Sam Darnold bounced back from four sacks and three turnovers by throwing three touchdown passes in the second half, while the Minnesota defense made life difficult for Indianapolis quarterback Joe Flacco in a 21-13 win for the Vikings on Sunday night.
Justin Jefferson recorded 137 receiving yards, Jordan Addison made a spectacular one-handed catch in the back corner of the end zone to score after a messy and scoreless first half, and Jalen Nailor caught the tiebreaking touchdown to help the Vikings (6-2) end a two-game losing streak.
Kenny Moore II had a 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter, which was the only score for the Colts (4-5) in a game that wasn’t decided by six points or fewer.
Flacco took over for Anthony Richardson, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft but struggled badly and drew a lot of criticism after he took himself out of a play last week because he was tired.
Flacco, who won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award with Cleveland last season after stepping in to help the Browns reach the playoffs, completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards and one interception.
He moved the Colts to the Minnesota 40-yard line midway through the fourth quarter while trailing 14-10, but Harrison Smith, who recovered a fumble by Jonathan Taylor on the opening drive, broke up two passes to force a turnover on downs.
Darnold finished the game by completing 28 of 34 passes for 290 yards and connected with Josh Oliver for the game-sealing touchdown with 2:05 remaining.
The Vikings made NFL history two years ago by coming back from a 33-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Colts 39-36 in overtime, and their first half in this game felt oddly similar. The key difference was they were only down by a touchdown, having held the Colts to just 92 yards on 20 plays.
Will Reichard, who began his rookie season by making his first 34 kicks, became the last regular in the league to miss when he pushed a 53-yard field goal attempt wide to the right. Then his 31-yard kick hit the right upright.
Darnold wasted a good first possession for the Vikings with an off-balance throw to T.J. Hockenson, which was intercepted in the end zone by Zaire Franklin.
After Byron Murphy intercepted Flacco in the fourth quarter, Darnold immediately returned the favor when Nick Cross picked off a risky throw to Jefferson.
