EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ In a game that tested the Vikings' patience in the first half and stressed their defensive depth chart in the second half, even a defense at less than full strength proved to be too much for Sam Darnold.
The Vikings sacked the rookie quarterback three times, took advantage of four turnovers by Darnold, intercepting him three times and recovering the first of his two fumbles. They overcame a sloppy first half with 27 second-half points, cruising past the Jets 37-17 at MetLife Stadium.
After holding the Cardinals without a third-down conversion in 13 attempts last week, the Vikings stopped the Jets on their first seven third downs of the day, holding New York to two conversions on 13 total attempts. Darnold, the third overall pick in April's draft, finished 17 of 42 for 206 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
Even on an uneven day for the Vikings' offense _ where the team went just 2-for-15 on its own third downs _ the Vikings had enough to run their record to 4-2-1 before two straight home games, including a Sunday night matchup with the Saints next week.
The main concern now will be the health of a defense that was already missing Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph on Sunday.
The Vikings lost Anthony Barr to a hamstring injury early in the fourth quarter. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes was unable to put much weight on his left foot as he limped off after getting tangled up with Robby Anderson on a deep ball in the fourth quarter, and television cameras showed Adam Thielen spitting up blood on the sideline following his ninth catch of the day (though Thielen returned to the game in the final minutes).
Neither team converted a third-down in the first half, missing six conversion attempts apiece as the Vikings faced three third downs of more than 10 yards and the Jets saw Darnold misfire under pressure, hitting just eight of his first 17 passes. He didn't complete any of his five passes in the third quarter, and didn't exceed 100 passing yards until early in the fourth quarter, when he completed a 21-yard screen pass to Isaiah Crowell.
Kirk Cousins started the game 6-for-7, drilling Thielen with a 34-yard touchdown pass that capped the Vikings' first drive of the game, but Cousins went 6-of-16 in the second quarter, as the Jets batted down their second pass of the day and pressured the quarterback with a handful of blitzes.
The Vikings started three drives in Jets territory in the first half, but managed just three points on those drives after Cousins' throw to Thielen. A false start penalty on Stefon Diggs, as well as a pair of off-target throws from Cousins, turned a promising drive into a 26-yard Dan Bailey field goal, and 16-mph winds pulled the kicker's 42-yard field goal at the end of the first half to the left, as the Vikings took a 10-7 lead into the half.
The first third-down conversion of the day for either team came when Cousins hit Thielen for 13 yards on the Vikings' first touchdown drive of the third quarter, and after Rhodes tipped a downfield throw from Darnold, Harrison Smith picked it off and posted a 52-yard return, setting up a 22-yard Bailey field goal.
Minnesota's lead had stretched to 27-10 by the early fourth quarter, when Roc Thomas gained 23 yards on an outside run and Latavius Murray burst 38 yards for a touchdown off an inside zone run on the next play.
