The Minnesota Vikings ended their two-game losing skid, beating the Indianapolis Colts 21-13 on Sunday night. The Vikings started out slow, scoring no points in the first half. Every time it looked like the offense was putting something together, a calamity of errors ensued. Despite all the trials and tribulations on that side of the ball, the defense did not give up a score, keeping the game 7-0 at the half. Those seven points came from a fumble recovery with the Minnesota offense still on the field.
In the third quarter, fortunes started to change. The offense got rolling on back-to-back sustained drives for touchdowns to make it 14-7. While the defense looked to have given their offensive counterparts a golden opportunity to drain time off of the clock and extend the lead to two scores with a Byron Murphy interception, Sam Darnold turned the ball right back over on the next play with his third turnover and second interception of the game. The defense held the Colts offense to just a field goal.
The Vikings were able to all but ice the game with just over two minutes in left as Darnold found a wide-open Josh Oliver to extend the lead to 21-10. While the Colts did manage a field goal with 30 seconds left, the Vikings recovering an almost perfect onside kick put an end to the game.
Here are the numbers that tell the tale of Sunday night’s victory:
687
The Colts held the Minnesota Vikings scoreless in the half at home for the first time in 687 days. The last time the Vikings didn’t score in the first quarter was December 17, 2022, against Indianapolis.
The Vikings have been known for fast starts and playing from ahead this season. That wasn’t the case on Sunday night when they failed to score in the first quarter. On two drives they moved the ball easily down the field, taking advantage of a botched handoff between Joe Flacco and Jonathan Taylor deep in Vikings territory.
They got the ball deep into Colts territory before Darnold threw an interception in the end zone — his first red-zone INT of the season. On the next drive, the offense moved the ball with ease again until a loss of yardage on second down caused them to take a checkdown on third-and-long, forcing the offense off the field for a punt.
Even Minnesota’s special teams were uncharacteristically bad. Will Reichard missed a 53-yard field goal and doinked a 31-yarder at the end of the half. This appeared to be at least partly the result of an injury to his kicking leg, which he played through.
After back-to-back losses, the offense needed to start off hot again and put the Colts away early. Instead, it sputtered and repeatedly put the defense in a disadvantageous position, too much like weeks earlier.
3
The Colts’ interior defensive line dominated in the first half, racking up three sacks. Coming into the game, everyone had expected that DeForest Buckner would have a massive impact, given Minnesota’s interior line woes. However, nobody expected Grover Stewart to be such a force.
Stewart blew up Garrett Bradbury and sacked Darnold on a play that could have been called for a facemask. Indianapolis’ defense then took advantage of a loose ball and took it back for six.
Indianapolis’ interior defensive line made its presence felt throughout the first half, moving Darnold off his spot and forcing him to try to extend the play. Even his interception started with interior pressure from the Colts. They forced him off his spot and made him try to fit the ball into a tight window while on the move. Both of Darnold’s turnovers came under pressure from the Colts’ interior defensive line.
Overall, Minnesota’s interior offensive line, especially Ed Ingram and Bradbury, cannot allow opposing defenses to constantly dominate them.
8
Justin Jefferson has a reception of 25 or more yards in all eight games this season. Jefferson also crossed 100 receiving yards for the 32nd time in his career. It’s obvious to anyone who watches football that Jefferson is one of a kind. Even opposing defenses acknowledge this: Colts defenders said Jefferson “changes the weather.”
That proved true. When Minnesota’s offense could not get going, they would put the ball in his hands. Jefferson has been known for his ability to work the intermediate routes. Still, it feels like he has taken his ability to work deep to a new level this season.
Jefferson was a security blanket for an offense that looked like it was on the verge of crumbling multiple times through the first half. Jefferson recorded multiple big catches and even threw for a first down to Aaron Jones on third-and-16.
Even when he wasn’t getting the ball, Jefferson impacted the game. Indianapolis’ extra attention on him in the red zone allowed Kevin O’Connell to design a play with Jones and Nailor in his vicinity, flooding the zone and scoring a much-needed touchdown.
3
The Vikings were called for just three penalties all game, improving on the previous two disastrous weeks. Flags had been a big problem for both sides of the football for the Vikings last week, with the defense giving the Los Angeles Rams five first downs, three of which came on third downs. On Sunday night, the defense played clean football for every drive until the end of the game when they were flagged for too many men on the field. Then Stephon Gilmore drew a penalty for pass interference on what would have been a game-sealing interception by Cam Bynum.
The offense cleaned up all of the pre-snap penalties that had killed them in the past two weeks. The only flag thrown on the offense was a hold by new left tackle Cam Robinson, who admirably filled in for Christian Darrisaw in his first start as a Viking.
While the officiating wasn’t perfect — I’m thinking back to the missed facemask call that gifted the Colts their only touchdown of the game — the Vikings did their part to make sure it could not cost them the victory.
9
Darnold was able to distribute the ball well today, with nine different players recording a catch. Last week, the notion that, outside of Jefferson, no receivers were able to get into rhythm was a big talker. That changed with Josh Oliver this week and Jordan Addison stepping up. While it was expected that Addison would see more production as the season progressed, Oliver reeling in five grabs for 58 yards and a score in T.J. Hockenson’s first game back was not.
Oliver and Addison came up with crucial grabs to extend drives and ultimately ice the game. While Jefferson remained the No. 1 pass catcher in terms of yards and targets, the help other receivers provided today was exactly what this offense needed. While Hockenson’s season debut was a bit muted, with just three catches for 27 yards on limited snaps, his addition will undoubtedly help this unit reach the next level.
