Five extra points: Vikings fool Aaron Rodgers too while Jets, officials make questionable calls

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores took away Aaron Rodgers’ security blanket — which is rolling right under pressure — by how he attacked that side throughout the game. Whenever Rodgers wanted to move that way, he was met by blitzes and stunts. Ivan Pace Jr. got his sack to that side. Josh Metellus had a key pressure to that side. Blake Cashman forced a deep-ball incompletion on a blitz to that side. Credit Flores for something else that’s not easy to do: Tricking a 20-year veteran into throwing the 63-yard pick-six to Andrew Van Ginkel. Van Ginkel and Pat Jones II both showed rush across from rookie right tackle Olu Fashanu. Rodgers bought it because Fashanu — ranked 75th among 78 tackles by Pro Football Reference — was a weak link making his second NFL start. Van Ginkel took two steps forward, dropped, and Rodgers threw right to him for a 10-0 first-quarter deficit.

There’s a reason special teams coordinator Matt Daniels calls rookie kicker Will Reichard a “stone-cold killer.” Apparently, the kid has no heartbeat and can’t miss. He’s 25-for-25 for a team that needed his 11 points to keep Rodgers from wiggling his way into a 35th game-winning drive. Reichard nailed three more field goals, two from 50-plus, including a 54-yarder after Sam Darnold took a 12-yard sack. Reichard is 9-for-9 on the year, including 3-for-3 from 50-plus. Coach Kevin O’Connell is 25-15 in his first 40 games, including playoffs. He’s 12-1 when his kicker misses and has never lost a game on a missed kick. Are we sure he’s one of us?

The Vikings had 13 possessions. Justin Jefferson caught three balls on the first one and then spent the rest of the game catching only three balls on 10 targets while being smothered both legally and illegally by a fantastic Jets secondary. Jefferson drew five penalties — three for pass interference for 53 yards, one for holding and one for illegal contact. The Jets had good reason to gripe, but only one stood out as a really bad call — a 24-yard pass interference on D.J. Reed. The Vikings had only one such call — pass interference on Stephon Gilmore on third-and-goal at the 2. Rodgers complained that Gilmore should have gotten another one on the game-sealing interception, but that was just a veteran corner making a play while looking back for the ball when the receiver (Mike Williams) failed to do the same.

Rodgers loves offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. You wonder why sometimes. The Jets offense was a mess, especially when it had zero first downs through 19 minutes. Rodgers moved the Jets to the Vikings 27. It was third-and-3. Hackett called a run up the middle. Pace stopped it for 1 yard. Hackett called the same play on fourth-and-2. Dallas Turner, Cashman and about five other Vikings stopped it for no gain. Rodgers shook his head. After the ensuing possession, the Jets trailed 17-0 with one first down and 5 yards rushing. For the second time in three weeks, the Vikings held an opponent to fewer than 40 yards rushing (36 on 14 carries, 2.6 yards per ).

Rodgers has played 258 NFL games, including playoffs. Sunday’s three interceptions tied a career-high that he’s reached only five other times. Six times Rodgers has led the league in lowest interception percentage. His 1.4% career mark is the best in NFL history. In 2018, he threw 597 passes with fewer picks (two) than he had Sunday when he faced Flores for the first time. He was fooled on his first pick. His second one was a terrible ball that floated to Cam Bynum. And his third one was more than likely the last pass he will ever throw against the Vikings.