Aaron Jones was denied a Lambeau Leap in his return to Green Bay on Sunday, but he earned something even better: a victory over his former team.
Jones had his fingerprints all over the Vikings' 31-29 victory against the Packers, rushing 22 times for 93 yards and catching four passes for 46 yards.
The Vikings made a dramatic statement building a 28-0 lead in the second quarter, but Green Bay made a valiant comeback, cutting the lead to 28-22 with more than 10 minutes remaining before Minnesota closed it out.
And yet Jones said there really wasn't much trash talk between him and some of his former Packers teammates until the final moments of the game. While the Vikings were about to celebrate a hard-earned victory, Jones said he heard some chirping from across the line of scrimmage.
"As we were taking that last kneel, the Packers' defense said something like, 'We didn't let you Lambeau Leap here. We didn't let you Lambeau Leap in our house,' " Jones said. "I was like, 'You guys are worried about me Lambeau Leaping? You guys should be worried about the score.' "
Of course, Jones might have brought some of this on himself. Leading up to the game, Jones vowed to reprise his Lambeau Leap -- something he did numerous times as a Packer -- in his first game back there as a Viking.
"I'm definitely leaping up there," Jones said Wednesday.
As it turned out, he didn't. The Packers might have won that battle, but Jones and the Vikings earned the victory.
Jones' best chance to score was at the end of the first quarter. He was stopped for a 1-yard loss on first-and-goal from the Green Bay 1-yard line. On the next play, Sam Darnold hit tight end Josh Oliver for a 2-yard touchdown pass. The Vikings quickly got back in the red zone on their next possession, but with most of the Packers' defense keyed in on Jones, Jordan Addison took the misdirection jet sweep 7 yards for a touchdown that put Minnesota up, 21-0, less than 20 minutes into the game.
Even if some Packers defenders might have been petty late in the game, Packers fans were more than generous in Jones' return, giving him a warm pregame welcome back. He spent his first seven seasons in Green Bay, ranking third in rushing yards and fourth in rushing touchdowns in team history and earning fan-favorite status during his stay.
When the Packers moved on from him on the first day of free agency, opting to sign Josh Jacobs instead, Jones pivoted and joined the rival Vikings. Now Jones is 4-0 with his new team and atop the NFC North.
Getting the Lambeau Leap might have been sweet, but beating his former team was Jones' true mission all along, he said.
"This is what I came here for," Jones said. "If someone had told me, 'Hey, you'll go in and have a good game. You won't score but you'll get the [win],' I'd say that's what I'm here for.
"At the end of the day, as long as we win, it doesn't matter who is putting the points on the board, as long as they're being put up."
And in a fitting, full-circle moment, Vikings fans gave Jones what he couldn't get during regulation: to celebrate the big win.
"I came here and got what I wanted," Jones said. "It was special."
