Vikings Pick Up Huge Win During Sunday Night Football Against the Colts
After losing their last game due to some missed calls that became pretty controversial, the Minnesota Vikings aimed to bounce back at U.S. Bank Stadium during a Sunday Night Football match against the Indianapolis Colts. Earlier this week, the Colts announced they were benching their sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson in exchange for 39-year-old backup Joe Flacco. Indianapolis hopes Richardson uses this time being benched as a learning experience, getting the necessary guidance from a former Super Bowl champion quarterback. In a game that included five turnovers between the two teams, the Vikings ultimately came out on top on this one with a score of 21-13. Next week, the Colts will return home to face the Buffalo Bills and the Vikings will fly down to Jacksonville to square off against the struggling Jaguars.
Within the first five minutes of this game, both the Colts and the Vikings offense would fumble the ball. However, when Minnesota’s offense fumbled, cornerback Kenny Moore II carried the ball 38 yards completing the fumble for a touchdown. Kicker Matt Gay hit the extra point to make it a 7-0 game for Indianapolis. The Colts walked into halftime with the lead of just a touchdown. Minnesota’s offense picked it up during the third when quarterback Sam Darnold threw a four-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Addison. Vikings kicker Will Reichard ripped the extra-point attempt to tie the game up at seven. About eight minutes later, Darnold threw another touchdown pass, this time to Jalen Nailor for seven yards. With Reichard successfully hitting the extra point, the Vikings led 14-7. Three minutes into the final quarter of play, Gay kicked in a 42-yard field goal to cut their deficit to four. Over ten minutes later, Darnold hurled his third touchdown pass of the game when he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Josh Oliver. Reichard gave the Vikings a 21-10 lead with his extra-point attempt. With 28 seconds left in the game, Gay knocked down a 54-yard field goal, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Vikings took their sixth win on the season.
One of the big things for this Minnesota team was their rushing offense, which rushed 133 yards compared to Indianapolis’ 68 rushing yards. First downs were key for the Vikings as they had 29 during this game while the Colts only had 13. Indianapolis had just 49 plays on the night and Minnesota had 71. The Colts could not find success on third down going three for 11 on the night. They also had seven penalties which cost them 50 yards.
Sam Darnold went 28 for 34 with 290 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Darnold also rushed the ball four times, accumulating 14 yards. Vikings running back Aaron Jones had 21 carries for 64 yards. Minnesota’s star wide receiver Justin Jefferson went and had seven receptions for 137 yards in the win. Colts quarterback Joe Flacco went 16 for 27 with 179 passing yards and an interception. Indianapolis’ running back Jonathan Taylor finished the game with 13 carries for 48 yards, and receiver Josh Downs had six receptions for 60 yards.
