It might be safe to say that Daniel Jones enjoyed his time in Minnesota more when he was a Viking than he did Sunday as a Colt. Jones, who was once a teammate of the best defensive unit in the NFL, now had to work against that same squad, and it did not go well for him.
Even with another slow and clunky offensive performance from Kyler Murray, the defense continues to make life easy on everyone else in the Vikings organization. Blake Cashman was at the forefront of Sunday’s onslaught of pressure on Jones. Behind him, veteran Harrison Smith sealed the game with his late interception. Even with the sluggish start on offense, the Vikings remain undefeated at 6-0 and atop the NFC after the 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
They are also the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten team after the Chiefs and 49ers both lost Sunday afternoon and evening.
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!” Smith would go on, “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.
On special teams, 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. Colts kicker Spencer Shrader would miss two critical field goals in the loss. 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.”
Both kickers were a bit shaky Sunday, something we have not seen much of out of either this season.
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.
Injuries:
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.
Next games for both teams:
Colts: at Jacksonville next Sunday.
Vikings: at Detroit next Sunday.
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