The Indianapolis Colts fell on Sunday night football to the Minnesota Vikings 13-21 in a game where the offense got nothing going.
This, of course, was the first game for the Colts since benching Anthony Richardson in favor of veteran Joe Flacco.
From start to finish, the Vikings’ defense controlled the game. Jonathan Taylor and the run game couldn’t get anything going, averaging just 3.6 yards per rush as a team.
Against a blitz-heavy Vikings defense that came into this game leading the NFL in pressure rate, the Colts’ offensive line would hold its own, for the most part, in pass protection. But even so, Flacco and the passing game couldn’t get anything going through the air.
Under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings do an excellent job of disguising coverages as well as their pressures. These last second shifts can cause chaos and confusion for opposing quarterbacks, contributing to the disjointed performance that we saw from the Indianapolis offense.
With struggles on the ground and through the air, the Colts faced a number of third-and-long situations. It’s in these instances–obvious passing downs–that the defense has the obvious advantage, both from a coverage standpoint, there’s only so many routes that can be ran in these situations, and in the pass rush’s ability to pin its ears back.
The trickle-down effect of that is short possessions. Of the Colts’ nine possessions in the game, five were five plays or fewer. The longest drive of the game was only nine plays and didn’t result in any points.
Those short possessions then led to a major discrepancy in time of possession, with the Vikings holding the ball for 13 more minutes than the Colts and running 21 more plays.
This then means the Indianapolis defense is on the field longer and can wear out as the game goes on–not to mention that the big play Vikings’ offense is going to have more opportunities.
According to Jim Ayello of The Athletic, the Colts’ offense was responsible for:
— 6 points, their lowest of the year
— 0 red zone drives, their lowest of the year
— 13 first downs, their lowest of the year
— 227 yards of offense, their lowest of the year
— -0.35 EPA/play, their lowest of the year
The Colts made the change at quarterback hoping for a spark on offense but ended up falling flat.
(This article was updated to provide additional information.)