10 quick thoughts on the Vikings win over the Jets in Week 13

Unsurprisingly, the Minnesota Vikings escaped another close game on Sunday when they got a Week 13 win over the New York Jets.

At this point, it just seems like the Minnesota Vikings can’t function if they’re in a game that isn’t close. Despite having a 17-point lead near the end of the second quarter on Sunday, the Vikings needed a stop on the final drive of their matchup on Sunday to walk away with a 27-22 win over the New York Jets.

Instead of giving their fans a nice, calm Sunday afternoon to enjoy, Minnesota just had to make things stressful once again. This is clearly just how the Vikings win games under head coach Kevin O’Connell, at least during the current season.

With the victory, Minnesota’s record improves to 10-2 for the first time since 2017. We’ll have a more detailed recap of everything from Sunday in the near future, but what are some of the quick takeaways from the Vikings’ most recent one-score victory?

Quick thoughts on the Vikings win over the Jets

Jefferson comes up huge when he was needed the most: If someone told New York that they were going to hold Justin Jefferson to just 45 receiving yards on Sunday, they probably would’ve thought a win was in the bag.

But even though the Jets did an excellent job defending Jefferson for most of the afternoon, the star Minnesota receiver got the best of the opposing defense when it mattered the most.

After New York cut their deficit to just five points in the fourth quarter, the Vikings responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Jefferson hauling in his sixth touchdown of the season and his fourth score in his last five games.

It wasn’t pretty, but Minnesota’s still made key plays: The Vikings really know how to emphasize the bending aspect of their “bend don’t break” defense as they allowed the Jets to gain a total of 486 yards on Sunday.

However, Minnesota also came up with two interceptions, including one on the final drive of the contest, and they held New York to just 3-for-16 on third downs and 1-for-6 in the red zone. The Vikings’ defense has been at its best in the red zone and in short-yardage situations recently, and they proved that once again on Sunday.