The Vikings got the full Sam Darnold experience in their win over the Colts on Sunday Night Football.
It was a rollercoaster ride of a night for Darnold at U.S. Bank Stadium. He was mostly efficient, completing 28 of 34 attempts for 290 yards with three touchdowns, a 107.1 passer rating, and some very nice throws. But he also threw two rough interceptions, lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and took four total sacks, at least half of which were a result of him holding onto the ball too long in the pocket.
Fortunately for Darnold, his defense was excellent, so his three touchdown passes were enough in a much-needed 21-13 victory that snaps a two-game skid and gets the Vikings to 6-2 on the season.
Justin Jefferson caught 7 passes for 137 yards, tying Adam Thielen for fourth on the Vikings’ all-time receiving list. Jordan Addison caught a season-high 5 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. A total of nine players caught passes from Darnold on the day, including three catches for T.J. Hockenson in his return to action and TD receptions for Jalen Nailor and Josh Oliver.
The Vikings mostly dominated this game on the stat sheet. They out-gained the Colts 415 to 227, had 29 first downs to the Colts’ 13, and controlled the majority of the time of possession. They also committed just three penalties, which had to make Kevin O’Connell happy. It was a closer game than it needed to be thanks to Darnold’s inconsistency and a couple missed field goals, but the Vikings were deserving winners in primetime.
That was largely due to a defense that showed up in a big way by allowing just two field goals, one of which came on a short field. Joe Flacco and Jonathan Taylor both struggled to get going for the Colts and the Vikings came away with two big takeaways. Indianapolis was just 3 of 11 on third down.
The first half of this game was a comedy of errors for the home team. Darnold threw an ugly interception into double coverage in the end zone on the Vikings’ first possession of the game. Then, in the second quarter, the refs controversially picked up a flag on a Colts scoop-and-score touchdown where it appeared contact was made to Darnold’s helmet. And to cap things off, Will Reichard missed the first two kicks of his NFL career. The first one, from 53 yards out, was understandable. But when he hit the upright on a 31-yard attempt at the end of the half, you knew nothing was going the Vikings’ way. Reichard may have gotten banged up in the game, which is something to monitor.
Despite leading 194 to 92 in yards at halftime, the Vikings found themselves down 7-0. Whether due to a fiery locker room speech or just good, old-fashioned regression to the mean, things changed in the third quarter. They came out of the break and drove 70 yards for a score to even things up. Addison came up with a key third-down conversion in the red zone, then made a highlight-reel one-handed diving catch for a touchdown on the very next play. After another stop by the Vikings’ defense, the offense drove 80 yards on nine plays to take the lead. Darnold hit Jefferson for 41 yards on a go ball, then found Nailor on a crossing route for a touchdown on third down.
Leading 14-7 at that point, the Vikings did enough to hold on for the win. Flacco and Darnold threw interceptions on consecutive plays at one point and the Colts cut it to a four-point game, but Oliver’s touchdown and an onside kick recovery sealed the deal.
Next up for the Vikings is a trip to Jacksonville to take on the 2-7 Jaguars next Sunday.
