The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 10 as heavy favorites against a struggling Jacksonville Jaguars squad without quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The purple and gold got a win last week against the Colts, but needed to keep winning to stay in the race for the NFC North.
The game didn't quite go how many expected it to go. The Vikings' offense moved the ball fairly well but continued to turn the ball over when it appeared as though points would be put on the scoreboard.
The final score of the game was 12-7 with the Minnesota Vikings coming out on top despite the Vikings going five for 13 on third down and getting blanked in the red zone.
Offensive mistakes nearly lead to Vikings collapse vs. Jaguars
The Minnesota Vikings needed to rely on the leg of kicker John Parker Romo in his first regular season action to take the lead in the fourth quarter after failing to execute in the red zone on multiple occasions.
A Jacksonville fumble gave Minnesota the ball back with about six and a half minutes to go in the game and a one-point lead. To that point, all nine of the Vikings' points had come from John Parker Romo field goals
Once again, the purple and gold couldn't execute in the red zone and John Parker Romo had to settle for a 29-yard field goal. With that kick, the Vikings' lead increased to five points with a little over four minutes left.
Sam Darnold's three interceptions didn't matter when the Minnesota defense clamped down and intercepted a Mac Jones pass to get the ball in the Vikings' hands once again. The offense ate some time but were sacked outside field goal range on third down to give Jacksonville another opportunity.
Mac Jones and the Jaguars moved the ball well with short passes and benefited from a facemask call on linebacker Blake Cashman to keep their hope alive.
Mac Jones heaved the ball deep for Gabe Davis, but the pass was intercepted by Vikings safety Camryn Bynum, who celebrated RayGun style in the end zone with under two minutes remaining in the game. The game was put away when a personal foul gave Minnesota a first down and Jacksonville couldn't stop the clock.
Credit goes to Aaron Jones for his 80 rushing yards as well as T.J. Hockenson catching eight passes for 72 yards. However, it was the defense that kept the Minnesota Vikings in the game and able to win this game without a single offensive touchdown.
With the win, the Minnesota Vikings moved to 7-2 on the season and the Jaguars moved to 2-8. Next week, the team will travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans.