After the debacle that took place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 1, the Minnesota Vikings will try to get themselves right on the road. They’ll make the trip to Lucas Oil Stadium, where they will do battle with the Indianapolis Colts.
Both of these teams are coming off of losses in Week 1. We know what happened to the Vikings, as the defense took the day off in a 43-34 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Colts, behind new quarterback Philip Rivers, fell at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars by a final score of 27-20. The Colts also lost running back Marlon Mack for the season with a torn ACL, so rookie Jonathan Taylor will be taking over for him.
To say that the Vikings are overdue for a victory over the Colts is a significant understatement. The last Vikings’ victory over the Colts came in December of 1997. . .or, for the sake of reference, about five months before the Colts drafted Peyton Manning. In that game, Robert Smith ran for 160 yards and Randall Cunningham threw four touchdown passes (along with three interceptions) as the Vikings beat the Colts 39-28 at the Metrodome.
Since then, the Vikings have dropped five straight to the Colts, so it would be nice to see them get a win and get back on the right track in this one. The last time they saw Rivers, he and his Los Angeles Chargers teammates were turning the ball over seven times in a crushing Vikings’ victory in Los Angeles last December. Let’s hope that the same Rivers magic will be in play on Sunday.
Kickoff for this one is scheduled for noon Central time on FOX.