ALONE AT THE TOP

VIKINGS 16

COLTS 10

November will dawn with only one undefeated team left in the NFL, and that team is the Minnesota Vikings!

Off the bye, and facing a fading Colts team (which I picked to make the playoffs...hardly my worst prediction this year *cough*Chargers*cough*), the Vikings went about their usual 2026 business, winning a game in rather ugly fashion. But winning.

I had hoped that coming off the bye and with the healthiest roster they will have all year, the offense in particular would look sharp.

It didn't. The opening drive showed we were going to have another muck fest. We wasted another really good Myles Price return by running up the gut with Aaron Jones over and over, including a 4th and 1, and getting stuffed. A short time later, Jonathan Taylor (future Viking?) burst for a long TD run, and the Colts grabbed the 7-0 lead.

A familiar pattern played out after this. The Vikings offense was occasionally able to move the ball, but only got field goals. The defense bounced back from the early score and held the Colts down. Indy got a field goal to end the half up 10-6.

Hey, I once saw the Vikings trail the Colts by 33 at halftime. This was nothing.

This Vikings squad has a feeling of inevitability. Even in a game where the defense was a little less shut down (they did give up a few 3rd downs), they never let the Colts offense get on track. The Colts only had 2 scoring chances in the 2nd half, both long field goal attempts that were missed. Yes, a kicker facing the Vikings missed TWO kicks. Unheard of. Blake Cashman had an incredible game, with multiple sacks, TFLs, and damn near had a pick six early in the game. Dallas Turner had another engulfing sack. Kyle Van Noy and Jalen Redmond had big games. 

Daniel Jones, taking the field at US Bank Stadium for the first time since that playoff game, was put through the wringer. He was sacked 4 times, and barely snuck past 100 yards.

The defense taking control again gave the Vikings offense time to get right. They never really did. It was a frustrating step back after the Saints game. The run game, even with Jordan Mason back, was bad. And Murray was confined to the pocket, with none of the utilization of his mobility.

But Murray did make one huge play with his legs. Following that first missed field goal, Murray did take off and run on a 35-yard scamper inside the 10. Then he flipped a TD pass to TJ Hockenson, and the Vikings had the lead.

The Vikings failed to pad the lead on the next series when Will Reichard had a long field goal blocked, his 1st unsuccessful kick of the year. So, at least we got that out of the way.

The Colts used the field position after the block to get in range for a tying field goal, but Spencer Shrader's kick was again no good.

The Vikings tried salting the game away. Kyler hit a big gainer to Jauan Jennings, then made maybe his best throw of the season to Addison inside the 5, but that one was wiped out by a holding. It ended up in a Reichard field goal, but with enough time left for the Colts to do something. 

But they didn't do anything. And I wasn't even worried. This Vikings defense has given up 3 total 4th quarter points all year. Give them a 4th quarter lead, and they just become suffocating.

And how cool that the deal was sealed by Harrison Smith picking off Jones, his 40th career pick.

Shortly after the game ended, the 49ers lost in Atlanta. Then, on SNF, the Chiefs were dominated by Seattle. So after 7 weeks, these Vikings are the only undefeated team left.

That won't last. They'll lose a few. This was the last game before the schedule levels up considerably. I'm fully confident the defense will give the team a chance every week, but more will be required from this offense. I didn't think Murray was bad in this game. He missed a couple of throws that would have given him a much better stat line. But he again played a clean game, and was sharp late. I think you could at least make the call to Vegas re: Kirk Cousins (the Raiders have lost 4 straight, but he is dealing), but maybe you stay the course. I do think the trade deadline will be active for this team.

This team's play on offense will have to improve. Now. But I don't in any way think we have seen this team's ceiling yet. I think they will do enough to at least split the next 4 games.