Stingy Vikings hold the clawless Jaguars to 143 yards in a 12-7 victory and improve to 7-2

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  — The only remotely close part of this matchup was the final score.

Minnesota’s stingy defense held Jacksonville to 143 yards — the fewest in coach Doug Pederson’s three seasons — and the Vikings overcame Sam Darnold’s three interceptions to beat the Jaguars 12-7 on Sunday in a mostly purple-clad stadium.

“Those are the types of games that good teams find a way to win, regardless of what it looks like all day,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “And I’m proud of that, but absolutely a lot of things we need to correct and fix.”

It was an ugly win for the Vikings (7-2) that felt about as lopsided as any blowout in the league this season.

Minnesota ran 82 plays to Jacksonville’s 43. The Vikings held the ball for 42 minutes, 19 seconds to Jacksonville’s 17:41. Minnesota picked up 28 first downs to Jacksonville’s 10. The Vikings ran 39 plays in Jaguars territory and finished with 402 yards.

But Darnold essentially tried to hand the game to Jacksonville (2-8). It was his first three-interception game in three years. He threw a fourth that was negated by a penalty.

All three came while targeting All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, who finished with five catches for 48 yards, and two happened in the red zone.

“I got to do a lot better job to take care of football,” Darnold said. “I think that’s obvious.”

The Vikings finished with three field goals in the five trips inside the 20-yard line. They took the lead on the third of John Parker Romo’s four field goals. Romo hit from 29, 34, 33 and 45 yards in his NFL debut.

The Jaguars had a chance late thanks to Travon Walker’s sack on a third-and-1 play, an odd call against a team that was doing nothing offensively.

Mac Jones, filling in for the injured Trevor Lawrence (non-throwing shoulder) and making his first start in nearly a year, was mostly ineffective. Nonetheless, he had Jacksonville on the move down the stretch and got help from a face-mask penalty against linebacker Blake Cashman.

But Jones threw his second pick with 1:49 remaining to end the rally. Jones had two more turnovers earlier in the fourth — an interception and a fumbled snap.

“The easy stuff just wasn’t good enough by me,” Jones said.

Minnesota looked as though it would have to punt in the final minute, but Walker was flagged for unnecessary roughness on third down for trying to punch the ball out of running back Aaron Jones’ hands. The Vikings took a knee from there.

Mac Jones completed 14 of 22 passes for 111 yards and a 38.3 passer rating.

Darnold’s rating was slightly better after completing 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards. He targeted his tight ends 15 times. T.J. Hockenson finished with eight receptions for 72 yards. Josh Oliver caught four passes for 52 yards.

Jacksonville’s yardage total was the fifth lowest in franchise history and another strike against Pederson, who is 3-13 in his last 16 games.

“I never expected to be here, obviously,” Pederson said. “We have five or six one-score games. It’s hard. As a team, as coaches, we’re making it hard. We’re making it too hard. The guys are frustrated, and they should be. They’re angry, and they should be. We all are.”

Robinson’s return

Vikings left tackle Cam Robinson was flagged for three penalties in his return to Jacksonville. The most egregious one came in the third quarter when Robinson was penalized for hitting cornerback Ronald Darby out of bounds during an interception return. Several of his former teams, including defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, got in Robinson’s face after the play.