LONDON, UK – After a frustrating loss at home to the Denver Broncos, the Jets could really use a bounce-back game on Sunday. Unfortunately, that won’t be easy against an unbeaten Minnesota Vikings team that head coach Robert Saleh admitted is playing at a high level.
Listening to Saleh and the Jets players during Friday’s post-practice news conference, it’s apparent that they view the 4-0 Vikings as a team with a lot of strengths and not many weaknesses.
Much of their success so far can be attributed to Sam Darnold, who defensive tackle Quinnen Williams concedes “is playing at an MVP level.” Darnold leads the NFL in touchdown passes and quarterback rating through four games.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner was also impressed with Darnold, whom he watched extra film on so he could get more familiar with him, but he’ll be mostly focused on a player he’s very familiar with; all-pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Gardner considers Jefferson to be “rightfully” viewed widely as the NFL’s best receiver, but hasn’t faced him since his rookie season when, by his own admission, he was still learning the ropes at that time.
“The game was just so fast for me in general,” he said, but feels confident heading into this matchup because he loves to compete.
However, Saleh essentially admitted that sometimes you have to accept that Jefferson is going to make some plays.
“I’d love to sit here and say we’re going to pitch a shutout, but you know he’s going to get his.” Saleh said. “You’ve just got to make sure you keep it to a minimum.”
On the other side of the ball, the Jets have to cope with defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz-happy defense, which is a daunting task with the offensive line coming off a game where they struggled. Saleh and quarterback Aaron Rodgers both said they expect the Vikings to blitz a lot with Rodgers saying that “we didn’t handle it well” against Denver.
Running back Breece Hall acknowledged that he has a role to play in pass protection and said the Jets need to be more locked-in, so that they can play with more consistency, underlining the importance of being productive on first down against Minnesota to prevent the defense from being able to use some of their more exotic looks.
Saleh said the Jets can mitigate pressure by leaving extra blockers in or running plays that get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand quickly but also reiterated his belief that you need to create explosive plays to be successful at the NFL level, so in some cases you have to trust your basic protection to hold up.
He praised the Vikings’ offensive line for their ability to do this, noting that they’ve been together as a group for multiple seasons, unlike the Jets’ re-tooled line, which currently has rookie Olu Fashanu deputizing for the injured Morgan Moses at right tackle.
Saleh also made note of the fact that the Vikings have been playing with the lead a lot. He has previously underlined the importance of playing with a lead and the advantages this gives you in terms of being in a position to dial up more pressure or try to generate turnovers. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson suggested that the offensive mindset heading into this game is to get in the end zone early to create some early momentum and force Minnesota to play more “true defense”.
This game would have been challenging enough without having to take a transatlantic flight to another country, but the Jets players that spoke to the media on Friday seemed, for the most part, undaunted by this aspect of their preparation.
Hall described himself as “pretty chilled and laid back” saying that he never gets too high or too low, so he’s not bothered about the adjustment required to play in another country. He also said that Rodgers is someone who will downplay the significance of events such as this to try and keep the team focused on their jobs.
Even for Gardner, who had never been outside the United States before this trip, it wasn’t too much of a culture shock and hasn’t affected how he has prepared for the game.
Wilson isn’t viewing the fact that the game is in London as an additional challenge either, saying that he’s someone who is ready to go when it’s time to play and doesn’t overthink things in terms of potential distractions. “If you can’t show up when it’s time to go play,” he said, “then it’s probably not for you.”
Saleh said on Friday that Wilson is the ultimate teammate but he’s “a completely different human between the white lines” and “that’s what makes him special”. That assessment seems to fit in with the above attitude.
While much has been made of the inability of Rodgers and Wilson to get on the same page, Wilson said that the pair have had good weeks of practice and just need to translate that to Sundays. Rodgers shared his optimism, saying “Things are close, and one of these weeks, we’ll put it all together.”
If there’s one area where the Vikings have a potential weakness, it’s in their pass defense where they rank dead last in the NFL. However, even that comes with a caveat. Those numbers were inflated by 271 yards in the second half of last Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, in which Minnesota roared out to a 28-0 lead and then played softer defense in the second half. In addition, they lead the league in interceptions, so they are an opportunistic group.
Saleh is certain that the Rodgers-Wilson connection will get better, though, and said the same thing about the offensive line.
In each case, that will be essential if the Jets are to get their season back on track on Sunday.