The Minnesota Vikings won the toss Sunday night and elected to defer, giving the Indianapolis Colts the ball first.

Jonathan Taylor drove the Vikings 22 yards on his first three carries – with a 22-yard third-down reception from Kyren Granson in between – but inexplicably fumbled the first-down handoff from the 30.

Harrison Smith got it back and the Vikings were in business.

We didn't know it at the time, but that was about as close as the Colts would get to an offensive touchdown that night. They did reach the 23-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter when Matt Gay made the game 14-10 with 12:41 left – but that's all the further the Indianapolis offense advanced on a night when they were with 415:227 defeated and lost possession battle, 36:54-23:06.

That's right, the Colts offense took ZERO snaps in the red zone all night, as noted by Luke Braun Fixated on Vikings:

This was only the fourth time this season that a team did not have a single offensive play in the red zone.

And while you might not even realize it, this was also true when the Vikings lost to the Lions in Week 7.

It seems that there will be some changes to the special forces unit, although not for lack of success. Sure, Will Reichard missed a few shots on Sunday night, but it looks like he could be sidelined in the short term while long snapper Andrew DePaola goes on IR and will miss at least four games.

NFL trade rumors has a list of available kickers, but it is unclear when it was last updated as Riley Patterson, Anders Carlson and Brandon McManus have all since signed. Carlson could be a player to keep an eye on, especially if the 49ers are willing to hand their job back to the injured Jake Moody.

Randy Bullock is another name to keep an eye on, as the 34-year-old appeared in six games for the Giants last season, making 5 of 6 field goals (56 long) and all 10 of his extra points. Bullock hasn't missed an extra point since 2021 (38 of 38 in the 2022-23 season combined).

News and links about the Minnesota Vikings

Over there Purple Insider, Matthew Coller has a solid record of the Vikings outlasting the Colts in a battle of attrition Sunday night, 21-13.

The Vikings used every weapon to defeat the Colts

As I said a while ago and will say again, I think Sam Darnold played pretty well. Obviously there were some tricky throws that you would like to have again. But if we can be honest, Darnold still makes a lot of throws that many other quarterbacks wouldn't dream of making – especially at his price.

Kevin Seifert loved Cam Akers, who confidently relieved Aaron Jones with 53 scrimmage yards on eight touches on Sunday evening.

NFL Week 9: Top questions, takeaways for every game

He also notes that Darnold had a “No, no, yes!” type of game – which I think it is. pretty accurate and b. what it felt like when Kirk Cousins ​​was also in the middle for long stretches.

Zone coverage Website co-founder Tom Schreier took a look at how the Vikings attacked Joe Flaccon on Sunday night – specifically their work in the C-gap (gaps outside of the offensive tackles).

The Vikings attacked the old man through the C gap

A big part of this was certainly the absence of Bernhard Raimann, the team's usual starting player, who was out due to a concussion. But this also allowed the Vikings to keep Flacco in check and look for wideouts who just couldn't break through – except for Josh Downs, as Michael Pittman Jr. had a completely forgettable night.

Monday morning also featured Craig Peters' typical mailbag column on the mothership.

Monday Morning Mailbag: Fan Reactions After Top Colts Vikings

The defense gets a lot of love there – and rightly so – but Kevin O'Connell wasn't just handing out game balls to defenders that night, and Peters took note.

In the news

• It's already a coaching firing season as the Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen after the team suffered seven straight losses following a 2-0 start to the season. The final straw, so to speak, was a loss for a woeful Carolina Panthers team that was forced to rely on Bryce Young at quarterback. Meanwhile, special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi will serve as interim coach.
• I mention this now to add some NFC North flavor to the whole thing – I keep seeing discontent being sown by Bears fans, with Sunday's (9/29) loss to the Arizona Cardinals the “Fire Matt Eberflus” -Rhetoric significantly strengthened. Not only were the Bears embarrassed by a Cardinals offense without a passing attack to speak of – that's a pun, sorry – but Caleb Williams also recorded six sacks. On the final pass, the rookie signal caller limped after a six-yard pass to Keenan Allen on the final play. No matter how you feel about Chris Godwin being injured on a relatively meaningless play at the end of a game a few weeks ago, this matter might be more concerning. Not because Williams is more injured, but because it simply suggests that Eberflus doesn't have any kind of plan. I don't think a release is imminent, but I think the Saints releasing Allen could speed up that process.
• Moody (pictured above) returned to practice for the 49ers on Monday, as did running back Christian McCaffrey (fantasy owners rejoice!). We'll keep an eye on the Moody situation because if Carlson becomes available and the Vikings have a need, it really feels like he's option 1a to Bullock's 1b. McCaffrey believes he'll play for all he's worth against Tampa in Week 10.
• From the “Every good wideout except Justin Jefferson is injured” department, CeeDee Lamb is “week-to-week” with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. It was obvious it was bothering Lamb late in Sunday's loss, especially when he caught a two-point converting pass and was lightly jostled by a converging defender. He expects to play against the Eagles next week – we'll see.
• Does anyone else feel like the “week-to-week” injury label has become standard this season?
• In addition to Lamb's injury issues, Dak Prescott had to leave the game in the second half and is dealing with a hamstring injury that, you guessed it, is affecting him from week to week. Cooper Rush will play under center in his absence.
• Other notable wideouts injured: Drake London is dealing with a hip injury; Chris Olave suffered another concussion; Keon Coleman will undergo further tests on Monday for a wrist problem; AJ Brown is dealing with a non-major knee injury that knocked him out of the game in the third quarter on Sunday; Michael Pittman Jr. appeared to suffer from a dislocated finger in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's game; Brian Thomas Jr. returned from a pectoral problem but caught only two passes for 22 yards; DK Metcalf missed second straight game with knee problem; Puka Nacua left the game with a brain cramp (ejection); Christian Watson is fine, he just can't catch the deep ball (just checking to see if you're still paying attention haha).

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