LONDON, UK — The scene was ominous.
The Minnesota Vikings watched a 17-point lead shrink to just six points with a future Hall of Fame quarterback stepping under center with over three minutes to play.
New York quarterback Aaron Rodgers marched the Jets into Vikings territory before veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore clinched the game with an interception on his back to allow the Vikings to escape with a 23-17 victory.
The Vikings picked off Rodgers three times, including a pick-six by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel in the first quarter to put Minnesota up 10-0. Minnesota safety Cam Bynum picked a pass on the next possession, marking the first time in Rodgers' storied career that he started a game with two interceptions in the first quarter. It also marked the second time this season Rodgers was picked off multiple times in a game.
Vikings fullback C.J. Ham got into the end zone for the first time this season late in the second quarter to give the Vikings a 17-0 lead, but the offense failed to get much going from that point on.
Quarterback Sam Darnold engineered a late scoring drive to put Minnesota up 23-17 with just over three minutes to play, but it was Gilmore's late grab that secured the victory.
"Our defense was just lights out, picking up our team when needed them," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. "We'll go into the bye 5-0. Five incredibly difficult challenges so far to start this season, including wrapping it up with a trip that we very much look forward to."
The Vikings are 5-0 for the first time since 2016 and will now have a bye week to bask in the early season success, but there were definitely some concerns to come out of Sunday's game. Here are three takeaways from Sunday's win in London:
Defense to the rescue
For the first time this season, quarterback Sam Darnold was held without a touchdown pass, and it nearly resulted in the team's first loss.
However, with their backs against the wall, the Vikings' defense came up clutch. Stephon Gilmore fell to the turf as he hauled in the game-sealing pick, capping a three-turnover performance for the unit. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell is now 22-0 when the team breaks even or wins the turnover battle.
The Vikings got to Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, sacking him three times to increase their sacks total in the league to 20. Entering Sunday, Minnesota led the league in sacks this season.
Ivan Pace, Jr. returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an ankle injury, and he came up with a crucial sack in the fourth quarter to derail the Jets' drive. Rodgers has now been sacked eight times over the past two weeks.
"We still haven't played our best ball," said Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who hit Rodgers three times on Sunday. "It's crazy to say ... We're putting something together really good, and we're barely getting our foot in the water."
Darnold's rough day
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold struggled to get into a rhythm, especially in the second half when the Vikings were held to just six points and four total first downs.
The NFC Offensive Player of the Month completed a pair of passes on Minnesota's final scoring drive, to help set up a late field goal, but he continually missed receivers throughout the game. The Jets did a good job of flustering him, sacking him four times while forcing him to throw off-balanced several times throughout the game.
Minnesota's defense helped mask some of Darnold's errant throws, but it was definitely concerning, considering that the Vikings have been outscored 32-9 in the second half the past two weeks.
"What I told our team is there's going to be days like this, and when there's days like this, good football teams find a way to pick each other up against a future Hall of Fame quarterback," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. "Tough circumstances. Kind of a sloppy day. ... There were a thousand excuses out there, our team didn't look for any of them. They just kept playing."
Reichard, Wright have strong showings
It's never a great sign when the punter and kicker are two of the bright spots, but Ryan Wright and Will Reichard delivered when the team needed them most.
Wright placed a punt inside the 5-yard line in the fourth quarter to help the defense force a three-and-out with the game very much up in the air. The Jets' offense couldn't get anything going back up against their own goal line, and it resulted in a short field for Minnesota's offense.
The Vikings weren't able to do much on offense, either, but they were able to creep into field goal range for kicker Reichard to hit his second 50-plus yarder of the game to stretch the lead to two scores. He added another field goal — a 41-yarder — with 3:07 to play to help Minnesota stretch its lead to six points with 3:07 to play.
Wright and Reichard were two of the outliers for the Vikings on special teams as they struggled, particularly in punt coverage, committing a roughing the punter and allowing a 31-yard punt return late in the first half to help set up the Jets for their first score of the game.
Extra points
Rodgers eclipses 60,000: Aaron Rodgers became just the ninth player in NFL history to throw for 60,000 passing yards in his career. The mark came on a third-down completion to tight end Tyler Conklin in the third quarter.
Still unbeaten overseas: The Vikings improved to 4-0 in games played in London, including wins in 2013, 2017 and 2022.
Jones injures hip: Vikings running back Aaron Jones left the game in the first half with a right hip injury and never returned. He amassed 29 yards rushing on seven carries and caught a 24-yard pass on third down before leaving the game.
