Vikings Discovered Red Flags And Green Lights In Sunday’s Win
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
The Vikings snapped their two-game losing skid, beating the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 21-13 in a game that can best be described as a tale of two halves. In the first half, anything that could have gone wrong, did. Sam Darnold threw his first red zone interception of the season, then coughed up the ball resulting in a touchdown return (though, a roughing flag should have negated that), and Will Reichard missed his first and second-ever field goals as he clearly dealt with an injury. In the second half, though, the offense came to life and a KOC led unit finally sealed a game with a big clutch touchdown drive to move Minnesota to 6-2. All in all it was a learning experience for the team as we discovered some red flags and green lights about the Purple.
Sam Darnold Must Color Inside the Lines
While Darnold’s stat line of 28-for-34 for 290 yards and three touchdowns might look really great on paper, it doesn’t paint the full picture of how he played. While he ultimately did what it took to get the win, he often tried to do too much, and this resulted in the three takeaways that could have doomed Minnesota.
The first interception that he threw in the end zone was an example of this. Darnold was moved off of his spot by the Colts’ interior defensive line on 3rd-and-3, and he tried to make a throw on the run to T.J. Hockenson, who was bracketed by two Colts defenders. Instead of fitting the ball in an impossibly tight window, Darnold’s pass hit Zaire Franklin right in the chest and gave the Colts the ball back, taking even a potential field goal off the board.
Sam Darnolds first interception of the night… Hindsight is 20/20 but it should've been thrown away, not sure what he was thinking would happen.
If Franklin didn't intercept it…Cross was right there to get it too. pic.twitter.com/ft1YSlaKpM
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) November 4, 2024
Darnold again did this late in the game after Byron Murphy’s interception, once again trying to force a ball to a double-covered receiver, this time Justin Jefferson, despite having Cam Akers in the flat with plenty of space. The play was similar to one two weeks ago when Darnold failed to read Brian Branch as the robber, undercut Jordan Addison‘s route, and tried to force the ball into double coverage instead of hitting Aaron Jones in the flat. While not all of the mistakes are entirely on Darnold — Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram did him no favors in the first half on the interior offensive line — the quarterback does need to improve his decision-making.
The Vikings’ offense does not need Darnold to be Superman. They have surrounded him with playmakers in every position group, a good play-caller, and an offensive line that they replenished after an injury to a key player. What they do need him to do is cut down on his mistakes and not take them out of the game with bad decisions. If he can do this, there is no reason this team should not have success.
Dallas Turner Has Entered the Chat
Last week, with Dallas Turner receiving just three snaps on defense and drawing a flag, some fans were concerned about the progression and play of Turner in the Vikings’ defense. This was only compounded by seeing Jared Verse, who went off the board two picks after Turner, get two sacks while playing a majority of the defensive snaps for the Los Angeles Rams. This week, however, Turner got 26 snaps and he made the absolute most of them.
Turner showcased just why the Vikings front office and coaching staff were so keen to move up to get him, flashing in both coverage and when rushing the passer. While he didn’t record a sack, he applied pressure on Joe Flacco at every turn, forcing the veteran QB into throws he wasn’t ready to make. In coverage, Turner looked just as fluid as he did at Alabama, playing his zone well, dropping back from the line of scrimmage, and matching pass catchers step-for-step.
With both Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel also being great coverage options, opposing quarterbacks and offensive lines will have a hard time on sub packages where these two are in with Turner, especially when deciphering who will drop back in coverage and who is going to rush the passer. While Turner is still far from a finished product, we are seeing glimpses of what he could be when fully actualized in the Brian Flores defense.
While speaking about this emergency, it would also only be right of me to mention Byron Murphy Jr., who, after a rough start to the season has turned his game around in the past two weeks, recording interceptions in both.
Yes He Cam
Coming into this game, a big question around the team was how new addition Cam Robinson woulld hold up after joining the team from the Jacksonville Jaguars mid-week. The answer was very well, as Robinson in allowed just two pressures in 34 pass protection reps. The loss of Christian Darrisaw to a torn ACL and MCL was always going to be something hard for any offense to overcome, but the initiative shown by the front office to replace him ASAP with another left tackle — one who is just a half step below him in caliber — is very impressive.
No flinch in the face of adversity.#Skol pic.twitter.com/hwT33u8s0z
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 4, 2024
Robinson looked very good in both pass protection and run blocking, and despite it being his first game in Minnesota, he looked like one of the best players on the offensive line. And that might even be underselling it. While this in part is due to the underwhelming performance of the interior offensive line yet again, it is important to give Robinson his due and acknowledge just how impressive his performance was.
Another Cam who came up big after the Vikings traded for him was Cam Akers, who seems to have cemented his spot as the RB2 with six carries for 46 yards. Akers saw zero carries in his first two games back, but Kevin O’Connell looked to get him involved much more on Sunday, getting Akers in on 16 snaps and feeding him seven total touches. In a game where the Colts’ defense was able to contain Aaron Jones relatively well, having the added element of what Akers can provide, along with his fresh legs, proved to be key.
Going forward, given Jones’ age and the huge workload he’s taken on in the first half of the season, O’Connell should keep getting Akers involved. Partly because they want to keep Jones as healthy and fresh as possible down the stretch, but also, if Akers keeps playing the way he did last night, everyone should see why the team was so keen to get him back from the Houston Texans.
While they did it in different ways, both Cams made key contributions to his team and were a big part of the Vikings emerging with a win tonight.
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