JACKSONVILLE – Jaguars.com senior writer John Oehser each week during the 2024 regular season will speak with a writer or media member covering the Jaguars' opponent.
Up this week:
Craig Peters, Vikings.com senior editor, on the Vikings' matchup with the Jaguars at EverBank Stadium Sunday.
Q: The Vikings are 5-2 with a 21-13 home victory over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday snapping a two-game losing streak after five consecutive victories to open the season. What's the state of the Vikings entering Sunday?
A: The 5-0 start was really great to see. They probably surprised some external projections, evaluations and predictions. They came back and had a big Week 7 game after the bye against the Detroit Lions – a 31-29 loss for the Vikings. Detroit got the field goal in the final minute. They went out to Los Angeles with a quick turnaround, and the Rams got healthy at receiver that night in a 30-20 Week 8 Rams victory. They [the Rams] were firing on all cylinders. The Vikings have had some self-harm along the way. [Vikings Head Coach] Kevin O'Connell has talked about self-inflicteds and really wanting to reduce those. Sunday night was a good step in that direction, with only three penalties for 41 yards. There wasn't a single pre-snap penalty. That's a big step in the right direction. They were penalized eight times in Los Angeles, including five that resulted in first downs for the Rams.
Q: Veteran Sam Darnold has taken over as the Vikings' quarterback after a preseason injury to rookie J.J. McCarthy. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. Assess Darnold.
A: You go back all the way to OTAs (offseason organized team activities) and you started to see things and think, "If that carries into the regular season and the games, that's going to hold up pretty good." He built some nice chemistry with [second-year wide receiver] Jordan Addison, then I couldn't believe how quickly [All-Pro wide receiver] Justin Jefferson and Sam got on the same page. It has been really impressive to see. He has 17 touchdowns this season, which is such a strong start. He does have seven picks, and what has been really impressive is the way he has bounced back after a mistake. You can see him playing confidence. You can see the way O'Connell and what they try to do around quarterbacks and building up that confidence is really helping Sam. The talent has always been there. He was the No. 3 pick [by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft] for a reason. His career-high for touchdowns in the season was 19 in 2019, so he's two away from passing that. Sam is just kind of locked in. He's just very focused.
Q: Offensively, what do the Vikings want to be? What are they when they're good?
A: They want to be balanced. As much as you want to feed the ball to Justin Jefferson, I don't think they want to be completely dependent on that, either. Six players touched the ball Sunday against the Colts before Justin did, so they were really working all around, drawing up, freeing up schemes, giving the opponent a lot to really think about. Getting tight end T.J. Hockenson back in the mix also is important. It's going to be really interesting to see what happens if they can keep those three guys on the field at the same time with Anderson, Addison and Hockenson because it truthfully hasn't happened too much because of injuries to Jefferson and Hockenson the past two years. They still keep a fullback, so they really want the run game to stay in rhythm and avoid negative plays. That just expands O'Connell's call sheet so much when he can stay ahead of the chains and really give that menu.
Q: The Vikings rank 16th in the with 331.9 yards allowed and seventh with 18.8 points allowed. How good is the Vikings' defense?
A: I think the defense caught a lot of people off guard, especially the first few weeks of the season. That 5-0 start rode off the defense quite a bit. They did not let Indianapolis take a snap in the red zone last night even though a Colts series began at the Minnesota 25. They were really locked in. They they really committed a lot of resources to that side of football in free agency, and they can draw a line to some really successful hits. It's a good group. There's a lot of veteran experience on the back end with [13-year veteran safety] Harrison Smith obviously still there. He's having fun. This defense is a lot more aggressive and willing to go after things. Then of course, [veteran cornerback] Stephon Gilmore has added a lot to that room. He and Harrison have really enjoyed being on the same squad together.
Q: What's the end game for the Vikings this season? They trail the Lions by a game in the NFC North, which is perhaps the NFL's toughest division. Can this team contend for the division and possibly the Super Bowl?
A: That's a great question. At times, it didn't seem that far-fetched to say they were playing for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. That's no disrespect to anyone else in the NFC. That's just how good the start was. A lot of factors go into it. Staying healthy the rest of the way is always important, as healthy as you can. After this three-game road swing, the Vikings will have three home games in a row and four in five weeks. It's really backloaded with a lot of home games. It's within legitimate reach. There are six teams in the NFC with at least six wins right now. That's a pretty strong showing. It has been a fun start to the season for the division. There's a lot of energy around. You know the drill, though. If you don't win your division and you have playoff aspirations, the best you get is the No. 5 seed, so there's such a reward there is the if the Vikings can somehow overtake the Lions. But I think just getting to the dance and being healthy is a big part of what O'Connell to trying to push for.
