MINNEAPOLIS – In the locker room after the Minnesota Vikings' win over the Indianapolis Colts, Kevin O'Connell had to secure a lot of game balls to give to all the pass catchers who played a big role in a successful passing game. A video posted by the team showed the head coach handing them out to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson and Josh Oliver. Those four did most of the damage, but with Sam Darnold's 290-yard performance, the Vikings ended up having nine different players get at least one grab.

It was a night where the vision of the Vikings passing game came to life. Darnold led longer drives and mixed under and deep passes. In the second half, when their playmakers had to be on the front line, it was obvious that there were simply too many good players on the field for the Colts to cover.

Offensive success always starts with Jefferson, and that was the case in the 21-13 win over the Colts. Jefferson finished the game with seven balls for 137 yards and nine scores. At halftime, the Vikings' star receiver was frustrated that his team hadn't finished drives yet. He said he talked to his teammates about how they could muster their energy for the second half, and then he immediately put his energy on display.

To start the first drive of the second half, Jefferson caught a 21-yard pass that got his team rolling. When they reached the Indy 14-yard line on third-and-9, Darnold hit Addison for a 10-yard gain and then threw a touchdown on the next play. But not just any touchdown — a one-handed, highlight-reel grab for the best 4-yard touchdown you've ever seen.

It was a big sequence for Addison, who had seemed to express some frustration over his lack of goals over the last week.

“He’s a great player, that’s no surprise to us,” Jefferson said of Addison. “He has struggled with injuries and fewer attacks but that hasn't affected him at all. He still plays and makes plays when they come, and I try to preach that to him every game. Even if the goals don’t come to you right now, they will come.”

En route to Addison's touchdown was also a 19-yard catch by Hockenson, who made his season debut Sunday night after nine months of rehab from a torn ACL. It was one of three catches for a total of 27 yards.

“It was fun, it was just good to be back out there,” Hockenson said. “I've done a lot of routes in the air, a lot of (physiotherapy), so being out there competing and seeing defenses – and they're zone droppers, so they can feel where they are and sit in that zone and find that Cleaning up was a lot of fun.”

Jefferson's biggest catch came in the third quarter, when the game was tied 7-7 and the Vikings faced a third-and-2 at the Colts' 42-yard line. Forced to jump forward on Indy's side of the field, Darnold ripped a pass down the sideline to Jefferson, who was covered one-on-one, and No. 18 caught the pass brilliantly, bringing the Vikings to the 1-yard line. A few plays later they scored a touchdown and took a 14-7 lead.

“It was a pivotal moment for Sam and him to throw and catch that long throw, get us there and ultimately get 7 (points),” O'Connell said. “Justin was phenomenal and I really felt him as a leader throughout the game, which was phenomenal to see.”

When the Vikings got the ball back to 14-10 with 5:20 left, they knew a touchdown would decide the game. Darnold hit Addison for 21 yards and then went into grind mode, running Aaron Jones five times in a row before deciding to throw a play-action pass on second-and-11 from the 14-yard line Colts out to play. Darnold rolled left and found Oliver wide open for a touchdown. It was Oliver's fifth catch of the night.

“We did a hell of a job running over the rock the whole last ride and the safety dropped as we ran… Sam gave me the opportunity to catch it,” Oliver said.

Darnold was extremely efficient throughout the night, averaging 8.5 yards per pass attempt and completing 28 of 34 attempts. Consistently getting the ball into the hands of his receivers allowed the Vikings to do something they had previously struggled with: stay on the field. They got 29 first downs and outscored the Colts with 36:54 of possession.

Despite some glaring mistakes, O'Connell kept returning to the Darnold Fountain. He was sacked four times, including one that was picked up and run back for a touchdown. He also threw two interceptions, one in the red zone and another when the Vikings had just taken the lead and got a crucial stop on defense.

“My confidence in Sam is something that I think will be a game-changer for our football team, and winning a football game when we lose the turnover battle means your quarterback played well,” O'Connell said .

The Vikings also addressed a key issue they struggled with on offense through the first seven games: penalties. The team as a whole only had three penalties and the offense did not experience the typical delays of play or false starts that had led to problems sustaining the attack.

“I felt like we played a really clean game offensively, other than my turnovers, which was good,” Darnold said. “I felt like we were really good without all that self-inflicted stuff; As far as the penalty goes, before the snap I felt like we kept getting into the huddle. The pace was really good all day. We were really efficient offensively that way. I just have to worry about football.”

One of the reasons the Vikings were able to move the ball through the air was that they received good enough pass protection from left tackle Cam Robinson, who arrived midweek and played the entire game. He was another game ball receiver.

“Just an unwavering confidence in the group and the way he was able to go out there and execute a game plan,” Darnold said. “I haven't looked at the tape yet, but it seemed like he was very, very confident about being able to go out and execute and I felt like he did a really good job.”

The Vikings now have the opportunity to build on their entire arsenal of weapons and adjusted approach to play with a better tempo and a smoother attack on offense. Next week they face the Jaguars, who rank second-worst in the NFL in yards allowed.

“On offense, the execution has improved,” O’Connell said. “I think we can take a lot from this and still have a lot of potential to improve as a team. If we can limit our turnovers and still be able to produce that performance in certain aspects of our offense.”