Aaron Jones isn’t Brett Favre. Still, the former Green Bay Packers running back is a turncoat who’s become beloved in the Minnesota Vikings locker room for his upbeat personality and relentless play.
Packers fans loved Jones, and Jones assured them that the feeling was mutual before Minnesota’s Week 4 game in Lambeau. However, he’s quickly become comfortable in purple.
Jones believes Kevin O’Connell is psychic because he told the team they’d be good this year. He also might be clairvoyant because he said he saw Sam Darnold shedding his bust label this season.
“I’m so happy for Sam,” he said after Minnesota’s Week 17 win over the Packers. “I feel like outside these walls, nobody really believed in him.”
However, Jones doesn’t know whether Darnold will bounce back from losing to the Detroit Lions. Nobody does.
Darnold alone isn’t responsible for Minnesota’s loss in Detroit. However, he bears most of the responsibility. He went 18 of 41 for 166 yards (55.5 passer rating) in Week 18 after becoming the first player to win 14 games with their new team and producing a 100-plus quarterback rating in 13 games. Darnold was one for nine in the red zone, leading to crucial missed scoring opportunities.
After the Lions game, Jones pulled Darnold aside and reassured him that he’d play better next week.
“He was just saying, ‘We’re good,’” said Darnold. “We obviously didn’t have the day that we wanted to have, but we’re looking forward to the challenge that awaits [in] the playoffs.”
Darnold isn’t the only concern entering Minnesota’s road playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. Will Reichard’s kicking has also been concerning recently.
Reichard was 14 for 16 (87.5%) before injuring his quad in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts. However, he’s 10 for 14 (71.4%) since returning in Week 14. Reichard missed a 57-yard kick short and a 43-yarder off the crossbar against Green Bay, and he missed wide right from 51 yards in Detroit.
He also kicked the ball off out of bounds in Detroit, allowing the Lions to score another three points before the half.
“I got the utmost confidence in this guy,” said Matt Daniels. “He’s been through it all, the ups and the downs. He always responds in the right way.”
Vikings fans have seen this movie before. Kicking woes and two gunslinging quarterbacks on short-term contracts have doomed Minnesota in the playoffs.
The Vikings went 15-1 in 1998 and reached the NFC Championship game. However, Gary Anderson missed his only kick of the year against the Atlanta Falcons, and Minnesota lost in overtime.
Favre came out of retirement to join the Vikings in 2009 and led them to the NFC Championship game. However, the New Orleans Saints intercepted Favre when he threw across his body, ending Minnesota’s Super Bowl hopes.
In 2015, Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal in a 10-9 Wild Card loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Walsh had been an All-Star and All-Pro as a rookie in 2012 and made 85.2% of his kicks from 2012 to 2015. However, the Vikings cut him a year later after he missed four extra points in eight games.
Two years later, Case Keenum led the Vikings and their No. 1 defense to the NFC Championship game. However, he went 28 of 48 for 271 yards with a touchdown and two picks (63.8 passer rating) in Minnesota’s 38-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Vikings signed Kirk Cousins a year later.
There’s also symmetry with the Vikings this season. They finished 14-3 but lost to the Lions at home in Week 7 and the Rams five days later. Minnesota’s only other loss this season was in Detroit last week, but they have to play LA in the Wild Card round next week.
The Vikings won’t be playing on a short week this time, and they didn’t realize Puka Nacua would be active in Week 8. They might also play the game in Arizona. Still, it can feel like time is a flat circle in Minnesota. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes, and the sound is more of a screech than a ballad.
Fans and players may feel the weight of that baggage. However, an outsider can sometimes be a disruptor. Jones played his first seven seasons on the other side of the border and has a relentlessly positive attitude.
He’s the kind of guy who tells you things will be all right, and you’re inclined to believe him.
