Mike Zimmer wore a bandage over his right eye, but his left eye witnessed a Vikings win over the Jaguars on Sunday in Jacksonville.

Minnesota took control in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the game's final 15 minutes, for a 25-16 comeback victory.

Matt Asiata scored from 1-yard out to give the Vikings an 18-16 lead with 14:13 left in the game, and the Vikings defense followed by forcing a three-and-punt by the Jaguars (2-11).

Asiata reached for another score by fumbled at the goal line, and Jacksonville recovered in the end zone for a touchback with 6:09 left. The Vikings defense again forced a three-and-punt to get the ball back with five minutes to go.

Sam Bradford threw a pass shy of the sticks to Cordarrelle Patterson on third-and-10, and Patterson powered his way pass the chains for an 11-yard gain and a key conversion.

Bradford found Kyle Rudolph for a gain of 11 and later connected with the tight end for a 3-yard touchdown. It was the 28th of Rudolph's career, tying him with Steve Jordan for the Vikings record by tight ends.

Zimmer finally was able to smile after the Vikings blocked a 61-yard field goal attempt. The head coach missed Minnesota's game against Dallas on Dec. 1 because of emergency eye surgery on Nov. 30. He was able to travel and coach from the sidelines as his team improved to 7-6 and gave its postseason hopes a better chance.

Minnesota's offense struggled in the red zone for much of the day, settling for a field goal, turning the ball over on downs and suffering the fumble but got enough opportunities for the decisive scores. 

The Vikings were unable to punch the ball in from the Jaguars 1 on consecutive runs by Asiata near the two-minute warning of the first half.

Asiata was ruled down before reaching the ball across the end zone on third down, and Jacksonville's Sen'Derrick Marks stopped him for no gain on the fourth-down play.

The Jaguars drove 92 yards on 10 plays, taking advantage of a 31-yard pass interference call against Xavier Rhodes, to tie the game at 9 with :09 left in the first half on a 24-yard field goal by Jason Myers.

Myers also had field goals of 45 yards to end a 34-yard drive and 55 yards to cap a 31-yard drive in the first half.

Minnesota scored first via a 43-yard field goal by Kai Forbath that was set up by a 44-yard completion from Bradford to Rudolph on the first play of the game. Bradford had time to move around as Rudolph snuck past Johnathan Cyprien. On the run, Bradford floated the ball over Cyprien, and Rudolph secured it.

Jacksonville stuffed the ensuing pair of runs and held tight on third-and-9 to force the field goal.

Minnesota turned in a 41-yard completion to start its second possession as well when Bradford connected with Adam Thielen down the left sideline. That drive, however, also stalled, and the Vikings settled for a 32-yard field goal by Forbath.

After Myers made it 6-3 early in the second quarter, Patterson returned the following kickoff 53 yards to the Jacksonville 48. The Vikings drew an unnecessary roughness penalty against Jalen Ramsey during a tackle of Stefon Diggs to get to the 24.

Minnesota opted to go to the Wildcat, and Jerick McKinnon gained 2 on a direct snap, and a pair of incompletions followed to force a 40-yard field goal by Forbath.

Jacksonville answered with another field goal to make it 9-6, and Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue forced a fumble on the next snap, but Bradford recovered it and found McKinnon for a gain of 15. Two plays later, Bradford connected with Diggs down the middle. Diggs made a diving catch for a 45-yard gain to the Jaguars 14. Minnesota had four snaps from the Jacksonville 3, but failed to score.

The Jaguars claimed a 16-12 lead with 3:50 left in the third quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Blake Bortles to Bryan Walters. Of the 90 yards on the drive, 42 were gained on three penalties. Rhodes was flagged for holding (five yards) and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (15 yards) for his reaction to the call. Mackensie Alexander replaced Rhodes and was flagged for a pass interference while covering Marqise Lee for 22 more yards to the 17.

Jacksonville had a delay of game penalty on the ensuing kickoff and opted to squib the ball. David Morgan fielded the bouncer at the 20 and returned it 18 yards to give Minnesota solid starting field position. McKinnon had three receptions for 23 yards, and Thielen had a 23-yard reception during the go-ahead-for-good drive.

Minnesota's defense totaled four sacks of Bortles, including 2.0 by Everson Griffen and one apiece by Brian Robison and Danielle Hunter.

Bortles was 23-of-37 passing for 257 yards and a passer rating of 91.8.

Bradford finished 24-of-34 passing for 292 yards and a passer rating of 106.5.

Thielen led the Vikings with 101 receiving yards on four catches, and Asiata paced the ground game with 37 yards on 11 carries.

Minnesota will host Indianapolis (6-7) next Sunday.