“That game has a bad taste in my mouth, even though it was a part of history,” Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said. “The fast start by Indy was a true result of special teams play.”
Edge rusher Patrick Jones II was scratched from the game because of an illness, which wasn’t a massive deal until his replacement, undrafted rookie edge rusher Luiji Vilain, was targeted as the right guard on the Vikings punt team on the next drive. Colts edge rusher Ifeadi Odenigbo, a former Viking, blocked the punt, leading to a return for a Colts touchdown.
JoJo Domann scored the Colts’ opening touchdown on a blocked punt in the first quarter. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
“[Vilain] hadn’t worked all week,” long snapper Andrew DePaola said. “It was a guy who hadn’t been in there, hadn’t had many reps, really, and gets thrown in that spot.”
“It seemed like they wanted to pick on the rookie,” punter Ryan Wright said.
Running back Dalvin Cook popped a 40-yard run, but lost a fumble on the next play, with seven and a half minutes left in the first quarter. Ryan, in his 15th and final NFL season, found Colts tight end Jelani Woods for a game-long, 36-yard catch and run that set up a 1-yard touchdown pass for 17-0 lead.
Two desperate, failed fourth-and-1 attempts by the Vikings – both from their own 31-yard line – led to short fields and Colts field goals. One fourth-down try saw Wright, a former high school quarterback, fake a punt and sail an incomplete pass to receiver Jalen Nailor.
