JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — — The only remotely exciting part of this game was the final score.

Minnesota’s stingy defense held Jacksonville to 143 yards — the fewest in coach Doug Pederson’s three seasons — and the Vikings overcame Sam Darnold’s three interceptions to beat the Jaguars 12-7 on Sunday in a mostly purple-clad stadium.

“Those are the kinds of games that good teams can win no matter what it looks like all day,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “And I’m proud of that, but there are definitely a lot of things that we need to correct and fix.”

It was an ugly win for the Vikings (7-2) that felt as lopsided as any upset in the league this season.

Minnesota ran 82 plays to Jacksonville’s 43. The Vikings held the ball for 42 minutes, 19 seconds to Jacksonville’s 17:41. Minnesota picked up 28 first downs to Jacksonville’s 10. The Vikings ran 39 plays in Jaguars territory and finished with 402 yards.

But Darnold essentially tried to hand the game to Jacksonville (2-8). It was his first game with three interceptions in three years. He threw a fourth that was negated by a penalty.

All three came while targeting All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, who finished with five catches for 48 yards, and two occurred in the red zone.

“I have to do a much better job of taking care of the football,” Darnold said. “I think that’s clear.”

The Vikings finished with three field goals in the five trips inside the 20-yard line. They took the lead on John Parker Romo’s third of four field goals. Romo hit from 29, 34, 33 and 45 yards in his NFL debut.

The Jaguars got a chance late thanks to Travon Walker’s sack on a third-and-1 play, an odd decision against a team that was doing nothing offensively.

Mac Jones, filling in for the injured Trevor Lawrence (non-throwing shoulder) and making his first start in nearly a year, was largely ineffective. Still, he had Jacksonville on the road and got help from a facemask penalty against linebacker Blake Cashman.

But Jones threw his second pick with 1:49 left to end the rally. Jones had two more turnovers earlier in the fourth: an interception and a fumbled snap.

“The easy stuff just wasn’t good enough for me,” Jones said.

Minnesota looked like it was going to have to punt in the final minute, but Walker was flagged for unnecessary roughness on third down as he tried to run the ball out of Aaron Jones’ hands. The Vikings took a knee from there.

Mac Jones completed 14 of 22 passes for 111 yards and a passer rating of 38.3.

Darnold’s rating was slightly better after completing 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards. He targeted his tight ends 15 times. TJ Hockenson finished with eight receptions for 72 yards. Josh Oliver caught four passes for 52 yards.

Jacksonville’s yardage was the fifth-lowest in franchise history and another mark against Pederson, who is 3-13 in his last 16 games.

“I obviously never expected to be here,” Pederson said. “We have five or six games with one goal. It’s hard. As a team, as coaches, we make it difficult. We make it too difficult. The boys are frustrated, and they should be. They are angry, and they should be. We all are.”

Robinson’s return

Vikings running back tackle Cam Robinson picked up three penalties in his return to Jacksonville. The most egregious came in the third quarter when Robinson was penalized for knocking cornerback Ronald Darby out of bounds on an interception return. Several of his former teammates, including defensive players Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, got in Robinson’s face after the game.

The Jaguars traded Robinson to the Vikings last week and he ended up quickly returning to where he spent the first eight years of his NFL career.

Injuries

Vikings: RB Aaron Jones left in the third quarter with a rib injury and later returned.

Jaguars: RB Tank Bigsby (ankle), CB Tyson Campbell (shoulder) and LB Devin Lloyd (shoulder) left the field but later returned. Jaguars DE Arik Armstead left for evaluation in the fourth due to a concussion.

Next

Vikings: Play at Tennessee next Sunday to complete a three-game stretch against AFC South opponents.

Jaguars: Play at NFC North-leading Detroit next Sunday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl