a fourth-and-seven that likely would have been the end of the game if he failed to make the play.
After a frustrating week he drew triple coverage and finished with season lows in yards and receptions, Jefferson was able to be the engine this offense needed.
13
Sam Darnold won his first career game after trailing by 13 points or more. While Darnold has been worth much more than the $10 million he’s making this season, the one thing that we have not seen him do is come from behind multiple scores and get a win.
Today, Darnold yet again played a clean game. The offense’s struggles were largely attributable to Jones and the offensive line. When Darnold had the time and space to make a play, he repeatedly delivered.
While there are things that both Minnesota’s offense and defense need to improve on to avoid going down early, they can take some solace in knowing that Darnold can perform and come from behind against good defenses.
