Vikings and Colts Week Nine Game Preview

For the second week straight, the Minnesota Vikings head into a primetime game coming off of a devastating loss. Not only did the Vikings lose their Thursday night matchup with the Rams, but they also lost their star right tackle, Christian Darrisaw, for the season to a knee injury. The Vikes also slid down to third in the division after holding first place for the first six weeks of the season and only sit above the Chicago Bears, who lost to the Commanders after a ridiculous hail mary in the final seconds of their matchup. However, Minnesota plays a team this week that might be going through even more turmoil than themselves. The Indianapolis Colts are also coming off a loss in Week Eight and a loss to a division rival at that. During this loss, quarterback Anthony Richardson only completed 31.25% of his throws and was seen calling himself out of the game before a crucial third down because he was “tired,” in his own words. This was the last straw for head coach Shane Steichen as he announced that Joe Flacco would be the starter at quarterback for the Colts on Sunday. All of this drama and changes in lineups will surely provide for an interesting game on Sunday night.

From a historical viewpoint, the Indianapolis Colts have dominated the Minnesota Vikings throughout their 27 matchups. The Colts have won 18 of those games and six of the last seven matchups, however, in their most recent meeting, the Vikings were able to overcome a 33-0 halftime deficit and came back to defeat Indianapolis in overtime. This was the largest comeback in NFL history and certainly still looms heavy on the hearts of Colts fans and players who were on that 2022-23 Colts team. The NFL clearly sees the potential for another entertaining game between these two franchises as they were flexed into a primetime position earlier in October. With neither team below .500 at the current moment, it would seem that playoff hopes are still high in both Indy and Minnesota.

The starting lineup for the Vikings is still a little bit shaky at the moment. Minnesota traded for tackle Cam Robinson from Jacksonville on Tuesday with the intention of him replacing the injured Christian Darrisaw for the remainder of the season, but only time will tell if he will be ready to start this Sunday. Minnesota is also expected to have star tight end T.J. Hockenson on the field for the first time since Week 16 of last season, but his playing status has yet to be confirmed. I do believe that Joe Flacco starting gives the Colts the best chance to defeat Minnesota but I still think that the Vikings at home will be too much to overcome for Flacco. The Colts’ defense has let up 20+ points in four of their eight games this season and they have lost three of those games, while the Vikings have put up more than 20 points in every one of their games this season. I believe Minnesota’s offensive weapons will be too much for Indianapolis and the Vikings win this game 34-20 in what seems like just a bad matchup for the Colts.