With the game tied at 7-7 White Trae Waynes Jersey , t from their 40-yard line to start the second quarter of play against the New York Jets. Kirk Cousins’ pass for Stefon Diggs fell incomplete, and the Vikings called on Matt Wile to punt the ball away. Wile’s punt floated to Andre Roberts at the Jets’ 9-yard line, and he muffed his attempt at a fair catch. Jayron Kearse was right there and appeared to have recovered the muff, but the officials ruled that Roberts had gotten it back.The Vikings’ defense forced another three-and-out, and Lachlan Edwards dropped the snap in the end zone. He then got off a very short punt, with the ball going out of bounds in Jets’ territory at the 40-yard line, with a 5-yard penalty giving the Vikings great field position at the New York 35.The drive started with Morris Claiborne getting flagged for pass interference trying to cover Adam Thielen to give the Vikings a first down. Cousins then found Latavius Murray for seven yards, and a quick pass to Thielen got a first down to the 19-yard line. After a short run by Murray, Cousins found Thielen again to set up a first-and-goal at the 3-yard line. After an incomplete pass and a false start penalty, the Vikings faced third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, and Cousins’ pass for Kyle Rudolph fell incomplete. Dan Bailey came on to attempt a 26-yard field goal, and he blasted it through to give the Vikings the lead back at 10-7 with just over ten minutes left in the half.Bailey’s kickoff was returned by Andre Roberts to the Jets’ 31-yard line, and Sam Darnold and company set up shop there. A long pass intended for Robby Anderson fell incomplete, and on second down the Vikings got their first sack of Darnold, courtesy of Danielle Hunter. That’s his seventh straight game with a sack, and his eighth on the season. Darnold’s pass on third down fell incomplete, and it was a second straight three-and-out for the Minnesota defense. Marcus Sherels returned the punt to the Minnesota 20 to start the Vikings’ next drive.Murray got stuffed on first down to start things off, losing four yards and putting the Vikings behind schedule. Mike Boone then dropped a pass to bring up third and long, and Cousins’ third down throw fell incomplete. Wile came on to punt the ball away, and his punt was fair caught by Roberts at the Jets’ 43-yard line.Isaiah Crowell got a short gain on the ground to start the drive for the Jets, and on second down Darnold and Crowell botched the exchange and fumbled the ball, with Anthony Barr falling on it at the Jets’ 44-yard line.Unfortunately, the Vikings’ offense did nothing with the football, as they only gained about three yards. Wile came on to punt the ball away again Youth Harrison Smith Jersey , and Roberts fair caught the punt at the Jets’ 16-yard line.The Jets were kind enough to answer with a three-and-out of their own, as Darnold’s pass for Robby Anderson fell incomplete. Edwards punted the ball away, and Marcus Sherels got a nice return to give the Vikings the ball at their own 33.Once again, however, the Vikings went three-and-out, as Cousins’ pass on third down wasn’t anywhere close to anybody. Wile punted the ball away again, and the Jets got the return out to their own 20-yard line.The Jets’ started their drive with a holding penalty to move themselves back to first-and-20. A screen pass for the Jets then lost five more yards, and the Jets were looking at second-and-25 from their own 5. Sebastian Thunderbucket Tom Johnson then dropped Crowell for a loss on third down, and the Jets punted it away again. Marcus Sherels got a nice return, and with a penalty on the Jets the Vikings started out at the New York 30-yard line.Minnesota’s offense continued to struggle, as Cousins’ third down pass to Diggs was short of the sticks on third down. They brought in Dan Bailey for a 42-yard field goal attempt, and he pushed it wide to the left to keep the score at 10-7. That’s how we went into the locker room at the break.The Vikings’ offense has been downright ugly since the first drive of the game, and that’s reflected in the numbers. Kirk Cousins started out having completed 9-of-11 passes, but at halftime has completed 12-of-23 for 104 yards and a touchdown. The running game has gone back to being ineffective, as Latavius Murray has just 13 yards on seven carries. Mike Boone has nine yards on his lone carry of the afternoon.On the receiving side, Adam Thielen has five receptions for 63 yards in the first half. Kyle Rudolph has a 16-yard reception, and Stefon Diggs actually has four receptions, but they’ve netted a total of just 15 yards. Latavius Murray and Laquon Treadwell each have one catch in the first half.The Jets will get the ball to start the second half, as they won the coin toss and chose to defer.We’re at halftime at MetLife Stadium, ladies and gentlemen, and in an ugly game the Vikings hold a 10-7 lead over the Jets. Come on in and join us for the third quarter of play, won’t you? After a shaky start that had fans concerned, the Minnesota Vikings seem to have found a small groove with a modest two game winning streak. Yet after six games and a 3-2-1 record, I’m still not sure what to make of this team. Hall of Fame coach (and Mike Zimmer mentor) Bill Parcells has famously said ‘you are what your record says you are’ Youth Stefon Diggs Jersey , and that usually gets to the heart of the matter for most teams in the NFL.For the Vikings this year, I don’t know if that phrase applies yet or not. I mean it does, but it kinda doesn’t, because they have been as schizophrenic a team as there is in the NFL so far in 2018. They beat the defending Super Bowl champion on the road, but lost to a bad Bills team with a bad rookie QB at home. They vomit up yards and points on defense against Buffalo, Green Bay and Los Angeles, but they pretty much shut down the Eagles, Cardinals, and 49ers. So how they play Sunday against the Jets should give us an idea of what we’re dealing with from here on out.‘But Ted’, you say, ‘it’s just the Jets. How is this the barometer to determine how the season will turn out?’Maybe ‘do or die’ from the title is a bit dramatic of a phrase, as there’s plenty of football left after the Jets game, win or lose. And if you believe 538’s projections, the Vikings have a 57% chance to make the playoffs right now, and a 43% chance to win the division. So things are probably a little better than I personally think they are.Yet...this is a game that historically has been a tough one for the Vikings to overcome—outside, on the road, and it’s against an opponent they’ve never beaten as the visiting team. Ever, in franchise history. A loss here doesn’t doom the season, but it more than likely confirms that the Vikings as a serious Super Bowl contender are probably gone with the wind, barring a dramatic turnaround.Yes, yes, I know what happened in the 1980’s or whatever doesn’t apply to today, and under Mike Zimmer the Vikings have really slayed a lot of the underachieving demons this team was generally known for, like winning outside on the road White Eric Kendricks Jersey , for example.Even though the Vikings were 6-2 as they headed to the bye last year, we really weren’t sure what to make of them yet.Well, at least I wasn’t quite sure. They had defeated one good team (New Orleans), lost to another (PIttsburgh), and had beaten a slew of mediocre to bad teams (the Green Bay win was the famous ‘Rodgers walks into A Barr game, and Brett Hundley took over). They were working with a backfield by committee and essentially a third string QB as well, so the vibe that team was giving off was a little different than the one the 2018 team currently has.But the game that made me think Minnesota had something going last year was their first game out of the bye, against, ironically enough, the Kirk Cousins-led Washington Redskins. At the time the ‘Skins were 4-4, playing at home, and very much in the discussion for a playoff spot. Minnesota’s historical performance in Washington is really up (Toby Gerhart goes HAM after AP had his knee shredded game in 2011) and down (Robert Griffith III is still running from 2012, Sam Bradford keeps getting sacked on the final drive from 2016). The Vikings took it to Washington early, opening up a 35-17 lead, and then managed to hold on as turnovers made the game closer than it should have. The Vikings managed to fight through that second half adversity, went on a game clinching drive in the fourth quarter, and won a big game.Sunday’s game has a similar feel for me. The Jets are 3-3, and rookie QB Sam Darnold looks like he’s a legit NFL starter so far. They’re holding their own in the AFC New England Division, and a win really gives them momentum heading into two big road games against the Bears and Dolphins.A convincing win by the Vikings and I think Minnesota is firmly back from the early season ups and downs, and will be riding a three game winning streak as they go home to face New Orleans and Detroit before their bye week.A loss? 3-3-1 probably means they’ll need to go 7-2 to get to 10-5-1 and assure themselves of a playoff spot and a home wildcard game. Would you have faith a 3-3-1 team with losses to two rookie QB’s could win seven of their last nine?I’m not sure I do.
