By: Dave Campbell
MINNEAPOLIS – Dan Bailey kicked a 23-yard field goal with 1:49 left in overtime for Minnesota after he missed two extra points and a 51-yard try with 13 seconds remaining in regulation, lifting the Vikings to a 27-24 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday.
The Jaguars (1-11) lost their 11th straight game.
Harrison Smith set up Bailey’s redo with a diving interception at the Jacksonville 46, the fourth turnover of the game by the Jaguars. Jacksonville stayed one game ahead of the winless Jets in the overall standings, trailing New York for the top pick in the next draft.
The Vikings (6-6) kept the playoffs well within reach with their fifth win in six games after their bye despite a steady stream of gaffes.
Justin Jefferson topped the 1,000-yard mark for Minnesota just 12 games into his rookie season, finishing with nine receptions for 121 yards. Adam Thielen had eight catches for 75 yards and a score in his return from a one-game COVID-19 quarantine.
The Jaguars, who’ve had four of their last five outcomes decided by four points or less, had the edge in the unenforced error department. Mike Glennon was picked off twice and lost a fumble in the second half, as did Chris Conley, and the Jaguars had 10 penalties for 83 yards.
Despite all that, James Robinson’s 1-yard run and Glennon’s 2-point conversion pass to Collin Johnson with 1:08 left in regulation capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive to tie it.
Kirk Cousins passed for 305 yards and three touchdowns, producing just enough clutch completions to make up for his throw on the first play of the second half that Joe Schobert returned 43 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Jaguars a 16-6 lead, their largest at any point this season.
Minnesota’s improving defense, which lost 2019 All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks to an aggravated calf injury in pregame warmups, made sure that didn’t last.
Jordan Brailford forced and recovered Glennon’s fumble at the end of a scramble in the third quarter. Ifaedi Odenigbo sacked Glennon for a safety in the fourth quarter after Cousins and Dalvin Cook botched a handoff on first-and-goal from the 2.
Cameron Dantzler, who intercepted Glennon earlier in the game, pried the ball loose from Conley at the Jacksonville 44 with 5:39 left to set up Bailey’s 48-yard field goal.
FOUR FIGURES
Jefferson joined Pro Football Hall of Fame member Randy Moss (1998) as the only rookies in Vikings history to reach 1,000 receiving yards. The others to reach that mark in 12 games in their first NFL seasons were Odell Beckham Jr. (2014), Marques Colston (2006) and Anquan Boldin (2003). Beckham (1,305) was the only one with more than Jefferson (1,039).
JAGGED EDGE
As badly as the Jaguars have been ravaged by injuries and struggled with inexperienced players, they’ve given contending teams legitimate scares after beating Indianapolis in the opener.
The Vikings were outgained 162-19 in the first quarter and trailed 9-0. Glennon lucked into a 28-yard touchdown pass to rookie Laviska Shenault Jr. on the opening drive; an off-target ball glanced off cornerback Kris Boyd’s arm and straight back to Shenault.
Collin Johnson leaped above Boyd for a 34-yard catch on the next drive. Boyd misplayed a third-and-goal throw he could’ve intercepted in the back of the end zone, before McLaughlin, a former Vikings practice squad player, made a 22-yard field goal.
Boyd was later called for an illegal block penalty during a punt return, his third in three games.
INJURY REPORT
Jaguars: C Brandon Linder (ankle) needed help to leave the field in the fourth quarter. … Shenault hurt his thumb in the second quarter. … CB Sidney Jones IV (Achilles tendon) was inactive, again leaving the Jaguars without four of their top five CBs.
Vikings: CB Jeff Gladney (calf) left in the fourth quarter. … TE Brandon Dillon (ankle) departed in the third quarter. … DE D.J. Wonnum (ankle/back), who’s in the lead among players on the active roster with three sacks, was inactive as were RB Alexander Mattison (illness) and TE Irv Smith Jr. (back).
UP NEXT
Jaguars: host Tennessee (8-4) next Sunday.
Vikings: visit Tampa Bay (7-5) next Sunday.
*Courtesy Associated Press
