The Minnesota Vikings needed a strong performance from Aaron Jones in Week 2. With Jordan Mason on injured reserve and the forecast calling for rain, the Vikings would need to lean on Jones to carry a heavy workload, with DeeJay Dallas and rookie Demond Claiborne behind him.
Jones briefly left the game in the fourth quarter but returned for Minnesota's final drive. On 2nd-and-5, Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson laid him out for no gain, popping Jones' helmet off in the process.
But that didn't deter Jones from pushing forward and getting the Vikings into field goal range. He ran five more times on the drive, rushing for 20 yards, including a 15-yard scamper that got Minnesota into field goal range with 2:56 to play. Will Reichard kicked
a 39-yard field goal with 1:09 remaining to give the Vikings a 9-3 lead.
After the game, Brian O'Neill lauded the veteran running back's toughness.
“That was f—ing awesome. He's the man. He's the absolute man," O'Neill told Matthew Coller in the locker room following the game. "He's one of my favorite teammates ever. And he played great. He battled. I mean, that was one of the louder hits I've ever heard, and it didn't faze him one bit, and he just kept running it. He knew he was ready for 35 (carries) if we needed him.”
Jones ran 23 times for 105 yards, accounting for 42.7% of the Vikings' offensive output. More importantly, though, Jones' grittiness stood out to his teammates and helped Minnesota improve to 2-0.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Brian O'Neill on Aaron Jones: "He's the man. He's the absolute man."
