Minnesota’s Mighty Defense: Vikings Tame Colts 21-13

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.