The offense needed a couple assists Sunday, and Will Reichard provided them.

The Vikings overcame a revving Jets defense at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and defeated New York 23-17 in part thanks to Reichard's trio of field goals.

"He's a dog," Justin Jefferson said postgame. "He's an SEC guy, so that's something we're kind of expecting from him."

Reichard, a 2024 draft pick out of Alabama, got off to an early start in his fifth NFL game, putting the Vikings on the board midway through the first quarter.

Minnesota moved the ball well initially, with Sam Darnold completing 11- and 26-yard passes to Johnny Mundt and Jefferson, respectively, and Aaron Jones, Sr., and C.J. Ham getting involved in the run game. But Darnold was sacked for a loss of 12 on third-and-2, prompting the field goal unit to take the field.

Reichard sailed the ball through the uprights, easily making the 54-yard attempt.

"Knowing we were in field goal range, you should never take a sack in that moment, and Sam knows that, but to have [Reichard] stride out there and put it through with plenty of leg, that is probably a transaction that not a lot of people are going to talk about, but he's made some huge kicks," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "He's just walked out there and done his job with very little fanfare. I absolutely love him. He's cold, cold blooded."

The rookie kicker showed he wasn't rattled by a different time zone and his first game across the pond.

Quite the contrary – he came in clutch every time the Vikings called on him. And that included twice in the fourth quarter of a game that got too close for comfort.

Minnesota's defense stymied the Jets deep in their own territory early in the quarter, resulting in a Thomas Morstead punt that Brandon Powell fielded and returned 6 yards. The special teams sequence set up the Vikings with favorable field position, but the offense stalled after three plays.

Reichard delivered again, this time on a 53-yarder that cleared and then some.

Fast forward to the 6:04 mark in the fourth quarter, and Darnold led another offensive drive with a 20-17 Vikings lead. The QB hit Jefferson for 25 yards and Mundt for 20, combined with a pair of short runs by Ty Chandler, but had an incompletion on third-and-7.

With just over three minutes remaining in the contest, Reichard successfully kicked a 41-yard field goal. Adding the three points forced New York to pursue a touchdown … which ultimately gave Stephon Gilmore an opportunity for his game-sealing interception of Rodgers.

O'Connell emphasized how proud he was of the offense getting down the field to set Reichard up for his third field goal of the day.

"There's been some of that in this five-game run here where the momentum, the energy in the stadium, the adversity that's kind of hit, and Sam Darnold finding Justin on that big hit to start the drive, and then Johnny Mundt later on," O'Connell said. "Would have loved to finish that drive with a touchdown, but we ensured three points and made sure they had to score a touchdown to beat us."

Reichard is now a perfect 9-for-9 on field goals on the season, including three of 50-plus yards, and 16-for-16 on extra points – including two on Sunday after a pick six by Andrew Van Ginkel and 2-yard rushing TD by C.J. Ham.

"To say he's coming in as a new guy and making field goals left and right, and especially from the length that he's making it, it's definitely something that we need," Jefferson said. "Especially not putting points on the board as an offense – coming out with three points is something. Of course we want to get the seven, but if you take [the points he scored away], we don't come out with this game."

As Jefferson mentioned, the Vikings offense struggled to find a steady rhythm, especially in the second half. They did string together a couple of effective drives in the second quarter, highlighted by the one capped by Ham's touchdown.

Darnold found Jefferson deep for a 27-yard gain on the second play of the series. Chandler dodged and sprinted for 32 yards on the following play, but his run unfortunately was negated by an illegal shift penalty on Jefferson.

The Jets secondary looked for an answer against Jefferson and paid the price particularly on that drive, with officials throwing two flags for defensive pass interference (Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed) and then another for defensive holding (Reed). Minnesota took advantage of the yardage and moved into the red zone, where Darnold handed off to Ham for his first rushing score since 2022.

"It's awesome. It's something I don't necessarily anticipate, but I was grateful I got to touch the ball a couple times today and make the most of it," said the fullback, who had two carries for 10 yards.

Ham, Chandler and Myles Gaskin all contributed when Jones left the game in the first quarter with a hip injury. Prior to being sidelined, Jones logged 29 yards on seven attempts, as well as an impressive 24-yard leaping reception from Nick Mullens when Darnold left for a play.

Darnold missed one snap after a hard hit by linebacker Chazz Surratt, but he kept his composure in the face of ample pressure from the Jets front.

"We were just able to really continue to take it one step at a time throughout the game, and you know you're going to go through the ebbs and flows of it," he said.

Darnold finished the day 14-of-31 passing for 179 yards and an interception by Brandin Echols. His passer rating was 50.3.

He noted it's important to stay confident, especially during difficult games.

"You have to be [confident in your decisions] as a quarterback. If you're ever doubting yourself out there, which is kind of some things that I did early in my career, it can be a long day," Darnold said. "Wherever the coverage, wherever the defense, wherever they go and whatever guy is open, just throw it to him. It's as easy as that," he added. "But for me, I think it's just continuing to see the field and go through my reads and time my feet with my eyes, and if I can do that and stay patient that way, we'll be good."

Darnold highlighted resiliency and consistency as keys to success for the offense.

"I feel like that's kind of our M.O. If we can continue to stay consistent and … continue to sustain drives, [you'll be better off]. You get in these third-and-long situations, which are tough," he said. "I think for me, being able to put the ball in play and live to see another down and then go – like I said, you go through ebbs and flows of every single game and just being able to have that resiliency to just take it one play at a time after that, that's kind of our mindset as an offense, but as a whole team, as well.

Jefferson led the team in receiving with six catches for 92 yards, followed by Jordan Addison with three catches for 36 yards. Mundt had 31 yards on his two grabs. The Jets quieted Jalen Nailor, who wasn't targeted once.

O'Connell said he doesn't regret aggressive play calls downfield but added he and the offense can make improvements moving forward.

"We want to stay aggressive. I think that's one of the things that has helped us this year as a team," he said. "I didn't think offensively our execution was up to our standard. Way too many pre-snap penalties, way too many things that we really talked about. And it starts with me as the play caller, and I've got to make sure that I find a way to continue chasing improvement, because there were some things offensively that just can't happen in the big scheme of 17 games over a season."

But O'Connell is proud of his team for a "gritty" win overseas and is looking forward to returning stateside undefeated.

"There's going to be days like this," he said. "That's what our game is all about, and I'm just proud of the way our guys battled. And not one time did I feel any sort of tearing at the seams with the adversity as we dealt with it, and that's the mark of a good football team.

"Hopefully we'll chase improvement across the board, and I'm very much looking forward to doing that with my guys," O'Connell added.

He and the team know all eyes are on them as they enter the bye week and then return to U.S. Bank Stadium to host the division-rival Lions in Week 7.

But the Vikings aren't concerned about the extra attention or outside noise.

"We have a lot of good things clicking right now as a team, but it's early. We know it's a long season, and … we've just got to continue to take it one step at a time," Darnold said. "If you get caught up in what people are saying about you and you're this or you're that. We weren't listening to anything that people were saying before the season, so why would we start now?"