Vikings 16-10 Colts: Minnesota stays unbeaten with a fourth-quarter turn
The Vikings trailed 10-6 into the final quarter, then got a Hockenson touchdown, a 52-yard Reichard field goal and a Harrison Smith interception to move to 6-0.
Minnesota is 6-0 after a 16-10 win over Indianapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, but this was not a comfortable one. The Vikings trailed for most of the afternoon and did not take the lead until early in the fourth quarter.
How it unfolded
Indianapolis struck first. Jonathan Taylor scored on a 38-yard run on the Colts' first possession, and Minnesota answered only with kicks. Will Reichard hit field goals of 28 and 47 yards in the second quarter, and Spencer Shrader's 43-yarder as the half expired gave the Colts a 10-6 lead at the break, according to the scoring summary on theScore.
Shrader later missed a second field goal, which the Vikings.com recap says gave Minnesota good field position entering the fourth quarter.
The turning point
The game swung on one sequence early in the fourth. Kyler Murray escaped the pocket and ran to about the 5-yard line before being pushed out of bounds. On the next play, T.J. Hockenson shifted across the formation and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass just inside the pylon, putting Minnesota up 13-10 with 14:36 left. It was the Vikings' only touchdown of the game.
Reichard added a 52-yard field goal late for a 16-10 lead, and Harrison Smith intercepted Daniel Jones with about a minute left to end Indianapolis's last attempt, per National Football Post. Reichard's kick was his 36th straight field goal, which the same report says broke Gary Anderson's franchise record of 35 set in 1998.
The numbers
Murray finished 14 of 24 for 150 yards with no interceptions and was sacked three times. Justin Jefferson caught four passes for 44 yards, and Jordan Mason led all rushers in the game's final tally with 68 yards. Minnesota converted just 3 of 11 third downs, Vikings.com reports.
For Indianapolis, Taylor ran 18 times for 95 yards and the touchdown, his eighth in seven games, and Jones went 13 of 22 for 108 yards with the one interception, according to theScore and National Football Post.
What it means
The Vikings are the NFC's lone unbeaten team, and they won their first game coming out of the bye. The offense will need to finish drives better: by Murray's own account, as relayed by Vikings.com, the group did some good things but has to turn them into touchdowns. The Colts fall to 2-5 having held a lead into the fourth quarter and walked away with a loss decided by a field goal and a late takeaway.