The Minnesota Vikings play a truly horrendous half of football on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. After a pair of losses, they came out and went a full half without scoring.
Not Pretty — But Pretty Necessary for Vikings.
Notably, though, the only points they gave up came on a bad scoop and score fumble for the Indianapolis defense. When the dust settled, it was a performance that Brian Flores’ unit needed to show.
The opposition made a mockery of the Minnesota Vikings’ defense for two straight weeks. There was reason to be worried about Brian Flores’ unit, and with plenty of season left, it could have been scary to think that the end may be coming. That possibility was all but laid to rest by the time the game ended.
Although the Vikings won by just eight points, the game was really never that close. Minnesota outgained the Colts by nearly 200 yards, and the Vikings defense held Indianapolis to just 13 first downs. Joe Flacco looked mediocre and was kept out of the end zone while throwing an interception. Jonathan Taylor was kept in check all night, and there was never a period in which the Colts looked like a legitimate threat.
Of course, that’s a great reality when the Vikings struggled to score points early. Kevin O’Connell’s offense chugged along despite self-inflicted wounds early, and it was the defense showing up that kept Minnesota in the game. Although the sack drought didn’t end until the game was nearly over, Flacco was kept moving for much of the contest.
It was also encouraging to see this sort of effort, considering the personnel available to Flores. Blake Cashman missed his third-straight game as he continues to deal with turf toe. Ivan Pace Jr. also had a brief period where he left the field after going down. That meant Andrew Van Ginkel was forced into inside linebacker duties, which got Dallas Turner on the field.
The first-round rookie looked to hit his stride and certainly came up with more than a couple of key plays. Although he didn’t get Flacco on a sack, it was a pair of snaps in succession that really stood out. Dropping back in coverage from the edge forced a poor decision, and then he came flying in untouched on the very next play.
It’s obvious that Flores has the talent to work with. Two really good offenses took it to his unit the last couple of weeks, but they got back on track Sunday.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
