Vikes Views: Player of the Game — Colts at Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts 21-13 on Sunday Night Football. The Vikings improved to 6-2 and are staying within shouting distance of the Detroit Lions for the NFC North crown. There is always plenty of credit to go around after a nice win.

Let’s dig into it.

Justin Jefferson:

I don’t know if I have ever seen anyone get as open as Jefferson does regularly. He has a knack for just finding the open area. It’s impossible to overrate how good he is. He’s the best in the NFL, and I think he’s in this article weekly.

I’ve run out of good things to say. It doesn’t matter who throws him the ball, it doesn’t matter who’s covering him, he’s going to get open. He may not have a 100-yard game every week, but he does it more often than anyone else. He had 94 yards in the first half, including four 20-plus-yard receptions. He had another 43 yards in the second half, and you could see the defense sliding his way in almost every play. He had seven catches on nine targets for 137 yards.

He’s not a diva screaming that he didn’t get a touchdown, either.

Byron Murphy Jr:

Murphy’s interception isn’t the most athletic, greatest play you’ll ever see, but he was where he was supposed to be. He was strong Sunday night in coverage. The Colts have excellent wide receivers and can put up some yards, especially on big plays. The defense stayed disciplined, and that discipline earned Murphy an easy interception.

Harrison Smith:

When it’s so easy to lay the big hit and draw the flag, Smith knows how to hit cleanly. He made huge plays at the end to stop the Colts’ defense. On back-to-back plays, he laid clean hits to get the ball out. He’s a Hall of Fame player and still has some left in the tank. He was a massive part of the defense stepping up on Sunday night.

Brian Flores:

Any time you give up 10 points, and seven were on a (terrible call) defensive touchdown, your defensive coordinator deserves some credit. Flores has taken a lot of heat after back-to-back losses and some defensive hiccups. It looked like the defense had been figured out, and the team was spiraling.

Flores didn’t panic and showed up with an excellent plan for Sunday. I’m looking forward to playing a few lowly teams and hopefully getting back on track. They’re still not getting pressure like they were at the beginning of the season, but that didn’t end the defense on Sunday Night. It could be because Flacco no longer has it, or it could be a great scheme.

The defense won’t really be tested for a few weeks.

Jordan Addison:

Addison had five catches on five targets for 42 yards and a touchdown. There are many stats out there showing that he’s been open a lot and is just not getting the ball. His dad has been on X and other sites advocating for him. Addison is good, and he’s doing his job. Darnold needs to look his way a bit more (if not a lot).

2024 Winners:

Week 1: Sam Darnold

Week 2: Sam Darnold

Week 3: Brian Flores

Week 4: Sam Darnold

Week 5: Andrew Van Ginkel

Week 6: Bye

Week 7: Andrew Van Ginkel

Week 8: Justin Jefferson