Zulgad's Roundup: Vikings star Justin Jefferson says "There's definitely room for improvement" after offense struggles vs. Jets
The wide receiver and coach Kevin O'Connell are pleased with the team's 5-0 start, but made it clear Sunday's win over the New York Jets in London didn't live up to their standards.
There has been a lot to like about the Vikings’ start to the season.
Expected to be in the group of wait-until-next-year also-rans, the Vikings are leading the NFC North with a 5-0 record entering their bye week. Their plus-63 point differential is the best in the NFL and the 3 minutes, 26 seconds they have trailed through five games puts them fifth on the all-time list since the 1970 merger, according to ESPN Research.
The 2009 New Orleans Saints never trailed in their first five games and went on to win the Super Bowl; the 1984 Miami Dolphins trailed for 1:07 and lost in the Super Bowl; the 2023 San Francisco 49ers trailed for 1:45 and lost in the Super Bowl; and the 1999 St. Louis Rams trailed for 2:30 and won the Super Bowl.
Despite this success, Vikings coaches and players on the offensive side of the ball weren’t doing any celebrating Sunday after a 23-17 victory over the New York Jets in London. The Vikings got a defensive touchdown, on Andrew Van Ginkel’s second Pick Six of the season, and three field goals from rookie kicker Will Reichard. The only touchdown generated by the offense came on fullback C.J. Ham’s 2-yard run that completed an eight-play, 74-yard drive.
“(I) wasn't happy about how the offense played as a whole,” said Pro Bowl wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught six of the 14 passes on which he was targeted for 92 yards. “We definitely left yards, points out there. There's definitely room for improvement and room to work. I'm excited for this bye week to get a rest and get back to it, but we definitely need to fix some things.”
Jefferson’s coach, Kevin O’Connell, said, “I didn't think, particularly offensively, our execution was up to our standard. Way too many pre-snap penalties, way too many things that we really talked about.”
The Vikings were called for a season-high 11 penalties for 80 yards on Sunday, including six on the offense (two were false starts, one an illegal shift and another an illegal formation) and four on special teams.
They also had a fumble and interception, both by quarterback Sam Darnold, and are tied with the Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans for the most turnovers in the NFL with nine. That includes a league-high five fumbles lost.
A year ago, the Vikings finished second in the NFL with 34 turnovers (19 interceptions, 15 fumbles), three fewer than the Cleveland Browns. The difference was the Vikings forced 22 turnovers in 2023 and were near the bottom of the league with a minus-12 turnover differential. This season, the Vikings’ defense already has forced 13 turnovers, including 11 interceptions, and are near the top of the league at plus-four.
Both penalties and turnovers figure to be a primary focus during O’Connell’s self-scout this week. O’Connell can’t be pleased about either of these areas, considering the focus he put on disciplined and smart play in training camp.
Darnold had his worst day of the season, going 14-of-31 for 179 yards with an interception against the team that drafted him third overall in 2018. New York is ranked second in total defense and pass defense, so this was no easy assignment, but O’Connell’s play calling showed he wasn’t about to decrease his expectations for Darnold. Especially with running back Aaron Jones missing much of the game because of a hip injury, and Jefferson being the focal point of the Vikings’ offense.
“Being 5-0, our offense has had a lot to do with that, but there's going to be days where we've got to figure it out and we've got to do a better job, and that starts with me,” O’Connell said.
FLORES EARLY-SEASON FAVORITE FOR HONOR
Brian Flores’ remarkable work with the Vikings’ defense continued against the Jets and should put him in the lead to be named the Associated Press assistant coach of the year. Chosen by a panel of 50 media members, the honor was first presented in 2014.
Flores seemed like a logical candidate for the award in his first season as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator in 2023, but it went to Cleveland Browns DC Jim Schwartz.
This year, working with personnel that better suits what he wants to do, Flores’ defense has become one of the NFL’s best. The Vikings are fourth in the league in scoring defense (15.2 points per game) and second against the rush (67.2 yards per game).
The Vikings are 16th in total yards given up (330.2), in large part because they are surrendering 263 passing yards a game, putting them near the bottom of the league. That can be attributed to the fact the Vikings have taken significant leads and teams are forced to pass against them, although Flores would find that to be an excuse.
Flores wouldn’t be the first Vikings’ assistant to win assistant coach of the year. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur won it after the Vikings went 13-3 in 2017 with Case Keenum at quarterback. Six times the award has gone to a defensive coordinator.
FLORES ON THE MOVE?
The real question is will Flores get a head coaching job this offseason?
He deserves a second chance — Flores went 24-25 with the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021 — but his racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and several of its teams remains ongoing.
In August, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called Flores a “terrible person” during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard show.
Flores didn’t get a job interview last offseason and Tagovailoa’s comments could give NFL owners even more reason to stay away. Flores, to his credit, was very open in addressing what Tagovailoa had to say and several Vikings players offered the coordinator their support.
While Flores might get a chance to lead his own team at some point, it likely will be after his lawsuit is resolved.
BULLET POINTS
If you’re wondering why we didn’t hear from O’Connell on Monday, as is normally the case after a game, the Vikings were traveling back from London. O’Connell will speak to reporters on Tuesday, meaning we should get an update on Jones’ hip injury.
Twins president Dave St. Peter told the Minnesota Star Tribune that a resolution for the team’s television contract could come within the next few weeks. Hopefully that’s the case and hopefully it includes a streaming option so more fans can watch the team. That’s assuming fans still want to watch a club that fell apart late in the season and has a lot of work to do to get the fans back.
Wild owner Craig Leipold said the team’s corporate sponsorship “has been the highest it’s ever been,” that “our low seating has been sold out since the day we put them in, and continues to be sold out” and “the renewal for season-ticket holders was 90 percent.” All of those are viewed as positives by a team that missed the playoffs last season. But Leipold also said, “where we are falling short is game-day ticket sales, so we’ve got to reach out not just to our normal fans that we’ve always had, we need to get to the other fans that are out there. … We’re going to be marketing to them.”
Leipold said that renovations and upgrades around and in Xcel Energy Center are “going to be hugely important.” Added Leipold: “It's very urgent. It's time and the window is right now. We can put Band-aids on things and continue to do Band-aids or we do the whole project. The whole project is so great for downtown St. Paul and it's not just the arena. It's a new Roy Wilkins, an expanded convention center, a new parking ramp, and a convention hotel of 650 rooms. It's a lot of stuff, so we think it's great for downtown. It's good for our fans, good for our market, and we're pushing hard this year.”
Leipold said the city of St. Paul has been fantastic, but pointed out that the legislature and governor also would need to be onboard. “The problem is, nobody knows who’s gonna be running the legislature, Republicans or Democrats,” he said. “We don’t know who the governor’s going to be. We’re kind of in a tough spot right now. But ultimately, we need to get the renovations and the upgrades in this arena.”