Sam Darnold overcame four sacks and three turnovers by throwing three second-half touchdown passes to lead Minnesota Vikings to a 21-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor and Josh Oliver each had one touchdown reception for Minnesota (6-2), while Darnold completed 28 of 34 passes for 290 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Justin Jefferson finished with seven catches for a game-high 137 receiving yards for the Vikings, who avoided a third straight loss, while Kenny Moore II scored the only touchdown for the Colts (4-5).
The Minnesota defense made Indianapolis quarterback Joe Flacco’s return to the starting role a rough one, limiting him to 179 yards and one interception, while the Colts’ defeat was their first game all season that wasn’t decided by six points of fewer.
Vikings return to winning ways
The Colts provided the only points of a low-scoring first half when defensive lineman Grover Stewart applied pressure on Darnold and forced a fumble, allowing Moore to scoop up the ball and sprint 38 yards for a touchdown with 10:56 to go.
Darnold three three touchdown passes to help Minnesota to victory
Minnesota pulled level with the opening drive of the third quarter when Addison made a one-handed catch at the back of the end zone from Darnold’s pass, before they scored again with 2:49 remaining of the quarter.
Darnold connected with Nailor for a seven-yard touchdown to finish a nine-play, 80-yard drive, although a Matt Gay 42-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter saw Indianapolis cut the deficit to 14-10.
The Vikings moved into a 21-10 lead with 2:05 remaining as Darnold threw to Oliver for a 14-yard touchdown, before Gay made a 54-yarder to bring the Colts within eight points with 28 seconds remaining.
Jefferson recovered the Colts’ last-ditch onside kick to secure the victory for Minnesota, who outgained their opponents 415-227.
How to follow the 2024 NFL season
Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening’s entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.
Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas Day fixtures.
The Sky Sports NFL channel will meanwhile continue to show the usual NFL Network favourites, including Good Morning Football, Pro Football Talk and Total Access.