Minnesota Vikings News and Links: Aaron Jones Undergoing MRI to Determine Severity of Hip Ailment

Silver lining: the bye week would allow an extra week of healing

There was no shortage of Minnesota Vikings types who pointed to Aaron Jones being sidelined for most of Sunday’s hard-fought win over the New York Jets as the primary reason the Vikes had to scratch and claw as they did.

The dots are pretty easy to connect, too. Vikings rushers totaled 30 carries and 82 yards in the win, with Jones taking seven carries for 29 yards. Simple math tells us Jones averaged 4.1 yards per carry, while the other Vikings rushers carried 23 times for 53 yards (2.3 per carry).

Jones also made a terrific catch on Nick Mullens’ only throw of the day, and has caught 17 passes for 167 yards (fourth among NFL running backs) this season.

Sam Darnold had easily his worst game as a Viking on Sunday, completing just 14-of-31 passes for 179 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception (50.3 passer rating). Not having Jones at his disposal most of the game hurts the passing attack in multiple ways.

Not only has Jones been pivotal in the screen game, but he’s also proven to be a capable pass-blocking back as well, with Pro Football Focus grading him out as 73.7 in that regard — 14th among backs who’ve pass-blocked on at least 20 snaps.

By comparison, Ty Chandler has pass-blocked on 20 snaps and graded out at 58.8 (24th).

The bright side is that if Jones’ hip ailment ends up being fairly minor, he has nearly two weeks to rest up for the showdown with the Detroit Lions in Week 7.

But he’ll have an MRI on Monday, as reported by Ian Rapoport, so in the meantime, Vikings fans will wait with bated breath.

“It doesn’t seem like a major injury on its face,” Rapoport suggests. From your lips to God’s ears, Rap Sheet.

Now that we’ve got you calmed down, how about we get your blood boiling again? Over on Detroit Lions on SI, John Maakaron suggests the Vikings may not be that big of a threat to the Lions.

Why Vikings Being Threat to Lions Is Overreaction

That’s where it gets….kind of strange? Maakaron cites a Dan Graziano piece on ESPN and mentions that the Vikings’ schedule is not all that daunting — which is most certainly true for what lies ahead, but not what has already occurred — but from there, I’m not really sure he brings it full circle.

Or at least not in relation to the title of the article. Am I wrong? Is this clickbait? Worse yet — did I give them exactly what they wanted?

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

There’s a scene very early in the first season of Arrested Development where George Bluth Sr. says he’s “having a love affair with this ice cream sandwich” and there was a moment Sunday where I had a similar reaction.

A blitzing linebacker — notably, former Viking Chazz Surratt — briefly sent Sam Darnold to the sidelines. On 3rd-and-4 with a shade over four minutes left in the first quarter and his team up 3-0, Nick Mullens comes in cold and launches a DGAF ball to Aaron Jones, who properly adjusts on his wheel route and high points it to come down with a 24-yard reception and a move of the chains.

Darnold returned on the next play and fumbled the football — recovered by the Jets — but that single play really impressed me from almost all involved. Sure, Mullens underthrew the ball and it could have gone for a much longer gain otherwise, but how often does a team ‘live to fight another day’ when the backup comes in, not just for one play but sometimes for the remainder of the game.

Well, not Kevin O’Connell — and surely not Mullens. I really like Kevin Seifert’s summation here.

They say, “Find someone who matches your freak.”

I think KOC has done that with his backup quarterback.

I grew up in a house with younger sisters — three, to be exact — so I had a special appreciation for Camryn Bynum’s choreographed “Parent Trap” celebration.

Vikings’ celebration from ‘The Parent Trap’ goes viral in London win

If you weren’t aware, the sequel to the 1961 version came out in 1998 — when I was 12 and my sisters ranged from nine down to a year old — and starred a young Lindsay Lohan playing both parts of twins who meet at a summer camp.

I won’t ruin the rest of the movie, but if you’re looking for a fun family night flick to watch with the kids, you can justify it by watching for the special little handshake that Bynum recreated (which appears numerous times throughout the movie).

From Minnesota Vikings on SI, Matthew Coller highlights how Darnold won a game where he didn’t have to shoulder the workload entirely. Quite the opposite, in fact.

In Darnold’s new world, his team can win ugly

And while I noticed that he hadn’t played well, I don’t think I fully appreciated the irony of him doing it against the Jets — the team that very possibly could have torpedoed his NFL career from the start.

Sometimes social media doesn’t tell the full story, but it seemed as though the word coming out of London all week was that Vikings fans had painted the city purple, while Jets fans were seen in much smaller numbers.

RandBall: Vikings fans, you should be proud of your performance in London

For the Minnesota Star Tribune, Michael Rand sets the record straight — confirming this to be the case. The Vikings faithful showed up in droves, more or less turning this into what felt like a true home game for Minnesota rather than just a ceremonial one.

And while it started with fans flocking overseas, it sure didn’t hurt that Jared Allen was there to sound the Gjallarhorn before kickoff, either.

You’ve got a lot to be proud of Vikings fans, and it’s not just your 5-0 football team.

In the news

• Aaron Rodgers reportedly suffered a “low-ankle sprain” — less dastardly than the dreaded high version, which Rodgers may have preferred — but should be ready to go next Monday when the Jets tangle in an interstate clash with the Buffalo Bills next Monday.
• NFL receiving yards leader Nico Collins is considered “day to day” with the hamstring issue that forced him from Sunday’s game. The Texans play the Patriots next weekend. Collins (567) is one of just two players with more receiving yards than Justin Jefferson (450) as of this writing, with Minnesota’s bye week looming in Week 6. (Update: this was amended to “week-to-week” when head coach DeMeco Ryans met with the media Monday afternoon)
• Matt LaFleur said he was hopeful the Packers would have Romeo Doubs back and ready to work Monday after the wideout had a one-game suspension due to conduct detrimental to the team. The Packers held on late at SoFi Stadium for a 24-19 win over the Rams.

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