Stats Don’t Lie: Brian Flores Defense was Unstoppable vs Colts

The Minnesota Vikings got back to their winning ways on Sunday night with a 21-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts. It brings the Vikings to 6-2 on the season after losing two games in a row and has vaulted them back into second place in the NFC North behind just the Detroit Lions.

One of the biggest aspects of the Vikings’ win was the defense. The offense was volatile on Sunday night, but the defense was significant in keeping them in the game. Brian Flores’ unit was excellent throughout the game and thrived in multiple areas. These stats epitomize the excellent performance of the defense and were a huge factor in getting the team back on track.

Time of possession: 23:06

This might be the most impressive factor of the Vikings’ win over the Colts. They held the ball for nearly 37 minutes of game time and prevented Joe Flacco from driving the Colts’ offense down the field. They forced the Colts into 11 third down situations and got stops on eight of them, while also getting a stop on one of their two fourth down attempts as well. The Vikings offense was a big part in the time of possession battle but the defense more than held up their end of the bargain.

Turnovers: 2

The Vikings’ defense hasn’t just been aggressive, they have been turning it into takeaways. After two takeaways against the Colts that prevented them from scoring on two separate occasions, the Vikings have 17 on the season, ranking them second in the National Football behind the Green Bay Packers, who have 19 with one more game. One spot behind them is the Detroit Lions at 16 and the Chicago Bears are tied at fifth with 15. The NFC North is a takeaway machine right now and the Vikings are up there.

Plays in red zone: 0

Yes, that is a correct stat. The Colts didn’t run a single play in the red zone on Sunday night. The closest they ended up getting was the 23 yard line where Matt Gay ended up kicking a 42 yard field goal from. That kind of success for the Vikings is huge, especially with a quarterback who is inconsistent like Darnold.

Rushing yards allowed: 68

One of the biggest factors for the Colts’ lack of success on offense was how little they were able to generate in the running game. After giving Jonathan Taylor the ball on six of the first seven plays, Taylor only touched the ball 10 more times with 13 carries for 48 yards and three receptions for 11 yards. Preventing the running game from getting established is a really good sign for the Vikings long-term, especially since teams haven’t had the longest game script where they can focus on the running game.