The Vikings took out a unpleasant victory over the jaguars during Sunday, overcoming three Sam Darnold interceptions and an inability to reach the end zone by dominating the stat sheet, kicking four field goals and making three takeovers of his own in the final seven minutes of the game. It wasn’t pretty by any means, and there is real concerns about Darnold and their turnovers going forward, but what matters most is that it was a win that moved them to 7-2 on the season.

Let’s take a look at this week’s snap counts and some notable PFF grades to see what we can learn.

Vikings offensive play count against Jaguars (out of 84)

* Quarterback Sam Darnold: 84
*C Garrett Bradbury: 84
* LG Blake Brandel: 84
*RG Ed Ingram: 84
* RT Brian O’Neill: 84
* Lt. Cam Robinson: 84
* WR Justin Jefferson: 78
* WR Jordan Addison: 62
* TE Josh Oliver: 57
* RB Aaron Jones: 44
* WR Jalen Nailor: 42
*TE TJ Hockenson: 39
* RB Cam Akers: 26
* Ham FB CJ: 19
* TE Johnny Mundt: 18
* WR Trent Sherfield: 12
* RB Ty Chandler: 12
* WR Brandon Powell: 11

The Vikings absolutely dominated time of possession in this game, running a season-high 84 offensive plays. Oliver remains an extremely important piece of their offense, even with Hockenson back. He had 4 receptions for 52 yards, giving him consecutive games with at least four receptions for the first time in his career. Hockenson was the Vikings’ leading receiver with 8 receptions for 72 yards in his second game back from injury, and his playing time continues to grow week over week.

Jones took a helmet to the ribs in this game but was able to return and should be good to go moving forward. Jones’ brief absence led to some play by Chandler as the RB3 behind Akers.

PFF’s top 5 grades on offense (minimum 20 plays)

1. Hockenson—85.6
2. O’Neill – 75.0
3. Oliver – 74.7
4.Jefferson—67.6
5. Bradbury—66.8

Jones and Ingram barely missed this list. All five Vikings offensive linemen earned a pass blocking rating of at least 65, which is encouraging. It was the quietest game for Jefferson all season, as the Jaguars played almost exclusively in shells with two tall safeties designed to limit Jefferson and Addison’s explosives on the outside. That’s part of what led to so much success for the Vikings’ two tight ends.

The lowest grades on offense went to Nailor and Akers.

Vikings defensive snap count against Jaguars (out of 44)

* S Harrison Smith: 44
* CB Byron Murphy Jr: 44
* CB Stephon Gilmore: 44
* S Josh Metellus: 43
* OLB Jonathan Greenard: 42
* S Camryn Bynum: 40
* OLB Andrew Van Ginkel: 40
* LB Blake Cashman: 35
* DL Harrison Phillips: 29
* LB Ivan Pace Jr: 26
* DL Jonathan Bullard: 22
* DL Jerry Tillery: 21
*DL Jihad District: 18
* OLB Dallas Turner: 11
* OLB Pat Jones II: 10
*CB Shaq Griffin: 10
* DL Jalen Redmond: 5

Conversely, because the Vikings largely dominated time of possession, their defense was barely on the field. When they were there, they came back at full strength thanks to the return of Cashman, who made his usual impact with a sack and five tackles. Pace was still a factor and he had his own sack, while Kamu Grugier-Hill was reduced to a special teams-only role with the top two LBs healthy again.

Turner only played 11 snaps after seeing 26 last week. It will be interesting to see if he gets more opportunities next week.

PFF’s top 5 grades on defense (minimum 20 plays)

1.Murphy-89.1
2. Pace: 72.6
3. Bynum —72.3
4. Greenard – 69.0
5. Cashman-65.5

Redmond, Jones and Ward all earned good grades but without the plays needed to qualify. It’s been a fairly recent stretch for Murphy, who had a slow start to the season but has been playing very well lately in a contract year. He has a team-high four interceptions, including one in each of the last three games. Bynum is right behind him with three of them. Greenard didn’t have a single pressure in this game after recording at least five in each of the first eight games, but he still made a big impact in the run defense.