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It was a wild Week 8 in the NFL. We saw multiple games come down to the wire, some upsets and a team in the Chicago Bears who lost to the Washington Commanders on a Hail Mary. It is now time to flip the script over to Week 9, and we have an intriguing Sunday Night Football matchup. Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts are taking on the Minnesota Vikings.
Let’s review the upcoming Sunday Night Football matchup to make our Colts @ Vikings NFL Pick’em picks for this pivotal game in Minnesota.
The Colts are coming off a tough 23-20 loss against the Houston Texans in Week 8. Jonathan Taylor came back to the lineup and brought a much-needed spark to this offense. Taylor saw 20 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Unfortunately for the Colts and their fans, the passing game could still not get going with Anthony Richardson running the offense. He was just 10-32 for 175 yards, one touchdown and an interception to go with 45 rushing yards. The interception was one of those plays that he could not let happen.
There were around 23 seconds left in the first half at their own 12-yard line on 3rd down, and instead of just running the clock out, they chose to throw the ball. It was intercepted. The Texans would then score on one play right before halftime to take a 17-10 lead. Just an inexcusable mistake by Richardson and the coaching staff, considering they lost the game by only three points.
Similar to the Colts, the Vikings lost their Week 8 matchup in a tough fashion on Thursday Night Football. They lost 30-20 in a back-and-forth game against the Los Angeles Rams, and it ended with some controversy. Sam Darnold was sacked for safety on their last drive of the game on a play where a clear face mask occurred.
It was a great game to watch because the offenses came out firing. QB Sam Darnold finished the game 18-25 for 240 yards and two touchdowns. The box score looks awesome, but Darnold threw those two touchdown passes on the game’s first two drives and then failed to score a touchdown for the rest of the contest.
The top pass-catcher on the day was none other than Justin Jefferson. He has a big day, catching eight passes for 115 yards. However, the touchdowns did not go to him, as they went to Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield.
One consistent thing for the Vikings this season was their defense, but the Rams exploited them a bit in this one. With Matthew Stafford having both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, they were able to exploit their secondary. Luckily for them, Minnesota doesn’t have to worry about a similar passing attack from the Colts in this one.
This is an interesting matchup between two teams who are kind of total opposites. So far this season, the Colts play pretty conservative defense and want to run the ball with Taylor and Richardson while both of them have been healthy. The Vikings, however, are one of the most blitz-happy teams on the defensive side of the football. But on the offensive side, they look to pick you apart through the air with all their weapons.
That said, I anticipate that the Vikings defense will have the upper hand in this one. I am not confident that the inexperienced quarterback, Anthony Richardson, is going to be able to diagnose the exotic defensive looks this defense brings.
This defense has caused fits to opposing quarterbacks for most of the season. The Vikings defense leads the league in interceptions with 12, forcing an interception in six out of the seven games this year. With the Vikings defense wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks this season, our Colts @ Vikings NFL pick is on Anthony Richardson to have fewer than two passing touchdowns in this game.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.