EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Minnesota Vikings leave their second trip to the East Coast in three weeks with a win, defeating the New York Jets 37-17 on Sunday to claim sole possession of first place in the NFC North. But the victory took them surviving their own inability to execute offensively at points on the way to a third straight win.
Both teams turned in ugly offensive performances in the first half. The Kirk Cousins who dominated on the road in places like Green Bay, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, showcasing the highest level of his individual game in pressure situations, cooled off quickly upon leading the Vikings down the field on the game’s opening drive, when he hit Adam Thielen for a 34-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Minnesota failed to convert a single third down in the first two quarters, going 0-for-8 in such situations, and often was stuck with tough down-and-distances. Cousins faced a third-and-21, third-and-14 and two third-and-11s in the first half as plays sometimes appeared slow to develop on early downs. The Vikings’ first third-down conversion didn’t come until 10:32 in the third quarter, when Cousins hit Thielen over the middle for a 13-yard gain.
Cousins finished 25-of-40 passing for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Thielen rewrote history on Sunday, becoming the first player in the Super Bowl era to record 100 yards receiving in his team’s first seven games, turning nine catches into 110 yards receiving and a touchdown. His 21-yard reception with 7:06 to play in the game pushed him over the century mark.
Throughout most of the game, the Vikings’ offense struggled to capitalize on the favorable field position earned by its special teams. After Cousins was sacked for a 13-yard loss that put the Vikings at their own 1-yard line in the first quarter, Matt Wile booted a 68-yard punt. It was Wile’s best outing of the season, averaging 47.8 yards per punt, which was aided in part by the wind gusts at MetLife Stadium, and he landed four punts inside the 20-yard line.
While Minnesota’s offense struggled to convert on third down, its defense continued its recent dominance, etching a streak of 20 straight third-down stops that dated back to the end of the Eagles game in Week 5. Facing a rookie quarterback for the second straight week, the Vikings’ defense held Sam Darnold to 17-of-42 passing for 206 yards, a touchdown and a 34.4 passer rating.
It wasn’t until the second half that the Vikings’ offense was finally able to take advantage of the boost the defense provided. Harrison Smith, Holton Hill (on his first play filling in for an injured Xavier Rhodes) and Trae Waynes each picked off a Darnold pass, setting up the offense to extend the lead. On those three instances, the Vikings settled for two field goals by kicker Dan Bailey and Cousins connected with Aldrick Robinson for a 34-yard touchdown and a 34-17 lead.
Minnesota’s running game had trouble following up its explosive performance against Arizona, but choosing to not abandon the ground attack proved beneficial. Latavius Murray notched his second straight game with two rushing touchdowns, and the Vikings finished with 89 yards on the ground as the running game broke through late.
With the win and the Chicago Bears‘ 38-31 loss to the New England Patriots, the 4-2-1 Vikings sit alone in first place in the NFC North. The 3-2-1 Green Bay Packers are on a bye this week.
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