Minnesota Vikings 21, Indianapolis Colts 13: Defense Makes Statement on Sunday Night

The Vikings get back in the win column

Coming off of a two-game losing streak, the Minnesota Vikings had an opportunity to right the ship in prime time against the Indianapolis Colts in a game that the league moved into its showcase Sunday spot.

Despite their own best efforts, in some cases, they did exactly that.

The Minnesota defense allowed just three points on the evening and the offense did just enough to get the job done as the Vikings fought their way to a 21-13 win over the Colts on Sunday Night Football.

The Vikings’ defense struck early as they forced a turnover on the Colts’ first possession. Jonathan Taylor mishandled a handoff from Joe Flacco and the loose ball wound up in the hands of Harrison Smith for a turnover on the first possession for Indianapolis.

Unfortunately, the Vikings turned it over on their first possession as well, as Sam Darnold’s pass for T.J. Hockenson was intercepted in the end zone by Zaire Franklin to thwart a Minnesota scoring opportunity.

The Colts’ defense generated a second turnover early in the second quarter, and this one was as bad as it could be for the Vikings. Grover Stewart sacked Darnold near midfield, and Darnold fumbled the ball away to Kenny Moore who took it 33 yards for an Indianapolis touchdown to make it 7-0.

The Vikings had a chance to cut into the lead on their next possession, but a 53-yard field goal attempt from rookie Will Reichard sailed wide to the right, his first miss on the season. The Colts reciprocated on the next possession as Matt Gay also missed a 53-yard field goal attempt to give the Vikings good field position just after the two-minute warning.

It looked like the Vikings were going to add points at the end of the first half, but Reichard missed his second field goal of the night, this one a 31-yard attempt that banged off the right upright and harmlessly to the turf, leaving the score 7-0 as the teams went into halftime.

The Vikings finally got on the board on the first drive of the second half, as Sam Darnold found Jordan Addison on a 4-yard touchdown pass that Addison laid out for and brought in, essentially, one-handed for his second touchdown of the year, tying things at 7-7.

Minnesota took their first lead of the night on their next possession, and it was another touchdown pass for Sam Darnold, this time finding Jalen Nailor for a 7-yard score to make it 14-7 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.

The Vikings’ defense kept up the pressure on the Colts’ next possession, forcing another turnover, this one an interception of Joe Flacco by Byron Murphy to stall a drive that had moved into Minnesota territory and preserve the seven-point lead.

Unfortunately, Darnold gave it right back on the next play, as his long pass for Justin Jefferson was intercepted by Nick Cross, and the Colts took the return down to the Minnesota 25-yard line.

The Colts turned the interception into points, as Matt Gay managed to sneak a 42-yard field goal attempt inside the left upright to make it 14-10 with just over twelve minutes left in regulation. Indianapolis then pushed into Minnesota territory with about five minutes left in regulation and faced a 4th-and-2 from the Minnesota 40-yard line, but Harrison Smith broke up a Flacco pass and the Colts turned it over on downs.

The Vikings pushed into Indianapolis territory and when it looked like the Vikings would just run the ball to drain the clock, Darnold dropped back rolled to his left, and found a wide open Josh Oliver for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 21-10 just ahead of the two-minute warning.

The Colts got the ball back after the two-minute warning and got into position for Matt Gay to attempt a 54-yard field goal, and he connected to make it a 21-13 game with less than thirty seconds left in the game. The Vikings recovered the onside kick and moved to 6-2 on the season.

The Vikings will start a two-game road trip against AFC South teams next week when they travel to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Vikings defeat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football by a final score of 21-13. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of tonight’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!