Vikings right the ship in the second half to beat the Colts 21-13

The Vikings’ 5-0 start, particularly the two emphatic victories over playoff contenders in their frenzied home environment, was the main reason their Sunday home game with the Colts was moved from Fox’s regional slate to the NFL’s premier prime-time spot on NBC. All it meant, for 30 sloppy and scoreless minutes in the first half, was that a larger-than-normal audience got to watch the latest installment of the Vikings’ peculiar series with the Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium.

For the third consecutive home game against the Colts, the Vikings were booed off the field at halftime after being shut out. They trailed by only seven points this time, not 27 (as they did in 2016) or 33 (before they completed the greatest comeback in NFL history in 2022), but a combination of turnovers, missed field goals and an irksome officiating decision had their fans on edge.

The Vikings steadied themselves in the second half, though, ending a two-game losing streak in a 21-13 victory over Indianapolis that provided some callbacks to the formula they had used in their hot start. Sam Darnold shook off two interceptions and regained some of the red zone mastery he had shown early this season, completing three second-half TD passes, while an unceasing pass rush short-circuited the Colts’ passing game.

“I felt like we had that pop back,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “We were flying around, especially defensively, and offensively the execution was improved. I think there is a lot to pull from this and yet still have a lot of runway to improve as a team.”

All three of the Vikings’ sacks came in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings (6-2) allowed Joe Flacco to throw for just 117 yards on his 17 second-half attempts. Though the Colts (4-5) intercepted Darnold twice and scored their only touchdown on a controversial fumble return, he completed 12 of his 15 second-half passes for 152 yards and three scores.

Justin Jefferson caught seven passes for 137 yards, but Darnold hit eight other receivers, throwing touchdown passes to three of them.

The Vikings averaged 5.1 yards on 17 first-quarter plays and gained seven first downs, but Darnold’s decision to throw back over the middle of the field for T.J. Hockenson (after saying no to Jordan Addison on a short crossing route and breaking the pocket) resulted in a Zaire Franklin interception that cost the Vikings a chance to score after Flacco’s fumble on an aborted play ended the Colts’ first drive.

On the Vikings’ second possession, O’Connell decided to punt from the Colts 44-yard line rather than trying a Will Reichard 62-yard field goal. Their third possession ended with O’Connell talking to three officials in disbelief, wondering for the second game in a row why there was no flag on an opponent for a violent hit on Darnold that cost the Vikings points.

Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart bulldozed center Garrett Bradbury and hit Darnold in the head, dragging the quarterback down with an arm to his neck. Darnold fumbled on the way down, and referee Shawn Smith threw a flag on Stewart. After a discussion with officials at the end of the play, Smith picked up the flag, meaning Kenny Moore II’s fumble return touchdown would stand.

Smith told a pool reporter he initially threw the flag for a “potential facemask on that high hit on the quarterback,” but officials determined the contact to Darnold’s head and neck area was incidental. When asked if forearm contact with the helmet would be considered a blow to the head, Smith said, “Well, I did not see that.”

When asked about his discussion with officials after the play, O’Connell said, “It seemed to be they were concerned about whether it was a facemask. That was not part of my argument. I just thought there was contact to the head and neck area of the quarterback.”

The Vikings went scoreless in the first half for the third straight time against Indianapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium, even though they drove into Colts territory on each of their first five possessions. On the final two, Reichard — who hadn’t missed a field goal or extra point since his first attempt against the Raiders in the preseason was blocked — saw his streak of 49 consecutive successful field goals or extra points end. He missed wide right from 53, and his 31-yard field goal before halftime clanged off the right upright.

To take the lead with two third-quarter touchdowns, the Vikings followed a straightforward approach: Find single-coverage matchups for Jefferson, and exploit them.

Darnold hit Jefferson for 21 yards against Jaylon Jones on the first play of the third quarter, two plays before a 19-yard pass to Hockenson. The Vikings finished the touchdown drive with Darnold retreating from Franklin’s pressure to loft a pass for Jordan Addison in the back corner of the end zone.

“Felt the corner kind of come down on Aaron [Jones] in the flat,” Darnold said. “Felt like I had a window there. Then the catch was unbelievable. For him to be able to snag that the way he did, and keep the ball away from the ground, just unbelievable body control by Jordan.”

On the Vikings’ next drive, Darnold found Jefferson in a one-on-one with Samuel Womack III, and lofted a 41-yard pass to the receiver to the Colts’ 1. The drive ended with Darnold hitting Jalen Nailor for a go-ahead touchdown.

“We go a few snaps, now, and some games without seeing [one-on-one matchups for Jefferson],” O’Connell said. “So I normally try to hide my reaction to it when we break the huddle, and I can tell what might occur. But yeah, it was a critical moment for Sam and him to pitch and catch on that long throw, getting us down there and ultimately getting seven.”

The Vikings had a chance to go up by two scores after Byron Murphy Jr. mirrored Josh Downs’ route and undercut Flacco’s throw, but Darnold gave the ball back on the next play with a throw for Jefferson into traffic that was picked off by safety Nick Cross.

“He’s aggressive on those dagger throws, and he throws them about as well as anybody I’ve ever been around,” O’Connell said. “It’s one of his favorite throws. First and 10, I want to stay aggressive as a play caller. I thought the protection was phenomenal on that play. That’s just, you know, as great as he feels about ripping those dagger cuts, sometimes the defense can make you say no, check the ball down and move on like he did when we needed to throughout the night.”

Though the Colts gained just 2 yards on their next three plays, they were in position for a 42-yard Matt Gay field goal that made it 14-10.

Indianapolis drove to the Vikings 40 with a chance to take the lead. But on third- and fourth-and-2, Harrison Smith came up with two pass breakups, drilling Ashton Dulin to jar the ball loose on a would-be fourth-down completion that gave the Vikings the ball back. Darnold hit Addison for 21 yards, and the Vikings ran Jones six times for 25 yards. On a second-and-11 with 2:05 to go, O’Connell called for Darnold to roll to his left on a flood concept. The quarterback hit Josh Oliver as the deepest option on the play, for a 14-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach.

“Josh just popped on that one,” Darnold said. “Saw the [line]backer in panic mode, a little bit, trying to get back to him, so just felt the space.”

The Colts pulled within eight on a 54-yarder from Gay, but when they tried an onside kick in an attempt to get the ball back for a tying drive, the Vikings loaded their hands team with skill position players, and Jefferson caught the onside kick in front of Alec Pierce to seal it.

“We came out a little bit flat,” Addison said. “But we talked it over and said, ‘We’re only down seven. All we need is a touchdown,’ We went out there and we did that, and we just turned it up.”

The rallying cry won’t be remembered the same way as Patrick Peterson’s all-we-need-is-five-touchdowns speech from 2022, just as the final result lacked the dramatic flair of that NFC North-clinching win.

If what the Vikings needed on Sunday night, though, was a victory they could use to steady themselves before a three-game road trip, the second-half resurgence they showed against the Colts will work just fine.

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