The situation: With 8:11 left in the first quarter, the Jets offense faced a 3rd and 6 at the Vikings' 35 down 7-2

The context: The Vikings scored on the first play from scrimmage with linebacker Gerald Hodges' interception returned for a touchdown. But prior to this drive, the Vikings allowed a safety and needed a stop to hold onto their lead.

The result: Jets quarterback Geno Smith connected with wide receiver Percy Harvin on a 35-yard touchdown pass to go up 9-7

How it happened:

This will be more of a macro look than your typical Vikings Rewind. I'll explain what I mean by that after dissecting the play.

The Vikings showed blitz but backed off linebackers Chad Greenway and Gerald Hodges right before the play in their nickel defense. The Jets had three wide receivers in a 20 personnel (two running backs, no tight ends) with wide receiver Percy Harvin (circled in red) covered by cornerback Josh Robinson.

As the play developed, Harvin got a beat on Robinson five yards from the line of scrimmage. With safety Robert Blanton accounting for wide receiver Jeremy Kerley slipping past the wall of linebackers right at the first down marker, Robinson was left alone with Harvin.

Smith threw a poor ball well short of his target, forcing a jump ball situation between Harvin and Robinson. It was a good thing for Robinson because Harvin still had a step on him at the time. Robinson didn't react quickly enough to the ball and overran it at this point when Harvin stopped to locate the ball.

Robinson remained out of position, which led to an easy touchdown for Harvin against his former team and gave the Jets a 9-7 lead.

"He was bad off the line of scrimmage, he put himself in bad position early and then he wasn't able to locate the ball in the air," Zimmer said.

Robinson has been inconsistent as of late, which Zimmer citing technique and toughness as two reasons why his performance has dipped, but there's a bigger picture involved at this point of the game.

The Vikings couldn't have scripted a better start with Hodges' interception, but they squandered their lead by allowing nine points on both sides of the ball. Bridgewater was sacked in the end zone for a safety due to miscommunication between left guard Charlie Johnson and left tackle Matt Kalil on a defensive stunt, a common sight all season.

"Usually when they run that kind of stunt, I'll punch a guy over, [Johnson] will take over and you'll get the looper," Kalil said. "I think we were on such different levels that I had to carry him down a little longer, and I don't think [Johnson] was able to get over because I was at a deeper depth. I just got over late, and he just came over with the sack."

Harvin's touchdown was the only one scored by the Jets, and they still managed to force overtime. They kicked five field goals from this point to post 21 points at the end of regulation.

One of the best things to come out of this game for the Vikings was Zimmer's mentality after the game. He knew, we all knew, this game shouldn't have gone to overtime.

Zimmer's opening statement after the game: "Honestly, it was a pretty sloppy game today in my opinion. It was good to win and it was good to see we overcame a lot of adversity, although most of the was a lot caused by ourselves."

This sequence, a Vikings safety and Harvin's touchdown, was a prime example of what Zimmer meant in that quote. The Vikings should've played much better given the opponent and how the game played out.

It's a young roster, and while they're learning how to win those close games against the Jets and Bucs in overtime, the next step is to control those games and dominant these type of teams. That may come with time, but Zimmer hasn't lowered his high expectations all year, and it's a good sign that he remained consistent with that mentality even after a win.