Indianapolis’ playoff hopes were dealt a major blow on Sunday when it suffered a gut-wrenching 22-17 defeat to the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts had an excellent opportunity to record their second straight victory, but several missed chances on the offensive end thwarted their bid to move back into first place in the AFC South. They are now a game behind leaders Houston and Tennessee in the race for the division title.
For the Colts to return to winning ways against the Vikings, they will need to do a much better job of protecting the football. The Colts committed three turnovers on Sunday, all of which came from Luck. He threw a pair of interceptions against the Texans and also fumbled the ball in the red zone. Luck’s uneven performance was quite a surprise considering he has been playing some excellent football of late. Luck entered Week 14 having completed 60 of 92 passes for 761 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in his previous three starts. The Colts need that version of Luck to show up on Sunday against the Vikings.
Apart from Luck, the Colts also need their defense to step up its game against the Vikings. The Colts’ defensive line crumbled against Houston’s punishing ground game, allowing 185 rushing yards on Sunday. Fortunately for the Colts, they will next face a Minnesota team that’s dead-last in the league in rushing offense. What Indianapolis must pay attention to, however, is the Vikings’ passing attack. The Colts will need to find ways to pressure and harass Sam Bradford who has thrown just three picks for Minnesota this season.
The total has gone over in all of Indianapolis’ six road games this season.
The Minnesota Vikings returned to winning ways on Sunday with a convincing 25-16 victory over the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a huge bounce-back victory for the Vikings who won on the road for the first time since September. With the victory, the Vikings improved to 7-6 as they moved to within two games of Detroit for the NFC North lead.
Key to the Vikings’ win was their much-improved play on the offensive end. After averaging just 14 points in their last two games, Minnesota finally got its act together against one of the league’s worst defenses. The Vikings racked up a whopping 377 yards against the hapless Jaguars. Sam Bradford starred for Minnesota in this critical win, completing 24 of 34 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown. He now has thrown for 2,954 yards and 14 scores this season.
For the Vikings to make it back-to-back wins against the Colts, they will need to continue their excellent play on the defensive end. Minnesota is third in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing a measly 17.3 points per game this season. They displayed that defensive prowess in the win against Jacksonville wherein the pass-rush trio of Brian Robison, Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter combined for four sacks against Blake Bortles. The Vikings will need to unleash that same kind of pressure against Colts QB Andrew Luck who has already thrown 10 picks this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Minnesota (-4) keeps its title hopes alive with a gutsy 27-21 win.
