Vikings Face Playoff Challenge with Aaron Jones Nursing Quad Injury

The Minnesota Vikings strived to manage Aaron Jones‘ workload throughout the regular season, but the 30-year-old’s running backs most grueling season of his career has lent itself to some wear and tear.

Handling a career-high 306 touches and 700 snaps in the regular season, Jones is limited with a quad injury entering a first-round playoff matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football.”

The Vikings running game suffered with him sidelined for portions of their 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 18.

Excluding a 58-yard run by Cam Akers, the Vikings averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. Akers took his five other carries for just 7 yards, while Jones posted 45 yards on 10 carries.

Playing all 17 games this season, Jones has battled through injuries and been held out of the game at times late in the season. But approaching a win-or-go-home scenario, Jones will be needed to spearhead the Vikings’ efforts on the ground.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the impact of Jones’ absence on the field and how vital he is to their offense ahead of Wild Card Weekend.

“Aaron is one of our highly impactful players. I thought he was running the ball well (against Detroit). We couldn’t use him at the rate we wanted as the game went on for some reasons that took place in the game,” O’Connell said on a January 7 KFAN Radio appearance, adding that Jones’ versatility as a pass-catcher and blocker is difficult to replace. “When we don’t have him in there, it changes and we got to adapt and adjust and figure out different ways to consistently move the football.”

Jones will likely be active on Monday, but his entering the game banged up is not an encouraging sign for Minnesota.

Vikings’ Struggles to Run Ball in Red Zone the Root of Lions Loss

While Sam Darnold was not his normal self in Sunday’s loss to the Lions, the Vikings running game’s inability to run the ball in the red zone made O’Connell’s otherwise deceptive offensive scheme one-dimensional where it mattered most.

According to Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Ben Goessling, “Vikings running backs have been hit at the line on 72.2% of their runs inside the opponent’s 10-yard line. That’s the highest rate in the league.”

In Detroit, Minnesota’s offense failed to score a touchdown on four trips to the red zone and came away with no points twice. While Darnold caught a case of the yips on Sunday, being able to hand off the ball is a luxury he was not afforded.

On 11 plays inside the Lions’ 10-yard line, the Vikings called passing plays on nine of those downs. Those two rushes, taken by Akers, went for a total of two yards.

Meanwhile, Darnold completed just 1-of-9 of those pass attempts for 3 yards inside the 10 — a vital fault that led to their loss and having to go on the road in the wild-card round.

Aaron Jones Could Not Overcome Vikings Running Game Woes vs. Rams

The Vikings’ woes in the running game were evident the last time they visited Los Angeles.

When Minnesota visited the Rams in Week 8, Jones took 19 carries for 58 yards (3.1 yards per carry).

In the third quarter, the Vikings faced 1st-and-goal on the Rams’ 4-yard line. Jones lost four yards on his first stab for the end zone, then gained three back on the following play. An incompletion on third down led to Minnesota settling for a field goal.

The game was tied at halftime, but the Vikings failed to score a touchdown twice in the red zone while Los Angeles scored two touchdowns (and a safety) to come away with a 30-20 win.

It will be vital for Minnesota to find more balance in the red zone if the Vikings hope to move forward in the postseason.