5 takeaways from Vikings win in Week 5: Sam Darnold struggles, Van Ginkel shines

The Minnesota Vikings didn't look their best in their Week 5 win over the New York Jets in London, at least in the second half, anyway. Nevertheless, Kevin O'Connell's crew did just enough to remain the lone undefeated team and survived a second-half scare to hang on for a 23-17 victory.

For quite a while, it seemed as if the Vikings, who've trailed for less than four minutes all season long, were going to waltz to victory after taking a 17-0 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run from C.J. Ham.

But after that eight-play, 74-yard TD drive, Sam Darnold and the Minnesota offense fell flat, only scoring six more points the rest of the way on field goals from Will Reichard (more on him in a moment).

Thankfully, Brian Flores' defense made the stops it needed to make down the stretch, as Aaron Rodgers and the Jets' offense made this a genuine battle late into the fourth quarter. And we're going to focus on a couple of those defensive stars as we get into the winners and losers of the Vikings' Week 5 win over the Jets.

Winner No. 1: Andrew Van Ginkel

This past week, I handed out some first-quarter Vikings awards, and while there were plenty of options from which to choose for Defensive Player of the Year, I selected Andrew Van Ginkel. And it didn't take long for the sixth-year veteran to make me look good.

With just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter, at which point the Vikings held a 3-0 lead, Van Ginkel picked off Aaron Rodgers on a pass seemingly directed at Garrett Wilson and ran it back 63 yards the other way for a touchdown.

As the former Dolphin also had a pick-6 in the Vikings' Week 1 win over the Giants, he now has two on the season. And of the four INTs he has in his career, three have been taken to the house.

Van Ginkel didn't do much else as far as the stat sheet is concerned, as he only recorded a single tackle, although it did result in negative yardage. Nevertheless, his overall presence continues to be a factor in Minnesota's defensive attack, and the Wisconsin alum is putting himself in a great position to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.

Overall, the Vikings intercepted Rodgers three times. On the Jets' ensuing possession following Van Ginkel's touchdown, Camryn Bynum notched his second pick in three weeks. Then, of course, there was Stephon Gilmore, who tortured the Jets for years with the Bills and Patriots and did so again on Sunday, intercepting the four-time NFL MVP with 49 ticks left in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Winner No. 2: Harrison Smith

The Vikings came into this matchup leading the league in sacks with 17, and they added to that total by getting to Rodgers three times.

The first didn't occur until late in the second quarter, but it turned out to be a historic one, as Harrison Smith became the second safety and just the fourth overall player in NFL history to record 1,000 tackles, 35 interceptions, and 20 sacks. And the six-time Pro Bowler added a little extra entertainment by using Rodgers' belt celebration in the aftermath.

The only other three players in this exclusive club are all enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, those being Ronde Barber, Brian Dawkins, and Charles Woodson.

That achievement alone is enough to get Smith on this list of winners for the week, but the fact that he tied for the team lead in total tackles against the Jets helps his case as well. The 13-year veteran had six on the day (five solo, one assisted), as did Ivan Pace Jr., Stephon Gilmore, Camryn Bynum, and Blake Cashman.

Winner No. 3: Will Reichard

If you read the aforementioned first-quarter awards, you'd know my choice for the Vikings' top rookie through the first four weeks was kicker Will Reichard. And just like Van Ginkel made me look good, Reichard continues to do so as well.

Coming into Week 5, the sixth-round selection out of Alabama had yet to miss a kick of any kind as a professional, going 14-for-14 on extra-point attempts and six-for-six on field goals. And he continued his perfect streak against the Jets, hitting both of his extra-point tries and all three of his field-goal attempts, the latter including two kicks of 50-plus yards.

And, as mentioned, with the Vikings' offense not doing much in the second half, Reichard's leg accounted for every point Minnesota scored in the final 30 minutes. The two-time All-American is proving to be a valuable piece of this team and has been one of the best kickers in the league through the first five weeks.

Loser No. 1: Sam Darnold

It's hard to knock a quarterback who's gone 5-0 to start the season, especially one who just earned both NFC Offensive Player of the Week and NFC Offensive Player of the Month honors.

But anyone who watched this Vikings-Jets contest could see that he didn't have a very good day.

Now, things didn't start that way, as Darnold looked pretty solid early on. During the Vikings' first offensive drive, he hit Johnny Mundt for an 11-yard gain and then hit Justin Jefferson with a 26-yard strike on the very next play. He found Jefferson again for another eight yards a few plays later, and while the drive only ended in a field goal, it looked as if Darnold was in for another big day.

But that didn't turn out to be the case at all.

Facing plenty of pressure for most of the day, the 2018 No. 3 overall pick managed to complete just 14 of 31 passes, easily his worst completion percentage of the season (45.2 percent), for a season-low 179 yards.

And while Darnold entered Week 5 leading the league in touchdown passes with 11, he won't remain in that No. 1 spot, as he failed to find the end zone for the first time this season. He was also intercepted once and lost a fumble.

Add all that up, and you've got a 50.3 passer rating, marking the first time he's failed to hit triple digits in that department. His lowest clip coming into this game was his 109.1 rating against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.

Darnold will undoubtedly bounce back, but this was an ugly game. He'll face another tough defense following the bye week when the Vikings host the Detroit Lions in Week 7.

Loser No. 2: Aaron Jones

This "loser" label on Aaron Jones doesn't deal with what he did on the field against the Jets but a literal designation, as the veteran running back was lost for the game after suffering a hip injury in the first half.

Prior to exiting the game, Jones had rushed for 29 yards on seven carries and added a 24-yard reception, which seemed to be the play during which he was hurt.

With Darnold taking a play off after taking a hard hit, Nick Mullens stepped in, and he and the former Packer connected on the lengthy pass. The issue was that Jones had to jump to make the catch, and he hit hard coming down.

Following the win, O'Connell was hopeful that the injury to his resurgent running back wouldn't be too severe. "He'll be evaluated," O'Connell told reporters in his postgame presser. "I'll keep you guys posted from the standpoint of what that looks like, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that will hopefully be short-term."

Jones was walking on the sidelines before entering the locker room, which is a good sign. And with the bye week coming up, he'll have time to rest up for Detroit.

Overall, this has to be seen as a good victory for the Vikings, even with some of the offensive woes over the final 40 minutes or so. The fact that Minnesota didn't play its best football and still walked out with a win proves just how good this football team is, and upcoming opponents should be truly fearful of this defensive unit.