Jets lose to Vikings in London, drop to 2-3 as comeback falls short
Aaron Rodgers throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 6, 2024 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London. Credit: AP Photo/Ian Walton
LONDON — Aaron Rodgers was in pain and hobbling around much of the game. He fought through it to finish, but he couldn’t finish the comeback.
After being down by 17 points in the second quarter, the Jets had a chance to leave London with an improbable victory.
Rodgers had the ball in the final minute with the Jets driving. He underthrew Mike Williams, Stephon Gilmore picked it off at the Vikings’ 9- yard line with 44 seconds left and the Jets lost, 23-17, on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It was Rodgers’ third interception of the game, matching a career high. One was a pick-6 and played a big role in the Jets (2-3) losing for the second straight game.
“I was below my standard,” Rodgers said. “Three turnovers for me is definitely out of character and I’m definitely disappointed.”
Rodgers finished 29-for-54 for 244 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings (5-0).
Rodgers became the ninth player in NFL history to throw for more than 60,000 yards, but he looked every bit a 40-year-old quarterback and probably felt a lot older with all the shots he took. He was sacked three times and hit 11 times.
Rodgers got crunched while delivering the ball on third down in the third quarter and his leg bent back underneath him. He stayed down clutching the back of his left leg. Already dealing with knee soreness and swelling, he limped off and was headed to the medical tent. The Jets got a first down on a Minnesota roughing-the-kicker penalty, though, so Rodgers put his helmet on, jogged back onto the field and led them on a field-goal drive.
“I’m definitely banged up,” he said. “I got my foot caught in the pile there. It just seems to be a low ankle sprain. They were trying to get me in the tent. We had a roughing the kicker. I said, screw it, I’m going back out there.”
When asked about grabbing the back of his leg, Rodgers said, “There’s a lot of things that made some noises on the way down.”
The Jets are at a critical stage of the season. Their next two games are against Buffalo and Pittsburgh. If they can’t get their offense clicking, this season that they believed could be special will start to go the way so many in recent years have.
“I’m beyond mad,” linebacker Quincy Williams said to SNY. “People get tired of hearing the same [expletive]. We have to start taking accountability from the top to the bottom.”
Garrett Wilson had his best game this season as the Jets made sure he was involved from the beginning. Wilson was targeted 22 times and caught 13 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers said Wilson could have had more, but he slipped twice on the wet field.
“It ain’t about me and [Rodgers] getting on the same page. We got to win games,” Wilson said. “The ultimate goal is winning. Whatever it takes to get there, that’s what the hell we got to do.”
Allen Lazard had a touchdown catch but also four drops, including one in the end zone. Breece Hall rushed nine times for only 23 yards.
Former Jet Sam Darnold was 14-for-31 for 179 yards and an interception. Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson caught six passes for 92 yards.
The Jets fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter, and seven of those points came from an interception. Rodgers threw the ball right to Andrew Van Ginkel, who returned it 63 yards for a touchdown that made it 10-0. Van Ginkel also had a pick-6 against the Giants’ Daniel Jones in Week 1.
“The biggest thing that we talked about going into this game was playing clean ball,” said Jets coach Robert Saleh, whose seat could be warming up. “That pick-6 was a big difference in the game.”
The Jets were down 17-7 at the half after Rodgers hooked up with Lazard for a 14-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left. Xavier Gipson’s 31-yard punt return gave the offense the ball at the Vikings’ 31.
Greg Zuerlein’s 32-yard field goal made it 17-10 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. The Jets had a third down at Minnesota’s 14 on that drive, but Rodgers’ pass to Lazard was dropped in the end zone.
The Vikings went up two scores on Will Reichard’s 53-yard field goal with 12:07 remaining. The Jets drew within 20-17 after Rodgers turned Brandin Echols’ interception at the Minnesota 42 into a 1-yard touchdown pass to Wilson with 6:04 left.
The Jets had one last shot after Reichard’s 41-yard field goal with 3:07 to go. Their drive started at the 30 and Rodgers led them to the Vikings’ 26 with 58 seconds left.
Rodgers threw incomplete to Tyler Conklin on first down and then Wilson on second. He could have had a touchdown, but Wilson slipped. On third down, Rodgers threw to Williams, who never turned around, and Gilmore picked it off.
“We’re playing below our potential,” Rodgers said. “Too many mistakes. We’re slow starters. Too many mental errors and just too many mistakes in general, it’s hard to overcome.”
Notes & quotes: Nickel back Michael Carter II (hamstring) left in the first quarter and didn’t return. He suffered his injury during pregame . . . Sauce Gardner was evaluated for a head injury after colliding with Quincy Williams. Gardner finished the game . . . C.J. Mosley (toe) was inactive for the third straight game. Rookie receiver Malachi Corley was a healthy scratch.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
