Aaron Rodgers falls short as Vikings beat Jets in NFL's final London visit | NFL

We've seen this movie before. Aaron Rodgers with the ball in hand, the crowd and the elements against him, ready to play the ultimate action hero again. This time, however, there was a brutal twist.

When Rodgers limped onto the field with three minutes left, his New York Jets were trailing 23-17. But having engineered 32 game-winning drives over the course of his long and storied career, this wasn't unfamiliar territory.

Steadily advancing, the Jets advanced down the field until they were within spitting distance of the end zone. Maybe the old Rodgers would have found another moment of magic. But the elder Rodgers, who turns 41 in December, failed to deliver.

First, he toppled his star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Then, with nine seconds left, his pass was intercepted by Stephon Gilmore, allowing the Vikings to hold on.

“I just underestimated it a little bit,” admitted Rodgers, who also confirmed he suffered a sprained ankle after being sent off early in the game. “I'm definitely at the end. My foot got caught in the pile there. There were a lot of things that made noises on the way down.”

There were 61,139 spectators at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the largest ever at a sporting event in the UK this weekend. And not only did fans enjoy the full NFL experience of fist bumps, kissing buddies and wearing an XXL jersey over a hoodie, they were also treated to a slow-burn thriller.

Things didn't look that way in the first half, as the Vikings jumped out to a 17-0 lead, thanks largely to a shocking performance from Rodgers. First, he threw a pass directly to Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who ran it back for a 63-yard pick-6. Then, to make matters worse, he threw another interception to Camryn Bynyum. When the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' “Give It Away” came over the speakers, he shook his head and walked to the sidelines.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is considered a master at disguising the blitz and confusing opposing quarterbacks. But Rodgers has rarely looked more at sea.

At this point, the social media verdict was unanimous. Rodgers, coming back from a torn Achilles tendon, was scrapped. He was too slow, too afraid of being hit, a shadow of his former self. But little by little, the Jets quarterback started to put things in order. First he caught Allen Lazard with a 14-yard pass to increase the lead to 17-7 at halftime. And the deficit was further reduced to 17-10 by a field goal from Greg Zuerlein at the end of the third quarter. However, Rodgers was left hanging on the helmet screen in frustration after Lazard dropped a pass in the end zone. Suddenly the Jets were back in the game.

At this point, the Vikings had very little success on offense, but a 53-yard field goal by Reichard increased the score to 20-10 with just over 12 minutes left.

A one-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson then cut the score to 20-17, and while Reichard extended the Vikings' lead to 23-17, Rodgers entered the field knowing he had the game in hand. However, he failed to get the win this time as the Jets fell to 2-3 on the season.

“We start slow and make too many mental mistakes,” admitted Rodgers, who finished the game completing 29 of 54 passes for 244 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. “Generally too many mistakes. But I still have a lot of faith in this team. I think they are a team that will do it.”

The only consolation for the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player came in the third quarter when he connected with tight end Tyler Conklin for a seven-yard gain, becoming just the ninth player to surpass the 60,000-yard mark in his career.

Meanwhile, the Vikings enter their bye week with an undefeated 5-0 record, something few predicted before the season began when bookmakers had them finishing last in the NFC North.

“You have to give up for our defense,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “We needed them today.

“It was a pretty sloppy day all around with a little bit of pouring rain and all that kind of stuff. There were a thousand excuses out there. But our team didn't look for any of them. We continued playing. There will be days like this. That’s what our game is about and I’m just proud of the way our guys fought.”