The NFL isn’t a place for moral victories and at 2-6 the Duval Devout are over all the “we’ll get ’em next week” speeches from their Jacksonville Jaguars. They’ve become Hunters for Travis out of Colorado should they get the top pick in the draft after suffering another near comeback in Philly against the Eagles. However, the most “Jaguar” thing that Jacksonville could do is find a way to upset the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings and ruin their campaign for a top draft pick. Here are key things that would need to happen on the field to make this a reality.

The Vikings do Their Part to Hand the Game Away

Minnesota has lost two of their past three games. Some of the reason for this is that they’ve made key mistakes to give away games – even in contests where opponents have done their part to hand them opportunities. There’s no shame in losing to the Detroit Lions, but considering that they had a 10-point lead early in the game and got a defensive score to make it 29-28, they still failed to capitalize.

The same happened in their win over the Indianapolis Colts. As talented as Minnesota is, they can be forced into mistakes.

Josh Hines-Allen vs. Cam Robinson

Coming off of a week where he recorded two sacks against the Eagles, Josh Hines-Allen will be facing his former teammate Cam Robinson who played his first game for Minnesota last week. As Robinson sees his former home stadium from the visiting locker room for the first time, one has to wonder how motivated these guys are to do battle with one another.

This matchup is significant because of its impact on how much pressure Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold faces. As the top man with quarterback pressures on the Jags roster, JHA getting home or rolling Darnold out into the rising star Travon Walker on the other end could be the key to getting Jacksonville’s offense more opportunities.

Trevor Lawrence’s Ability to Read and React

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores isn’t afraid to dial up a blitz or show a “phantom” rusher to keep you guessing. While the Vikings’ losses came from prolific passing performances, they were also against the league’s top wide receiver and quarterback combos. Lawrence being down Christian Kirk is only where the problems begin.

That being said if the Jaguars’ passer can minimize mistakes and maximize output by connecting with tight end Evan Engram and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (if healthy). This would also require a solid performance in pass blocking from the running backs to pick up the blitz. Expect to see a lot of Tank Bigsby or D’Ernest Johnson.