Vikings score well, remarkable PFF numbers after victory over Jaguars

The Vikings got one ugly win over the Jaguars on Sunday, overcoming three Sam Darnold interceptions and an inability to get into the end zone by dominating the stat sheet, making four field goals and coming up with three takeaways of his own in the final seven minutes of the game. It wasn’t beautiful by any means – and that’s true real concerns about Darnold and his turnovers improved – but most importantly it was a win that moved them to 7-2 on the season.

Let’s take a look at this week’s short counts and some notable PFF numbers to see what we can learn.

Vikings offensive numbers vs. Jaguars (out of 84)

* QB Sam Darnold: 84
*C Garrett Bradbury: 84
*LG Blake Brandel: 84
* RG Ed Ingram: 84
* RT Brian O’Neill: 84
* LT Cam Robinson: 84
*WR Justin Jefferson: 78
*WR Jordan Addison: 62
* TE Josh Oliver: 57
*RB Aaron Jones: 44
*WR Jalen Nailor: 42
* TE TJ Hockenson: 39
* RB Cam Akers: 26
* FB CJ Ham: 19
* TE Johnny Mundt: 18
*WR Trent Sherfield: 12
* RB Ty Chandler: 12
*WR Brandon Powell: 11

The Vikings absolutely dominated time of possession in this game, running 84 offensive plays on the season. Oliver remains an extremely important part of their offense, even with Hockenson back. He had 4 catches for 52 yards, giving him consecutive games with at least four receptions for the first time in his career. Hockenson was the Vikings’ leading receiver with 8 catches for 72 yards in his second game back from injury, and his playing time numbers continue to grow week over week.

Jones took a helmet to the ribs in this match, but was able to return and should be good to go moving forward. Jones’ brief absence led to a few snaps for Chandler as the RB3 behind Akers.

Top 5 PFF grades for offense (min. 20 snaps)

1. Hockenson-85.6
2. O’Neill — 75.0
3. Oliver-74.7
4. Jefferson-67.6
5. Bradbury-66.8

Jones and Ingram narrowly missed this list. All five of the Vikings’ offensive linemen posted a pass blocking grade of at least 65, which is encouraging. It was the quietest game for Jefferson all season, as the Jaguars played almost exclusively in shells with two high safeties designed to limit explosives from Jefferson and Addison on the outside. That’s part of what led to so much success for the Vikings’ two tight ends.

The lowest foul marks went to Nailor and Akers.

Vikings vs. Jaguars defensive snap counts (out of 44)

* S Harrison Smith: 44
* CB Byron Murphy Jr: 44
* CB Stephon Gilmore: 44
* S Josh Metellus: 43
* OLB Jonathan Greenard: 42
*S Camryn Bynum: 40
* OLB Andreas Van Ginkel: 40
*LB Blake Cashman: 35
*DL Harrison Phillips: 29
* LB Ivan Pace Jr: 26
*DL Jonathan Bullard: 22
*DL Jerry Tillery: 21
* DL Jihad department: 18
* OLB Dallas Turner: 11
* OLB Pat Jones II: 10
* CB Shaq Griffin: 10
*DL Jalen Redmond: 5

Conversely, because the Vikings dominated the time of possession so much, their defense was barely on the field. While there they were back to full strength thanks to the return of Cashman, who made his usual impact with a sack and five tackles. Pace still factored in and had his own pocket, while Kamu Grugier-Hill was reduced to a special teams-only role with the top two LBs healthy again.

Turner played just 11 snaps after seeing 26 last week. It will be interesting to see if he gets more opportunities next week.

Top 5 PFF grades for defense (min. 20 snaps)

1.Murphy-89.1
2. Pace — 72.6
3. Bynum —72.3
4. Greenard-69.0
5. Cashman-65.5

Redmond, Jones and Ward had good grades, but missed the qualifications. It was a pretty recent stretch for Murphy, who had a slow start to the season but has been playing very well lately in a contract year. He has a team-high four interceptions, including one in each of the last three games. Bynum is right behind him with three of them. Greenard didn’t have any pressure in this game after recording at least five in each of the first eight games, but he still had a big impact in point defense.