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Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff WriterDec 1, 2024, 07:09 PM ET
- Kevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia. You can follow him via Twitter @SeifertESPN.
MINNEAPOLIS — One of the NFL’s most reliable running backs has produced a sudden surge of turnovers, and it’s hard to believe what happened next: Aaron Jones was benched Sunday after his second fumble of the first quarter.
Jones returned to the field primarily for passing plays and then was given two chances to catch a winning touchdown, and converted the second opportunity with 1 minute 13 seconds remaining, capping one of the strangest games of his career.
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The former Green Bay Packers‘ 5-yard scoring reception capped a Minnesota Vikings comeback, and Parker Romo’s extra point was the final difference in a 23-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
“For me it was a roller coaster,” Jones said. “Thankful for the guys in this locker room telling me to keep my head up. [Coach Kevin O’Connell] as well. He was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to come back to you. Keep your head up,’ and it ended up happening at the end in the most important time.”
Jones entered this season with a total of 15 fumbles on 1,660 career touches from 2017-23, all with the Packers. But he has now fumbled four times in 49 touches over three games with the Vikings, losing two of them.
In Week 10, Jones suffered a rib injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he has been wearing additional protective equipment around his torso — which can make the ball more difficult to secure against the body.
But he said Sunday: “I am not going to make an excuse” for what has happened in the past three weeks.
Right tackle Brian O’Neill recovered Jones’ first fumble, at the end of his opening carry of the game, but Cardinals cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting fell on his next one as Jones struggled to corral a checkdown throw from quarterback Sam Darnold.
Aaron Jones, right, celebrates after scoring a touchdown for the Minnesota Vikings. Getty Images
O’Connell replaced him with backup Cam Akers and No. 3 running back Ty Chandler got five snaps and two carries before Jones got his next rushing attempt in the third quarter.
From that point forward, however, Jones got as many targets in the passing game (two) as he got carries (two). He dropped a pass in the end zone that would have given the Vikings a lead early in the fourth quarter, but O’Connell said he already had a play in mind for him if the Vikings got another opportunity.
“If anything I have total trust in Aaron,” O’Connell said. “You can see it all over his face, the disappointment he has. We’ve got to find a way to fix it, because we’ve had too many times that the ball does end up on the ground early on in games. That’s a huge momentum play.
“But there’s a reason why I called the play I called in the end. He’s one of our best players. He’s going to continue to be one of our best players, and there isn’t a guy in that locker room that doesn’t absolutely love playing with Aaron Jones. We’ve got his back without any hesitation or question.”
Indeed, Jones said O’Connell told him that “we’re coming right back to you” as he left the field after dropping the earlier pass in the end zone.
So when the Vikings faced a 2nd-and-2 at the Cardinals’ 5, O’Connell called a play that was designed for Jones to be one of the primary targets. Jones then corralled the pass from Darnold in the right flat and scampered into the end zone.
“That just means a lot when things are not going your way,” Jones said of O’Connell’s words. “This wasn’t my best day. It wasn’t my day period, probably. … [But] he tells me he’s always believed in me and he always has confidence in me, and he just echoed it there even more. It lifts you up a little bit when things aren’t going your way.”
The win took the Vikings record to 10-2 on the season and helped them to keep pace with the NFC North’s first-place Detroit Lions ahead of a Week 14 game against the Atlanta Falcons.
