Jets struggle to get into the end zone, lose 27-22 to the Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS — Sunday began a critical two-game road trip for the Jets that could help determine their playoff fate.

First up: the Vikings, who had a chance to clinch the NFC North with a win and a Lions loss to the Jaguars. Although Minnesota didn’t get any help from Jacksonville, the team did its part by defeating Gang Green at home.

A solid first half helped the Vikings (10-2) come away with a 27-22 victory against the Jets (7-5) at U.S. Bank Stadium in front of 66,973 people-strong crowd. With the win, Minnesota swept all four AFC East opponents this season.

The Jets were 1-of-6 inside the red zone against the Vikings. Gang Green also was 3-of-16 on third-down conversions.

“At the end of the day, it was just missed opportunities all over the place,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “In the first half, we felt like we weren’t efficient, drops and we just couldn’t score in the red zone.”

Jets quarterback Mike White had his second consecutive 300-yard game, completing 31-of-57 passes for 369 yards, a rushing touchdown and two interceptions. This was White’s second game after he was named the starter after the Jets benched 2021 first-round pick Zach Wilson following the team’s loss to the Patriots two weeks ago.

White’s performance was up and down, but he showed toughness and grit by bringing the Jets back after they fell behind 20-3 in the second quarter.

Zonovan “Bam” Knight, who started the game in place of Michael Carter (ankle), rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries. Garrett Wilson was the star of the show for the Jets offense as he registered eight catches for 162 yards.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein converted all five of his field goal attempts (48, 60, 36, 30 and 26).

Down five with almost a minute left in the game, the Jets had one last chance to win the game. But White’s pass was intercepted by Camryn Bynum on fourth down.

“The safety just drove on Corey,” White said about the final offensive play for the Jets. I thought at the time it was our best option and I felt the rush get on me. So I didn’t want to finish with the ball in my hands.

“Just wanted to give our guy an opportunity.”

On the very first drive of the game for the Jets, White was intercepted by Harrison Smith as the pass deflected off of Corey Davis’ hands. Minnesota couldn’t convert that into a touchdown, but it took an early 3-0 lead after Greg Joesph’s 51-yard field goal went through the uprights.

Gang Green tied the game up on its next drive on Zuerlein’s 48-yard field goal.

At the start of the second quarter, Minnesota’s 14-play, 74-yard drive resulted in the first touchdown of the day. After a personal foul call by safety Jordan Whitehead put the ball at the five-yard-line, running back Dalvin Cook’s run put the Vikings up 10-3.

Minnesota wasn’t done in the second quarter as it increased its lead by two scores before halftime. After Saleh’s challenge of the ruling of a Vikings first down failed, Alexander Mattison scored on a 14-yard touchdown run, making the score 17-3.

Down two scores before halftime, the Jets were desperate to generate any kind of offense. So they decided to go for it on 4th and 2 from their own 43-yard-line. But White’s pass to Tyler Conklin was incomplete.

That led to the Vikings getting three more points before halftime when they tacked on another field goal to go up 20-3. However, with 44 seconds remaining in the half, the Jets got points as Zuerlein set a franchise record for the longest field made as his 60-yard attempt cut the deficit to 20-6 at the break.

Gang Green’s defense held strong after halftime as it forced the Vikings to a three-and-out to start the third. The team capitalized on that but was only able to cut the lead to 20-9 after another Zuerlein field goal from 36 yards.

The Jets defense continued to do their job, holding the Vikings scoreless in the third quarter. But the game’s story continued to be the Jets failing to get into the end zone.

After Minnesota punted, Gang Green drove all the way to the sixth-yard line. But a George Fant block in the back penalty killed any hopes of a touchdown as the Jets had to settle for yet another Zuerlein field goal, this time from 30 yards that cut the Vikings lead to 20-12.

To begin the fourth quarter, the Jets got a huge 60-yard first down play from Wilson, bringing the team down to the Vikings 11-yard line. But, like in previous drives, Gang Green couldn’t find pay dirt as it settled for another Zuerlein field goal that trimmed Minnesota’s lead to 20-15.

The Vikings offense finally got on track in the fourth quarter as Justin Jefferson’s 10-yard touchdown reception capped off a seven-play, 75-yard drive that increased their lead to 27-15.

Just when it seemed the Jets were doomed down two scores, they got a 48-yard run from Knight on first down. Then a pass interference call on Duke Shelley put the Jets at the five-yard-line. Then on fourth down, White’s quarterback sneak gave Gang Green its first touchdown as, cutting the Vikings’ lead to five.

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“We are going to keep battling,” Garrett Wilson said. “These dudes kept battling.

“No one wavered, no one questioned the plan that we had. We put it on ourselves and we knew we had to play better.

“It’s a group of warriors and I’m proud to be part of this team.”

Down 27-22 with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter, the Jets had one of its most productive drives of the game. Catches by Davis of 23 and 16 yards helped put the Jets inside the 20. But the Jets couldn’t find the end zone, a recurring theme throughout Sunday’s gam, as White’s pass to Braxton Berrios on 4th down fell incomplete.

“By no means are we trying to make this a moral victory,” White said. “Moral victories don’t count in the NFL.

“Really proud of how the guys stayed together, we started adversity straight in the face and responded. We just have to respond better.”

The Jets will be on the road again next week as they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. The Vikings will also be on the road as they go to Ford Field to play the Lions.