6-0: Minnesota Vikings Remain Undefeated, Leaning on Defense in Ugly Win Against the Indianapolis Colts

If you expected the Minnesota Vikings to come out of the bye week looking more like an undefeated team usually looks, that would be understandable. The team would be healthier and the offense would have had more opportunity to gel. But, somehow, we got yet another game where Brian Flores' defense and the Vikings' special teams pull Kevin O'Connell's offense to a win. Why is it that the Vikings being 6-0 feels so unsatisfactory?

Slow offensive starts are becoming a hallmark of Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell's offense the past two seasons. Recently he has chosen to take the ball at the start of the game when the Vikings win the toss, theoretically to get some early offensive momentum. That would be great if it paid off, but it hasn't. Minnesota's offense started with the ball at the Indianapolis 47 and went four plays to end the drive turning the ball over on downs. Indianapolis responded with a touchdown when Colts' running back Jonathan Taylor broke lose for a 38-yard touchdown. The Vikings did not get onto the board until the second quarter with a pair of Will Reichard field goals from 28 and 47 yards. Indianapolis added a field goal of their own, 43 yards, and the score at the half was 10-6 Colts.

Would Minnesota's offense regroup and come out of halftime with a high-energy drive to put Indianapolis on its metaphorical heels? No. While Minnesota's defense continued to contain the Colts' offense and then got lucky with a missed field goal, Kyler Murray and the Vikings' offense had just one possession and went 3-and-out. It wasn't until the 4th quarter when Minnesota's offense really started to cook, scoring a touchdown on a 5-yard catch-and-run toss to TE TJ Hockenson. With that shot of life from the Minnesota offense, the Vikings' defense forced another Indianapolis punt. O'Connell's offense drove 41 yards before the drive fizzled and, instead of punting it away, he opted to have Reichard attempt a 59-yard field goal. It was blocked.

Minnesota led the Colts 13-10, but Indianapolis had the ball at their 49-yard-line. The Colts' offense managed only 21 yards, then attempted a 48-yard field goal, but K Spencer Schrader was wide right, making it a second miss for Indianapolis. Murray and the Vikings' offense get the ball at the Minnesota 38, drive 33 yards, and Reichard kicks it in from 52 yards out to put the Vikings up by 6. Less than 2 minutes left in the game and Colts' QB Daniel Jones is trying to drive for a touchdown, but with 1:15 left on the clock he threw a dart into the waiting hands of Vikings' S Harrison Smith. Murray and the offense trotted back Minnesota kneel out the game.

So, again, the Minnesota Vikings find a way to win. They are 6-0 but this team doesn't really feel like an undefeated team--at least not to fans. Well, it does feel like a winning team when we're watching Brian Flores completely baffle opposing quarterbacks and blitz at previously unknown levels. It also feels like a winning team when Will Reichard is kicking so automatically that we are genuinely surprised if he doesn't make a 59-yard field goal. But that offense...

We keep waiting for the Minnesota Vikings offense to look as good as it should look. On paper we have good receivers, a quarterback who takes care of the ball, and a capable running back tandem--even with an MCL sprain and a serious thumb injury between them. This has not translated into the offensive juggernaut it should be.

A pattern is emerging that in the second half of the game, when there is actual danger that the Vikings will give the game away, that Kyler Murray is allowed to play more to his strengths and that is where we've seen the offense thrive the most. For example, in the 4th Murray ran for 35 yards on the Vikings' touchdown drive and that run was the Vikings' longest rushing play of the day for Minnesota. So why is Kevin O'Connell fighting it? Why not scheme around Murray's strengths when it helps to open things up for the Vikings' offense?

At times last season we suspected that JJ McCarthy was being over-coached, that Kevin O'Connell was giving the first-time starter too much to think about instead of getting him playing fast and free by scheming to his strengths and then building his skill base. Now it is fair to wonder if O'Connell is doing the same with Murray.

O'Connell had success with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold, quarterbacks better known for keeping to the plan and not improvisation. With Josh Dobbs, McCarthy, and Murray, all players who lean on improvisation because of natural skillset or inexperience, O'Connell seems either unsure how, or, unwilling to, adapt his scheme--even to the detriment of the offense. That could be why, despite the Vikings' undefeated record, fans feel uneasy.

Eventually, the Vikings' offense is going to have to show it can carry the team to a victory. This is the way it goes in the NFL, sometimes things fall apart and you need to come from behind, drive down the field, and win the game. When that happens, will O'Connell and his offense rise to the challenge, or will they be, like so many of Murray's throws today, off by 12-18 inches?

We admit, it's a luxury to complain about style points when the Vikings are 6-0. It was another ugly win, but we will take it and enjoy the fact that the Vikings are the final undefeated team in the NFC. Minnesota can continue to pursue offensive chemistry next week at the Detroit Lions. SKOL.