How the Vikings fooled Aaron Rodgers

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores took away Aaron Rodgers’ security blanket rolling under pressure with the way he attacked this team throughout the game. Whenever Rodgers wanted to move in that direction, he was met with blitzes and stunts. Ivan Pace Jr. got his sack on this side. Josh Metellus applied crucial pressure on that side. Blake Cashman forced a deep ball incompletion on a blitz to that side. We thank Flores for something else that isn’t easy to do: getting a 20-year veteran to throw the 63-yard pick-six to Andrew Van Ginkel. Van Ginkel and Pat Jones II both made a rush on rookie right tackle Olu Fashanu. Rodgers bought it because Fashanu — ranked 75th among 78 tackles by Pro Football Reference — was a weak link in his second NFL start. Van Ginkel took two steps forward, dropped down and Rodgers threw straight to him, creating a 10-0 first quarter deficit.

There’s a reason special teams coordinator Matt Daniels calls rookie kicker Will Reichard a “stone-cold killer.” Apparently the child has no heartbeat and cannot miss. He’s 25 of 25 for a team that needed his 11 points to keep Rodgers from forcing his way into the 35th game-winning drive. Reichard made three more field goals, two from more than 50 yards, including a 54-yarder after Sam Darnold fended off a 12-yard sack. Reichard is 9-on-9 this year, including 3-on-3 from 50+. Coach Kevin O’Connell has a 25-15 record in his first 40 games, including playoffs. He is 12-1 when his kicker misses, and he has never lost a game due to a missed shot. Are we sure he is one of us?

The Vikings had 13 possessions. Justin Jefferson caught three balls the first time around and then spent the rest of the game catching just three balls on ten targets while being smothered both legally and illegally by a fantastic Jets secondary. Jefferson drew five penalties – three for pass interference over 53 yards, one for holding and one for illegal contact. The Jets had good reason to complain, but only one thing stood out as a truly bad decision – a 24-yard pass interference on DJ Reed. The Vikings only had one such call – pass interference on Stephon Gilmore on third-and-goal on 2nd. Rodgers complained that Gilmore should have had one more ball on the game-winning interception, but that was just a corner from a veteran who played a while looking back on the ball when the receiver (Mike Williams) failed to do the same .

Rodgers loves offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Sometimes you wonder why. The Jets’ offense was a mess, especially when there were no first downs in the 19th minute. Rodgers took the Jets to the 27th-ranked Vikings. It was third-and-3. Hackett called for a run up the middle. Pace stopped it for 1 yard. Hackett called the same play on fourth-and-2. Dallas Turner, Cashman and about five other Vikings stopped it to no avail. Rodgers shook his head. On the ensuing possession, the Jets trailed 17-0 with a first down and 5 yards rushing. For the second time in three weeks, the Vikings held an opponent to fewer than 40 yards rushing (36 on 14 carries, 2.6 yards per).

Rodgers has played 258 NFL games, including playoffs. Sunday’s three interceptions marked a career high that he had only reached five other times. Rodgers led the league with the lowest interception rate six times. His career mark of 1.4% is the best in NFL history. In 2018, he threw 597 passes with fewer picks (two) than he did on Sunday when he faced Flores for the first time. He was deceived in his first election. His second was a terrible ball that floated to Cam Bynum. And his third pass was most likely the last pass he will ever throw against the Vikings.