Vikings shake off rough start to beat Colts 21-13
It was an impressive response by the Vikings in the final 30 minutes of the game.
A hallmark of the Vikings throughout their 5-0 start was the way they could mimic an avalanche.
A big play on offense followed by a big play on defense, or vice versa, and the Vikings could take complete control of a game. They did it at different points in wins over the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers and New York Jets.
Fittingly, after consecutive losses to the Detroit Lions and Los Angels Rams, the Vikings got back on track by once again mimicking an avalanche.
After looking totally discombobulated in the opening 30 minutes on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings walked onto the field after halftime somehow only trailing by a touchdown. They proceeded to score a touchdown, force a punt, and score another touchdown, taking complete control of the game during a stretch that proved to be the difference.
The end result was the Vikings walking away with a 21-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
It was another polarizing performance from quarterback Sam Darnold.
A quick glance at the box score shows a strong night, with Darnold completing 28 of 34 passes for 290 yards and a trio of touchdowns. A deeper look at the game reveals that Darnold was the biggest reason the game was close.
He threw a pair of interceptions, coughed up a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and took a handful of sacks that absolutely killed drives.
Luckily for the Vikings, the defense picked up the offense time and time again, whether it was linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill recovering a fumble, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. hauling in an interception, or safety Harrison Smith racing in for a pass breakup.
The vibes were immaculate early on as the Vikings seemed like they were going to take control from the onset. They forced a turnover on the opening drive of the game, then moved the ball into the red zone with ease, putting themselves in position to score some points.
Instead, the Vikings got nothing as Darnold made an brutal decision that went for a turnover. He escaped pressure in the pocket, rolled to his left, and forced a pass into the end zone with defenders in the way. It was as easy of an interceptions as linebacker Zaire Franklin has had in his career.
That sucked the life out of the building and the Vikings did very little to bring the energy back up from there.
It actually got worse from there as Darnold lost the ball while being taken down by defensive tackle Grover Stewart, and cornerback Kenny Moore II scooped up the fumble and raced the other way to put the Colts in front 7-0.
It was the second straight week that contact to Darnold’s helmet was at the epicenter of a controversial no call.
After getting his facemask grabbed last week in the final minutes against the Rams, Darnold appeared to get hit directly in the head this week against the Colts. The officials actually threw a flag on the play only to pick it up.
A couple of missed field goals from rookie kicker Will Reichard added to the woes for the Vikings and they walked into the locker room at halftime licking their wounds.
On the opening drive after halftime, however, Darnold started to atone from his earlier mistakes with a few deep crossers to star receiver Justin Jefferson before finding fellow receiver Jordan Addison in the back of the end zone for a touchdown that helped the Vikings level the score at 7-all.
After forcing a punt on the next possession, the Vikings walked back onto the field with a chance to take control of the game.
That’s exactly what they did as Darnold dropped a dime to Jefferson in single coverage for a 41-yard gain before finding speedy receiver Jalen Nailor for a touchdown that put the Vikings in front 14-7.
The Vikings had a chance to put the game away after Murphy hauled in a huge interception. Unfortunately, Darnold threw another costly interception on the very next play to give the ball back to the Colts, who kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.
The dagger from the Vikings came after the defense forced a turnover on downs. What followed was an eight-play, 60-yard drive capped by Darnold finding tight end Josh Oliver for a score that made it 21-10.
Though the Colts got a field goal to make it 21-13, the Vikings recovered an onside kick, and Darnold kneeled out the clock to put the finishing touches on an important win.
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