EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold had opportunities.
Dropping back late in the second quarter on a second-and-goal from Jacksonville's 7, the former No. 3 overall pick looked left, then right before finally settling on star receiver Justin Jefferson over the middle. The former Offensive Player of the Year had a step in the end zone, but the ball was late.
A good pass would have given the Vikings a 9-7 lead with less than 6 minutes to play in the opening half, and could have changed the projection of a game that ended much closer than anticipated. Instead, Jaguars defensive back Montaric Brown intercepted the pass and Minnesota finished the possession with no points.
This became a trend throughout the afternoon.
The Vikings went 0-for-5 in the red zone and finished the game with no touchdowns — the first time this season — as they slogged their way to an ugly 12-7 win at EverBank Stadium. Darnold finished 24 of 38 for 241 yards and three interceptions — two coming in the red zone.
"Whenever you turn the ball over, especially during the course of a game, you have to have a next-play mentality," Darnold said. "Being able to understand what happened and just moving on."
He was particularly upset with his third pick, which came on the opening possession of the second half, but the Vikings are 7-2 and have a chance to sweep the AFC South this weekend against the Tennessee Titans.
"I think it can be a really good learning lesson for Sam, here, in our system of just continuously trusting your feet and eyes, and let them be your barometer for how you make certain decisions," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. "And I thought there were some things execution-wise that could have been better around him."
Prior to Sunday's game, the Vikings had no issues finding the end zone when they got inside the 20 — they were doing it on 64% of their red zone trips. But Darnold's turnovers near the goal line are reminiscent of what he was doing in his first six seasons before coming to Minnesota.
According to Sportradar, only Patrick Mahomes (18) and Dak Prescott (14) have more red zone turnovers than Darnold (13) since he entered the league in 2018, and Darnold has played significantly fewer games.
The Vikings will have a chance to get their red zone offense back on track Sunday when they face one of the Titans, who are allowing touchdowns on nearly 65% of their opponents' red zone trips, according to TeamRankings.com.
"Understanding situations and being able to take care of the ball, especially in the red zone, I think that's kind of the emphasis walking away from the game," said Darnold. "Just going to continue to prepare the way I've been preparing, keeping the routine the same. When it comes down to those situations on first and second down, even third down, understanding what the defense is doing, understanding the flow of the game and doing the right thing with the ball every single play."
The Vikings will look to clean up their red zone efficiency this week on the road against a Titans defense that has allowed touchdowns on 11 of their opponents' last 13 red zone trips.
Here are a few storylines heading into Sunday's showdown in Tennessee:
Welcome to the NFL
The last time the Vikings played the Titans, a star was born.
On Sept. 27, 2020, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins lofted a pass midway through the third quarter to a wide-open Justin Jefferson, who cut back inside and hit his signature "Griddy" as he crossed the goal line.
The 71-yard score highlighted a massive game for the 21-year-old rookie, who finished the game with seven catches for 175 yards, and helped prepare the world — somewhat — for what Jefferson was about to do over the next four-and-a-half season.
Jefferson is now the No. 4 receiver in Vikings history regarding career receiving yards, and has emerged as one of the top pass-catchers in the league. He set single-season records for receptions (128) and yards (1,809) in 2022 to earn him the NFL Offensive Player of the Year that year.
The Vikings offense looks a little different than it did back in 2020, but Jefferson is still making the same highlight-reel-type plays he made during his third career game in the NFL.
Defensive dominance
After getting torched by the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams — allowing more than 30 points and nearly 400 yards in each game — Minnesota's defense got back on track the past two weeks.
The Vikings have allowed just one offensive touchdown in November and held the Jaguars to just 143 yards of total offense. Minnesota's defense is allowing the third-fewest points per game (17.4) and leads the league in interceptions (15) and turnovers (20). Opponents have only been able to score on 25% of their drives this season, making Minnesota the second-best defense in the league in terms of scoring efficiency.
"Collectively, we have a pretty high football IQ," said Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. "Our staff, we're trying to see game flow and what the plan is against us. I think we have the capability of making some changes and adjustments at halftime — or, really, I like to do it before halftime — but halftime's the time where you've got the whole group in there and you can talk to them and say, 'Hey, as a group, this is what they're doing and this should help us if we execute.'"
Hockenson's return to form
If there was any rust after missing the first seven games of the season because of injury, T.J. Hockenson appears to have shaken it off.
The two-time Pro Bowl tight end returned to game action in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts, and after a quiet return — three catches for 27 yards — he was quarterback Sam Darnold's go-to guy on Sunday against the Jaguars. He led the team with eight grabs for a team-high 72 yards, including four third-down catches that went for first downs.
All four of his first-down catches on third down came on the same drive, and while the offense failed to come away with points — Darnold was picked off in the end zone — Hockenson proved to be the reliable pass-catcher he was prior to tearing his ACL and MCL last December.
"Yeah, I mean those third-down catches, working the intermediate area," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell of Hockenson. "... (We) wanted to get. T.J. going that way and just great execution, throw and run after catch, for sure."
Hockenson will have his work cut out for him this weekend as he goes up against a stingy Tennessee secondary that is holding opponents to a league-best 156.7 yards per game through the air. The Titans have, however, allowed 14 catches to tight ends over the past two games.
Titans turning back the clock
Fans of old-school football will like how Tennessee plays the game — stingy defense and a hard-nosed ground attack. The Titans are holding opponents to a league-best 273.6 yards per game and have the 10th-best rushing attack (126.3 yards per game) with running back Tony Pollard leading the way.
Quarterback Will Levis has been up-and-down this season, and missed some time with a Grade 2 AC sprain in his right shoulder. He returned last week and put together a solid performance against the Chargers, completing 18 of 23 passes for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
"The challenge this week against Tennessee, they have always been a hard-fought, very physical team — built with their physicality, running the football well and doing some really good things on defense, so, it's going to be a real challenge for us, clearly," said O'Connell. "Very big week for us to prepare to go win another one on the road."
Despite the yardages, the Titans are surrendering the fourth-most points per game as they rank near the bottom of the league in turnover differential (minus-17). With Minnesota's ability to take the football away — the defense has forced at least one turnover in each of the first nine games — this could be a big opportunity for Brian Flores' defense to take over the game.
Stacking up sacks
The Vikings have the sixth-most sacks this season (30) with three players contributing at least 5 sacks. Jonathan Greenard leads the team with 7 sacks, followed by Andrew Van Ginkel (6) and Pat Jones II (5). Minnesota is just one of three teams with three players who have recorded at least 5 sacks.
The Titans have allowed the seventh-most sacks (28) this season, so Minnesota's defense could have an opportunity to disrupt the game in the backfield if some of Brian Flores' blitzes can hit.
Success in the South
The Vikings will have a chance to sweep the AFC South this weekend after defeating the Texans, the Colts and the Jaguars in the first half of the schedule. The Vikings have outscored the AFC 90-44 this season and 67-27 against AFC South opponents.
The Titans are 2-7 overall this season and are winless (0-3) against the NFC North.