Murray, defense lead Vikings to third straight win of the season

The Minnesota Vikings played some old fashioned football on Sunday to get a big win on the road over the New York Jets.

Yes, the Minnesota Vikings may have upgraded their quarterback during the most recent offseason. But Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is not about to change his strategy for winning games just because the team has a fancy new starting signal-caller.

With Zimmer leading the way since 2014, Minnesota’s bread and butter has centered around having a solid rushing attack and an elite defense. That game plan was on full display during the Vikings’ 37-17 win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

With the victory, the Vikings are now 4-2-1 this season and have moved into first place in the NFC North thanks to the Chicago Bears losing to the New England Patriots this week.

After a bit of a slow start by both Minnesota and New York in the first half on Sunday, the Vikings outscored the Jets 27-10 in the final two quarters of the game behind two rushing touchdowns from Latavius Murray. Coming off a career day last week, Murray finished Sunday against New York with 69 yards on the ground on 15 carries.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins also lent some help in putting points up on the board for Minnesota this week. Cousins ended Sunday throwing for 241 yards and two scores, including an impressive 34-yard touchdown pass to Vikings receiver Aldrick Robinson in the fourth quarter.

Speaking of receivers, Minnesota’s Adam Thielen also found the end zone against the Jets and he finished with over 100 receiving yards for the seventh straight week (an NFL record). Thielen finished with nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings’ defense certainly was impressive this week at the very least. Minnesota held New York to just 263 yards on Sunday and forced the Jets to turn the ball over four times.

It was a victory that was anticipated by most for the Vikings this week. But it was still a win that was necessary for Minnesota in order to keep their season on track.

The Vikings will now head back home to prepare for a big primetime showdown against the New Orleans Saints inside U.S. Bank Stadium next Sunday.