An early lead wasn't enough.
Neither were a spirited effort from a beat-up defense and a late rally.
The Jaguars got them all Sunday. What they didn't get was their first victory in nearly three months. Instead, they squandered a double-digit second-half lead – with the Minnesota Vikings rallying for a 27-24 overtime victory at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
Vikings kicker Dan Bailey's 23-yard field goal with 1:53 remaining in overtime gave Minnesota the victory. Vikings safety Harrison Smith intercepted Jaguars quarterback Mike Glennon at the Jaguars 46 to set up the game-winning drive.
"We'll continue to keep fighting and keep working our way through," Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone said. "The way this team is, we're going to continue to support each other and continue to keep fighting until they tell us that it's over."
Added Marrone, "We have to figure out a way and keep battling."
The Jaguars (1-11), who never trailed until late in the third quarter, extended their franchise-record streak with an 11th consecutive loss in a single season.
The Vikings (6-6) won for a fifth time in six games.
"It's a good group," Glennon said. "I haven't seen any pointing fingers. It's all of us together and we win as a team, lose as a team. That's kind of the mentality, we're all in this together. We obviously would love to win more games, but [there's] no pointing fingers. We can't fault effort: play hard, but come up short, one way or another."
Jaguars rookie running back James Robinson's one-yard run pulled the Jaguars to within two with 1:08 remaining, capping an impressive drive that tied the game when Glennon completed the ensuing two-point conversion pass to wide receiver Collin Johnson.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes, with two coming in a momentum-changing third quarter to turn a 10-point Jaguars lead early in the second half into a 19-16 Minnesota lead entering the fourth quarter.
Glennon, making a second consecutive start, completed 28 of 42 passes for 280 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. He was sacked for a safety early in the fourth quarter, part of a strong second-half Minnesota defensive performance.
The Vikings forced four Jaguars turnovers, including two in the second half and one in overtime.
"You look at those things and you evaluate it and it's tough to win football games when you turn the ball over, I believe," Marrone said. "I guess we were at three or four turnovers in the game, so it's tough."
Robinson, who had rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the last five games, rushed for 78 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. The Jaguars had just one second-half offensive score – the Robinson touchdown and two-point conversion that tied the game late.
Cousins completed 28 of 43 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who entered the game as the NFL's second-leading rusher and was the NFC's Offensive Player of the Month in November, rushed for 120 yards on 32 carries.
The Jaguars registered four sacks of Cousins, with defensive end Dawuane Smoot sacking Cousins in the first quarter and again in overtime, middle linebacker Joe Schobert sacking him just before halftime and defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale sacking him in the fourth quarter. Smoot has three sacks the last two games and 4.5 for the season.
Schobert returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half, a play that gave the Jaguars a 16-6 lead.
"It gets to a point where there's no moral victories in football," Schobert said. "You either win or you lost. It's not like, 'Oh, we lost by two. We lost by three.' I think it just speaks to how hard everybody plays and how hard everybody plays for each other."
"To be a good football team you have to win those close games. There are some teams in the league with winning records that have been winning games by three points every week and it's something that we have to be able to do. … It's a learned experience and you have to be able to go and practice and be able to execute it on Sundays.
"I think we just need to keep taking steps in that direction."
Step by step:
*Glennon's 28-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. capped a five-play, 75-yard drive on the game's opening possession and gave the Jaguars a 6-0 lead after kicker Chase McLaughlin's extra point was pushed wide right. Glennon's errant pass deflected off Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd and Shenault caught it alone in the end zone with 12:33 remaining in the first quarter. The Jaguars pushed the lead to 9-0 by driving 66 yards for a 22-yard field goal by McLaughlin with 6:04 remaining in the quarter. The Jaguars outgained the Vikings 162-19 in the first quarter.
*The Jaguars maintained a 9-0 lead much of the second quarter – until Cousins found wide receiver Adam Thielen with a three-yard pass in the back of the end zone with 2:50 remaining in the first half; the play capped a 78-yard drive that began when cornerback Cameron Dantzler intercepted Glennon at the Vikings 22. That made it 9-6 at halftime, marking the first time this season the Jaguars did not trail at any point in the first half. Jacksonville held a 239-115 total-yardage advantage at halftime.
*Schobert cut in front of Cook on the first play of the second half and returned the interception for an easy 43-yard touchdown to push the Jaguars' lead to 10. The Vikings cut the lead to 16-13 with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to fullback C.J. Ham on the ensuing possession; the possession was keyed by a 40-yard pass from Cousins to rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson on 2nd-and-9 from the Vikings 48. The Vikings took their first lead of the game – 19-16 – by driving 90 yards on their next possession with Cousins passing 20 yards to Jefferson with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. Minnesota missed a chance to take control late in the first half after Glennon lost a fumble at the Jaguars 34 trying to scramble; Cook fumbled at the Jaguars 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter and linebacker Myles Jack recovered.
*Minnesota took advantage of the field position when defensive end Ideadi Odenigbo sacked Glennon for a safety with 14:15 remaining; that gave the Vikings a 21-16 lead. Minnesota stymied the Jaguars' offense through much of the fourth quarter, extending the lead to eight with a 48-yard field goal by Bailey with 3:50 remaining.
Notable: Jake Luton, who started three games at quarterback for the Jaguars in November, was among the team's six inactives Sunday; Gardner Minshew II, the Jaguars' starting quarterback in Games 1-7, backed up starting quarterback Glennon after being inactive the last four games with a thumb injury. The Jaguars' other five inactives Sunday: cornerback Sidney Jones IV (Achilles), linebacker Dakota Allen (ankle), linebacker Kamalei Correa (hamstring), tight end Tyler Davis and defensive end Reggie Gilbert. Joe Giles-Harris started at strongside linebacker for Correa, with rookie Luq Barcoo starting at corner for Jones.
Injury report: Shenault sustained a thumb injury in the second quarter. … Jaguars center Brandon Linder left the game with an ankle injury and did not return.
Up next: The Jaguars will play host to the Tennessee Titans at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville Sunday.
