The Jacksonville Jaguars will conclude the third quarter of their season with a trip to Minneapolis Sunday to take on the Minnesota Vikings, who are red hot after winning four of their last five. As a result, a win for them this week and a loss for the Arizona Cardinals would give them a playoff spot as the No. 7 seed, so they will undoubtedly be playing hard.
However, despite their determination, the Vikings are a very beatable team and the Jags can upset them Week 13. Here are three keys that could make that happen and give the Jags their first win against the Vikings since December of 2001:
Let Mike Glennon continue where he left off Week 12
To the surprise of many, veteran quarterback Mike Glennon played well Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns and kept the Jags in the game throughout the whole process. While he ended the day with a completion rate of just over 57% (20-of-35), he ended the day with 235 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a QBR of 96.7.
This has seemingly made people on the Vikings’ end nervous as they’ve had a few games where they’ve played down to their competition. Two prime examples are their games against the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons where the Vikings lost by the totals of 31-28 and 40-23, respectively.
With that being the case, the Jags might as well ride the momentum of Glennon because the Vikings’ passing defense is ranked 24th overall, allowing an average of 270.6 yards a game. The key player who could aid Glennon in doing so could be Collin Johnson, who was his most explosive target last week after garnering four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Simply put, coordinator Jay Gruden needs to look to the Glennon-Johnson early connection early. If he can do that, it could be a long game for Minnesota.
But don’t forget about James Robinson
The Jaguars don’t want to get in an offensive shoot out with the Vikings by solely letting Glennon drop back in the pocket, especially when considering the state of their defense. That said, a little clock management wouldn’t hurt which would involve the Jags’ most consistent weapon, James Robinson.
Robinson is putting up a historic rookie campaign as an undrafted player. He will enter the game with 890 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. That means 120 yards on the ground would put him at the 1,000-yard mark, which would be one awesome tidbit to come from a rough season for Jags fans.
As we’ve seen in the past, the Jags are their worst when they fall behind and don’t give Robinson 20 carries or more as a result of trying to play catch up. They must find that balance of utilizing Johnson and Robinson Sunday afternoon, and if they do, they will have a chance to beat the Vikings.
Garner turnovers through rattling Kirk Cousins, somehow
Believe it or not, the Vikings have a worse turnover margin figure than the Jags — albeit just barely (-5 to -6). A big reason for that is quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, who has the second-highest pick total in the league (11).
Cousins has had three games with two picks or more this season and all were losses. That said, the Jags need to manufacture a way to get to him, and that may involve moving away from their bend but don’t break style of defense. At this point, defensive coordinator Todd Wash has nothing to lose as the staff isn’t expected to be retained, so why not go against the grain and blitz a little more?
As of today, the Jags’ blitz percentage is 31.2%, which is good for 14th in the league. However, a slight increase in the category may be enough to rattle Cousins and make it a two-pick performance for the veteran, and as we saw against the Green Bay Packers, the Jags fare a little better when the turnovers come.