Vikings Offense: Jekyll and Hyde act continues in…

The Minnesota Vikings snapped a two-game losing streak by taking down the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 21-13.

Things didn’t start off well for the Vikings. They had three drives end in Colts territory with a red zone interception and 31 and 53-yard field goals missed. Top that with a Grover Stewart strip-sack of Sam Darnold that resulted in a touchdown and a 7-0 deficit going into halftime.

When you look at the game in totality, the Vikings defense played really well and won the game for the Vikings, as they didn’t allow the Colts a single offensive snap inside the red zone.

The studs and duds are almost all on offense this week because their performances were the tipping point in the game.

Stud: TE Josh Oliver

This was dubbed as the T.J. Hockenson return game, as he made his triumphant return to the field after suffering a torn ACL last Christmas Eve against the Detroit Lions. While he did make a few plays, it was his teammate that stood out.

Oliver played a significant amount of snaps on Sunday night for two reasons: they wanted to ease Hockenson back into the game and Oliver helped stabilize the offensive line with Cam Robinson making his debut. He also caught five passes for 58 yards and a huge insurance touchdown which made a big difference for the Vikings.

Dud: K Will Reichard

The first half wasn’t great for the Vikings. They got down 7-0 because of a strip-sack and struggled to finish drives. They had two drives make it to the red zone that failed to get points. One of those was the fault of the kicker.

Reichard made his first 30 kicks in the National Football League but missed his first two on Sunday night with one from 52 and the other from 31 yards. He pushed both of them to the right with the 31-yard kick hitting the upright. Reichard did rebound to make his first two extra points. It’s worth noting that the broadcast mentioned that Reichard was dealing with a leg injury of some sort and showed him with a wrap on it.

Stud: WR Justin Jefferson

At a certain point, what else can you say about a great player like Jefferson that hasn’t already been said? He’s been incredible on a multitude of levels for the Vikings and that has been the case every game so far this season.

Jefferson didn’t stop on Sunday night when he tied for the second-longest streak of having a 25-plus yard reception to start a season.

Jefferson caught seven passes for 137 yards and found a way to energize the fanbase at every turn.

Dud: C Garrett Bradbury

This one was evident from the jump. Bradbury had a ton of struggles with the interior of the Colts’ defensive line. With guys like Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner, it’s a very difficult task.

Bradbury had a ton of struggles throughout the game, but especially in the first half. Stewart blew up Bradbury on one play and then strip sacked Sam Darnold which Kenny Moore ended up taking in for a touchdown. It brought memories of his early seasons where Bradbury would consistently get forklifted. That cannot happen when you are a sixth-year center.

Stud: LT Cam Robinson

When you come in and start your first game with a team, it’s never going to be perfect. There will be some chemistry issues and it’s nearly impossible to know the entire playbook with just five days of practice.

All that withstanding, Robinson was really solid in his debut. He didn’t allow much pressure on the night and was driving defenders in the running game. The expectation for Robinson wasn’t going to be that he played like Christian Darrisaw, but rather be a capable starter and he’s delivered that so far.