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10/25 17:35 CDT Vikings defense clamps down on Daniel Jones and the Colts for a
16-10 victory to stay undefeated
Vikings defense clamps down on Daniel Jones and the Colts for a 16-10 victory
to stay undefeated
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Pro Football Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) --- Blake Cashman led an onslaught of pressure all afternoon.
Harrison Smith had the game-sealing interception.
The Minnesota Vikings aren't scoring much, but a near-impenetrable defense has
so far had all the support it's needed to fuel the NFC's last undefeated team.
Kyler Murray and the Vikings overcame another sluggish start and remained
unbeaten with a 16-10 victory over the spiraling Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
"We feel really comfortable and confident to win football games when we don't
turn it over and we win the field position and boring stuff like that, because
we know over the course of 60 minutes what that side can do," Vikings coach
Kevin O'Connell said.
Cashman, the eighth-year linebacker who is thriving as the primary communicator
for defensive coordinator Brian Flores, had 12 tackles, two sacks, four passes
defensed and three hits on quarterback Daniel Jones for the Vikings (6-0), who
have allowed a league-low 74 points.
Smith picked off Jones around midfield with about a minute left to kill the
last-ditch drive by the Colts (2-5) before it ever got going. It was his 40th
career interception. Smith planted the ball on the 40-yard line to mark the
occasion as the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium chanted: "Harry! Harry! Harry!"
"There's a lot of fight in this group," said Smith, a six-time Pro Bowl safety
who decided right before the regular season to return for his 15th year with
the Vikings.
Will Reichard made three field goals for the Vikings, including a 52-yarder
with 1:39 left after his 59-yard try was blocked by Grover Stewart earlier in
the fourth quarter.
Jonathan Taylor gave the Colts the lead they kept for more than three quarters
of the game with a 38-yard touchdown run on their opening drive, but Spencer
Shrader missed two field goals in the second half.
The miss from 56 yards that coach Shane Steichen called for on fourth-and-2 set
the Vikings up for their only touchdown, when Murray used a 35-yard run to get
in range for a short scoring pass to T.J. Hockenson. That was just the 10th
touchdown for the offense in six games.
"We'll continue to get better. I know we will. I know we keep saying that, but
I felt like we moved the ball well today," said Murray, who was 14 for 24 for
150 yards. "We've just got to put the ball in the end zone."
Steichen says Colts will stick with Jones at quarterback Jones went 13 for 22 for 108 yards and lost 44 yards on four sacks, with Flores relentlessly sending blitzers into the backfield. "I think we expected it to be this kind of game, kind of an ugly game, and credit to them on defense," said Jones, who spent the last half of the 2024 season as a backup with the Vikings. "They have a good system and do good stuff." Jones has just four touchdown passes and seven interceptions in seven games, but Steichen said afterward he's not considering a switch. "I've got a ton of faith in Daniel," Steichen said.
Two of the NFL's best kickers are automatic no more Reichard hit from 28 and 47 yards in the second quarter to set the franchise record with 35 consecutive made field goals, which was the longest active streak in the league --- until the block. Shrader, who leads the NFL in scoring this season with 70 points, had his streak of 22 straight made field goals end with his wide-left miss that had heavy pressure off the edge by former Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. That also stopped Shrader's run of seven makes in a row from 50-plus yards.
Injury report Colts: With standout Sauce Gardner (calf) inactive, the CB depth chart was chewed up in the second half when Justin Walley (knee) and Cam Taylor-Britt (groin) left with injuries. ... TE Tyler Warren (groin) missed his second straight game. LB Jaylon Carlies (ribs) returned to the starting lineup after missing two games. Vikings: RB Aaron Jones aggravated a nagging knee injury in the fourth quarter when he took a low hit at the end of a 17-yard run. He didn't return.
Up next Colts: at Jacksonville next Sunday. Vikings: at Detroit next Sunday. ___ See AP's full NFL coverage here
Steichen says Colts will stick with Jones at quarterback Jones went 13 for 22 for 108 yards and lost 44 yards on four sacks, with Flores relentlessly sending blitzers into the backfield. "I think we expected it to be this kind of game, kind of an ugly game, and credit to them on defense," said Jones, who spent the last half of the 2024 season as a backup with the Vikings. "They have a good system and do good stuff." Jones has just four touchdown passes and seven interceptions in seven games, but Steichen said afterward he's not considering a switch. "I've got a ton of faith in Daniel," Steichen said.
Two of the NFL's best kickers are automatic no more Reichard hit from 28 and 47 yards in the second quarter to set the franchise record with 35 consecutive made field goals, which was the longest active streak in the league --- until the block. Shrader, who leads the NFL in scoring this season with 70 points, had his streak of 22 straight made field goals end with his wide-left miss that had heavy pressure off the edge by former Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. That also stopped Shrader's run of seven makes in a row from 50-plus yards.
Injury report Colts: With standout Sauce Gardner (calf) inactive, the CB depth chart was chewed up in the second half when Justin Walley (knee) and Cam Taylor-Britt (groin) left with injuries. ... TE Tyler Warren (groin) missed his second straight game. LB Jaylon Carlies (ribs) returned to the starting lineup after missing two games. Vikings: RB Aaron Jones aggravated a nagging knee injury in the fourth quarter when he took a low hit at the end of a 17-yard run. He didn't return.
Up next Colts: at Jacksonville next Sunday. Vikings: at Detroit next Sunday. ___ See AP's full NFL coverage here
