Vikings hold on to deny Rodgers & Jets comeback London win

Justin Jefferson had 92 receiving yards for the Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings held on to claim a 23-17 win in London and deny Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets a thrilling comeback victory.

The Vikings came into the game as one of just two unbeaten NFL teams - along with last season's Super Bowl winners the Kansas City Chiefs.

And they gave Rodgers, the Jets' legendary quarterback, a torrid time as they charged into a 17-0 lead in front of 61,139 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Jets gave themselves hope right before half-time, before Rodgers threatened to lead the Jets back as the rain began to fall in north London.

The NFL's four-time Most Valuable Player found Garrett Wilson for a touchdown to cut the score to 20-17 with six minutes left.

Minnesota added a field goal, giving the Jets just over three minutes to march up the field and claim a game-winning touchdown.

But with 49 seconds remaining and the Jets edging towards Minnesota's endzone, Rodgers was intercepted for the third time in the game, allowing the Vikings to improve their record to 5-0 while the Jets dropped to 2-3.

Vikings keep up the feel-good factor

The Vikings are becoming this season's feel-good story in the NFL. The organisation was rocked by the death of rookie Khyree Jackson in the off-season before they lost rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy to a season-ending knee injury.

That meant that Sam Darnold would begin a season as the starting QB for the first time in three years and, according to the pre-season odds, 22 teams were deemed to have a better chance of reaching the Super Bowl.

But Kevin O’Connell's team have used that adversity as inspiration, beating the San Francisco 49ers, who lost last season's Super Bowl, as well as two more teams who reached last season's play-offs - Houston and Green Bay.

Now they faced the Jets, who have gone ‘all in’ on reaching the Super Bowl after luring Rodgers from Green Bay in 2023 and building a young, dynamic roster around him.

They have had one of the best defences in the NFL yet the Vikings' defence was on top during a dominant first half, intercepting Rodgers on back-to-back possessions for New York.

The first drew the biggest cheer of the day as the Vikings' faithful roared on Andrew van Ginkel as the linebacker made a marauding run down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown.

Darnold then led a 74-yard drive, which culminated in full-back CJ Ham punching the ball in from two yards.

The Vikings held off a second-half fightback by Green Bay last week and again they did enough, showing resilience in the rain, with Will Reichard kicking his second and third field goals to keep them in front before cornerback Stephon Gilmore claimed the decisive interception.

After the game, linebacker Jonathan Greenard talked about proving the "naysayers" wrong, warning that "we still haven't played our best ball", and they now have a bye week before taking on another of last season's play-off teams, Detroit.

Rodgers endures difficult day

Jonathan Greenard registered three of the Vikings' 11 tackles on Aaron Rodgers

For the second time in three years, London was treated to a visit from Rodgers, one of the NFL’s best-ever quarterbacks.

Last time round his Green Bay Packers were upset by the New York Giants, and Rodgers endured another difficult day with his new team.

The 40-year-old is a familiar foe for the Vikings. With Green Bay being divisional rivals, they used to meet twice a season, Rodgers winning 17 of his previous 29 starts against Minnesota.

He was given a hostile reception by the Vikings fans as they booed him on to the field for the Jets' first series, and Minnesota's defence was equally unwelcoming, forcing the Jets to go three-and-out on their first two possessions and claiming interceptions on their next two - via Van Ginkel and Camryn Bynum.

The Jets then regrouped and, after his first season with the Jets was wiped out by a torn Achilles, Rodgers showed he has regained his mobility, dancing out of the pocket to fire a 14-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard.

In the third quarter, Rodgers became just the ninth player to pass 60,000 passing yards but gave the Jets a scare after being tackled, rolling around on the Tottenham turf and holding the back of his leg.

Although he hobbled off, Rodgers swiftly returned and led the Jets into field-goal range, Greg Zuerlein cutting the score to 17-10.

Rodgers continued to toil away, taking advantage of a Darnold interception to pick out Garrett Wilson for his second touchdown pass and then lead the Jets into a game-winning possession at the death.

But the Jets will need to protect their veteran QB better if they are to end the NFL's longest active play-off drought as Rodgers was hit 11 times.

With the Vikings' defence having restricted the Jets to just 36 rushing yards, it meant Rodgers attempted 54 passes, with a completion rate of 53.7%, and it was just the sixth time in his career that he's thrown three interceptions in a game.