In a season in which the Vikings have made narrow victories their identity, they seemed on the verge of doing something very out of character Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Greg Joseph’s 44-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining in the first half boosted Minnesota’s lead to 20-3 over the New York Jets, and even when Greg Zuerlein connected on a 60-yard field goal with 8 seconds left in the second quarter, the Vikings still carried a 14-point advantage into the locker room.
The Vikings had deferred after winning the opening toss and began the second half with the ball. Minnesota, which had nine single-digit victories after a 16-point win over Green Bay in Week 1, had an opportunity to deliver a third-quarter knockout punch and finally take the stress out of a win.
But what would be the fun in that?
The Vikings’ 27-22 victory over the Jets — a win that puts them at 10-2 and means a victory at Detroit next Sunday will clinch the NFC North — wasn’t secured until safety Cam Bynum intercepted Mike White’s pass at the Vikings’ 1-yard line with 10 seconds remaining.
The Jets finished with 199 more yards than the Vikings (486 to 287) and White, who has replaced Zach Wilson as the Jets’ starting quarterback, threw for 196 more yards than Kirk Cousins (369 to 173). But the Vikings proved to be opportunistic, getting two interceptions off White, while Cousins threw none. Minnesota converted 9-of-18 third down attempts and was 3-for-3 in the red zone. The Jets were 3-for-16 on third down and 1-for-6 in the red zone.
There are some who attribute the Vikings’ success to good fortune, and they certainly have gotten their fair share, but Sunday also was another example of the resiliency and calm that Kevin O’Connell’s team has displayed. This team plays games that has its fans chewing their fingernails, but it rarely seems as if the Vikings are going to lose their cool.
“I just think our guys expect to find a way,” O’Connell said. “I think the situational success on third down and red zone, players can feel that. Although we feel like at times maybe defensively we’re giving up some chunks yardage wise or offensively we just can’t punch through like we did on that touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. That was just execution. Execution by our guys offensively, and then at the end of the game their defensively execution, being at their best when we need them to be. That’s kind of been the theme for us this year.”
Whether this formula will be enough to win in the postseason remains to be seen. The Vikings’ two losses this season have come by 17 points in Week 2 in Philadelphia and by 37 points in Week 11 against Dallas at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings are likely going to have to go through at least one of those teams to get where they want to go and the disappearing act that we have seen for portions of regular-season games could prove fatal in the playoffs.
The Vikings’ third-quarter woes became an issue again Sunday as Cousins completed 2-of-5 passes for 8 yards but was sacked twice for minus 14 yards. The rushing game only generated 16 yards total in the quarter against a tough Jets defense. Cousins completed 21 of 35 passes with a touchdown but was sacked twice and hit nine times.
Cousins added to his own pain by scrambling for an 11-yard gain on third-and-9 in the second quarter. He ended the run by lowering his shoulder into Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley. Cousins also took a vicious hit late in the first half and was in obvious pain, but didn’t miss snap. His 10-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter gave the Vikings a 12-point advantage.
That lead was at 5 points with 1:43 remaining as the Jets faced a fourth-and-goal from the Vikings’ 1. Braxton Berrios bobbled White’s pass in the end zone and it fell incomplete. Vikings fans breathed their latest sigh of relief as O’Connell exited the field prepared to deliver a message that’s far more fun in a winning locker room.
“As I told our team afterwards, 10 wins in this league through 12 opportunities, I think they’ve earned the right to feel confident,” O’Connell said, “but I do think we’ve got to continue to prepare like every single week is the most important game of our season because that’s what we’ve done.
“I give our players a ton of credit, our leadership a ton of credit for that, and as we move forward here, we’re going to continue to be tested, and we’re going to have to earn the right to go into these games with confidence. This 10-2 record means absolutely nothing. We’ve got to go prepare, get better, and play our best here towards the end of the season.”
Vikings fans wouldn’t mind if that included a few double-digit victories.
