Indianapolis Colts fans making the drive up to Minneapolis this weekend will find a building that hasn’t seen its team lose yet. Minnesota is 5-0, fresh off a bye, and Daniel Jones walks into U.S. Bank Stadium with nine turnovers, the second most in the league, and a Brian Flores blitz waiting for him.
Indianapolis (2-4) is coming off a 26-20 home loss to Tennessee in which it led 13-0, a week that ended with general manager Chris Ballard fired. The Colts are six-point underdogs, and there’s plenty that should scare the Colts about Sunday. Here are four calls that go the other way.
Daniel Jones plays a turnover-free game
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Six of Jones’ nine turnovers are interceptions, and both of his picks against the Titans came in the red zone. PFF charges him with 15 turnover-worthy plays, the most among qualified quarterbacks, which is why his turnovers top the fix list this week.
Shane Steichen kept him as the starter anyway. “We’ve got to do a great job of taking care of the football, especially in the red zone,” Steichen said, via the AP. Minnesota leads the league with a plus-6 turnover margin, and Byron Murphy Jr. already has three interceptions. Jones still finishes without giving one away, because the Colts lean on the run and keep him out of long third downs.
DeForest Buckner sacks Kyler Murray twice
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DeForest Buckner has six sacks and 19 pressures, and his sack total leads all 129 interior defenders, according to PFF. He’s playing well enough that the Packers have reportedly called about him, and we looked at what a Buckner trade could return before the deadline.
Kyler Murray has been sacked nine times in four starts. He can escape, with 93 rushing yards, but he’s working behind a line that could be without left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who didn’t practice Friday. The Colts have only 10 sacks as a team, so it won’t come from everywhere. It’ll come from the middle, where Buckner gets him twice.
Jonathan Taylor scores two touchdowns
Jonathan Taylor has 492 yards and seven rushing touchdowns on 122 carries, and he spent part of the week addressing his future ahead of the trade deadline.
Minnesota allows 12.8 points per game, the best mark in the league, and Dallas Turner has six sacks and 32 pressures, per PFF. But no team blitzes more than the Vikings, and the clean way to punish that is handing it to Taylor near the goal line. With Tyler Warren ruled out again, the Colts don’t have a better red zone option anyway. Taylor finds the end zone twice.
The Colts hand Minnesota its first loss
Minnesota wins with defense and special teams. Its offense averages 21.8 points per game, 22nd in the league, and hasn’t scored more than 23 in four straight games. Akeem Davis-Gaither leads Indianapolis with 53 tackles after shining against the Titans. The Colts also hold opponents to a 30.4% conversion rate on third down, fourth best in the NFL.
Vikings fans are already wondering whether this is a trap game, and it is. Kicker Will Reichard has been close to automatic, so the Colts can’t let it come down to a field goal. Indianapolis wins a low-scoring one, 20-17, and heads home at 3-4 with a little air back in the season.
More on the Indianapolis Colts
- Colts Urged to Cut Losses, Ship Grover Stewart to NFC West Contender Ahead of Deadline
- Daniel Jones Is One Game From a Colts Mark Not Seen Since Chris Chandler in 1988
- 3 Teams Colts Should Contact About a Trade for Anthony Richardson, and What They Should Get in Return
- Colts QB Anthony Richardson Told Police He Smoked in His Car to Avoid Smoking Around His Kids
