While Mike Hughes was losing for the season and the depth of the Vikings half-wedge had already been a success before Sunday's game against the Jets, unprepared rookie Holton Hill has assumed a stronger role in defense and defense. special teams. He was asked to do even more in the fourth quarter against the Jets, when Xavier Rhodes had to be saved from the pitch after spraining his left ankle.

The Vikings installed Hill at Rhodes' right half corner and in his first scrum match he intercepted a reverse pass that quarterback Sam Jarnold of the Jets had sent to Andre Roberts. Hill, who played 30 selections on special teams and got two kicks, got 18 more in defense on his busiest day of the NFL so far.

"I saw [Rhodes] I rush to the field to make sure he's fine, "said Hill. "I told him I got it and I'm going to stay there and get you. As he was leaving the field, all the guys were [saying]"Now, Hollywood, it's your time. Do not let us down. Do what you do. They said it was like practice. Then they gave us the defensive call and the next thing I know is that the balloon reaches me. Dude, it was a blessing. "

As the Vikings get ready for the Saints 5-1 and future Hall of Famer Hall of Fame member Drew Brees, they will have to wait to see how many of their injured defenders will come back before the Sunday night game at the US Bank Stadium. Nose tackle Linval Joseph did not play Sunday, and defensive end Everson Griffen stays out of the team. Linebacker Anthony Barr injured the hamstring on Sunday.

In total, at the end of Sunday's match, four defenders were missing from the Vikings, who managed to combine 10 Pro Bowls. If their defensive depth continues to be tested, they hope their young players will react as Hill did on Sunday.

"We just have to keep fighting and getting in," coach Mike Zimmer said. "That's why it's so important for us, as coaches, to keep pushing these guys, because they're going to win in the game at one time or another. A guy like Eric Wilson, for example, we play it a little in some packages, and it is good for him to play the game. Holton Hill today, Marcus Sherels has had it today. These guys will have to play. "

Here are some other notes and observations of the victory of the Vikings 37-17 on the Jets:

-The match against the Vikings, for the second week in a row, made the difference in the second half of a win. After scoring only 15 yards in 10 attempts in the first period, as their improvised offensive line struggled to move the Jets' front, the Vikings regained the pace in the second half, gaining 73 yards in 14 attempts, including their touchdown. where Roc Thomas and Latavius ​​Murray combined for 51 yards.

After a penalty of keeping Rashod Hill that put the Vikings in a situation 1 and 20, they lined up with three receivers on the right. Thomas gained 23 yards outside on the left, behind a solid start block from Danny Isidora while Pat Elflein and Mike Remmers isolated the defenders. Murray then followed one block from Remmers before making an indented jump inside an area, performing a 38-meter run for a touchdown.

"Sometimes we are impatient and we have to control the clock, we have to control the game going on," Zimmer said. "In the first half, we did not really persevere, but we went down. You can not just throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball – or throw the ball, run the ball, throw the ball – sometimes you have to run [and] to run, so that was part of it.

-The Jets fired Kirk Cousins ​​once and hit him seven times in his 41 starts, which is a better day for the Vikings in pass protection than some of their recent efforts. The quarterback had to make a good number of shots under duress – he was hit while he completed Adam Thielen in the 13th quarter in the third quarter, during the first conversion of the day for the three teams – but the Vikings were also able to catch the Jets in their lightning strikes several times, as in Murray's 38-yard touchdown, when the half-point found a free space in the middle, while the Jets were swept the two edges. The cousins ​​got three passes, one of which could have been intercepted in the second half.

-Although the Jets have played four games 20 yards or more, there are only two goals before the Vikings built a 17-point lead. Sam Darnold found Trenton Cannon for 35 yards ahead of linebacker Eric Kendricks and beat Robby Anderson for 25 points in the next game. The Jets' close encounters caused a collision between Rhodes and Trae Waynes who let Waynes hold him. right arm.

– The wind at the MetLife stadium has been an important factor all day, especially for Viking specialists. While striker Matt Wile dropped the ball to hit him, he said he had to face the wind that was driving him off the course. And Dan Bailey's 42-yard goal before half-time started in the middle of the field, before a gust of wind propelled him to the left.

Bailey, a veteran of matches at MetLife Stadium since he's played for the Cowboys against the Giants, said the wind had affected things more on Sunday than in any match he would remember.

"It has continued to change," Bailey said. "The stadium is fully back in the arena, so once the wind comes in, it starts to swirl. there is nowhere to go. That's my assessment on that. Standing at each end, both ends felt like the wind was blowing in your face, or it was like it was behind you. It's a challenge, of course. … The 42-meter runner, I could have thought, but it was like, "You know what, I'm just going to hit the ball." And at first, that was it. It was a good move, exactly as I wanted, and the wind had other ideas. You just have to do what you can and hope for the best. "