The Minnesota Vikings continue to find ways to win, even when the defense needs to drag the rest of the team kicking and screaming into the winner’s circle. This time, they got a couple of fortunate breaks as well, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
The Vikings once again struggled on offense, but the defense sacked Colts’ quarterback Daniel Jones four times, and Colts’ kicker Spencer Shrader missed a pair of field goals as the Vikings moved to 6-0 on the season with a 16-0 victory over Indianapolis
at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 7 action.
The Vikings won the coin toss and elected to receive, as they’ve done on most occasions they’ve won the toss this season. Myles Price got things off to a fast start, as he took the opening kickoff and returned it into Colts territory at the 47-yard line, giving the Vikings great field position to start things off. Unfortunately, the Vikings wasted that field position as they handed the ball to Aaron Jones on four consecutive plays. The fourth one came on a 4th-and-1 play that saw Jones get swarmed in the backfield for a turnover on downs, bringing the opening possession to a screeching halt.
The Colts took over after the turnover on downs and moved the ball down the field, converting a pair of third downs on completions from Daniel Jones to Keenan Allen and Josh Downs. Then, the Colts turned to their home run threat, running back Jonathan Taylor, and he did the rest, slicing through the Vikings’ defense for a 38-yard touchdown run to give the Colts a 7-0 lead just six minutes into the game.
The Vikings got things moving on their next possession with a quick pass to Jordan Addison for 11 yards and a first down and picked up another first down on a defensive holding penalty, but the drive stalled out after that, and the Vikings punted it away, putting the Colts’ offense at its own 11-yard line. The Vikings then avoided another disaster as they ran a quarterback sneak with Murray on another 4th-and-1 play, this one in their own territory, and a virtual measurement determined that they just got the first down.
The drive continued, and the Vikings pushed into Colts territory in a drive that spanned the break between the first and second quarters. Murray’s pass on 3rd-and-8 from the Indianapolis 10 fell incomplete, and the Vikings settled for a 26-yard field goal from Will Reichard to make it 7-3 early in the second quarter.
The Colts took over possession and were quickly to midfield after a couple of carries by Taylor. Their drive stalled and was ended on a sack by Dallas Turner, forcing them to punt it away. Thanks to a great special teams play to keep the ball out of the end zone, the Vikings had to start the next drive from their own 4-yard line. Murray found Jefferson for a 20-yard gain to get the ball away from the end zone, and then found Gavin Bartholomew for 17 more to get the ball near midfield. A completion to Jauan Jennings. . .yes, Jauan Jennings. . .moved the ball into Colts territory, where Murray found Jefferson to convert another third down. But the drive stalled out, meaning the Vikings called on Reichard again, and he did what he always does, connecting on a 47-yard attempt to make it 7-6 with six and a half minutes left in the half.
That field goal by Reichard gave him the Vikings’ record for the most consecutive made field goals by a kicker, passing the mark that had been held by Gary Anderson. Congratulations to the Baby-Faced Assassin™ on setting a new standard.
The Colts took the ball and pushed down into Minnesota territory and even got into a goal-to-go situation at the end of the half, but the Vikings’ defense stood firm and forced Indianapolis to settle for a field goal attempt. Spencer Shrader came on and put it through the uprights from 43 yards out as time expired, allowing the Colts to take a 10-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Colts also got the ball to start the second half, thanks to the Vikings taking the ball to start the game. The Colts got a quick first down from Taylor, but then the Vikings picked up back-to-back sacks, one coming from Jalen Redmond and Eric Wilson and the second from Dallas Turner and Blake Cashman, to stop the drive. The Vikings got the ball with solid field position, but as has been the case so often this season, the offense could do nothing with it, as they quickly went three-and-out and punted it back to the Colts.
Indianapolis, once again, put together a sustained drive and put themselves in a position to add more points. On a 4th-and-2 from the Minnesota 38-yard line, they brought on Spencer Shrader to attempt a 56-yard field goal. Shrader put his leg into it, but it was an ugly-looking kick, and he pushed it wide to the left to give the Vikings the ball in good field position once again late in the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Vikings faced a 3rd-and-8 from the Colts’ 40-yard line, and Murray made his biggest play of the day, as he got out of the pocket and avoided defenders to sprint down to the Indianapolis 5-yard line to set the Vikings up with a first-and-goal.
On the very next play, the Vikings finally got into the end zone, as Murray found T.J. Hockenson for a 5-yard touchdown to take their first lead of the day at 13-10.
The Colts got to near midfield on their next possession, but their drive stalled out, and they punted it away once more. The Vikings moved the ball down the field a bit and decided to roll the dice on a 59-yard field goal try from Reichard, and for the first time in a long time, the result was not a successful one. Colts’ defensive lineman Grover Stewart got a hand up and blocked the attempt, giving the Colts the ball at their own 41-yard line with eight and a half minutes left in regulation.
Indianapolis took the ball and moved back into Minnesota territory and got Shrader into position to try to tie it and, once again, Shrader failed to come through. This time, he pushed his attempt wide to the right, keeping the Vikings ahead by three points with just over four minutes left in regulation.
Minnesota then moved the ball into Colts’ territory again and attempted to position themselves to add to the lead. Murray appeared to have a big play to Jordan Addison at the two-minute warning that would have given the Vikings the ball at the Colts’ 2-yard line, but a holding penalty on Blake Brandel negated it. The Vikings did, eventually, extend the lead, as Reichard connected on a 52-yard attempt to make it 16-10 with 1:39 left on the clock.
The Colts got the ball back, and Harrison Smith ended it by making NFL history.
Harrison Smith intercepted Jones’ pass, and in doing so became the third player in the history of the National Football League to register at least 40 interceptions and at least 20 quarterback sacks. The other two. . .Charles Woodson and Ronde Barber. . .have their busts displayed in Canton. One day, Harrison Smith will likely join them.
The interception allowed the Vikings to kneel out the clock and push their record to 6-0 in another ugly game. Ugly wins are still wins, however, and with the San Francisco 49ers currently losing to the Atlanta Falcons, there’s a chance that the Vikings could end the day as the only undefeated team in the NFC.
The Vikings will take their show on the road again next week, as they’ll head to the Motor City for another NFC North matchup against the Detroit Lions.
The Minnesota Vikings get another victory in less-than-artistic fashion, as they hold off the Indianapolis Colts by a final score of 16-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Thank you to everybody who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!
