{"id":942465,"date":"2026-10-22T20:10:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T20:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942465\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T20:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T20:10:17","slug":"unbeaten-minnesota-vikings-dominant-defence-presents-an-untimely-test-for-daniel-jones-reeling-indianapolis-colts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942465\/","title":{"rendered":"Unbeaten Minnesota Vikings\u2019 dominant defence presents an untimely test for Daniel Jones, reeling Indianapolis Colts"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Daniel Jones<\/a> made a pit stop with the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> two years ago, when the eighth-year quarterback got an up-close look at the confusing and disruptive defense he\u2019s tasked this week with trying to solve.<\/p>\n

The Vikings and their league-leading pass rush will present a significant challenge for Jones and the struggling Indianapolis Colts<\/a> on Sunday afternoon, with the crowd noise at U.S. Bank Stadium as an added inconvenience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw them in practice a little bit. It\u2019s a little different than preparing for a game and playing in a game, so we go off of what we see on film, what they\u2019ve done this year, and then have a plan for that,\u201d said Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft by the New York Giants<\/a> who joined the Colts last season. \u201cBut it\u2019s a good system. There\u2019s no question about it. They\u2019re good with what they do. It\u2019s different than what you see in a normal week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, who parlayed a standout performance at Minnesota in a wild-card round win in the 2022 postseason into a new contract valued at $160 million, was cut by the Giants halfway into the first year of that hefty extension. The Vikings snagged Jones as a backup to Sam Darnold<\/a> they could also evaluate as a potential future starter.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur experience with him was nothing but positive, and so to me he\u2019s got a little bit more insight instead of some other guys as far as what we do,\u201d said Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose blitz-driven group leads the NFL in several statistical categories including sacks per pass attempt. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe may have to add a few wrinkles, change a few calls, that he may be privy to that some other guys aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Vikings decided not to re-sign Darnold, who went on to win the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> last season, the Vikings were banking on being able to bring Jones back to compete with J.J. McCarthy<\/a> as the 2024 first-round draft pick debuted following knee surgery that wiped out his rookie season. <\/p>\n

But Jones prioritized the assurance of a starting job and signed instead with the Colts, where he played well until a torn Achilles tendon in early December and a tough schedule down the stretch toppled the team\u2019s 8-2 start.<\/p>\n

The Colts are reeling again this season at 2-4, having fired general manager Chris Ballard at the beginning of the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely makes you feel something,\u201d Jones said. \u201dYou understand kind of what\u2019s at stake, so we know we\u2019ve got to play better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings, meanwhile, are 5-0 and refreshed from a bye week that should allow wide receiver Jordan Addison<\/a>, left tackle Christian Darrisaw<\/a>, tight end T.J. Hockenson<\/a>, and running back Jordan Mason<\/a> to return from recent injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like everybody still has the juice flowing,\u201d wide receiver Justin Jefferson<\/a> said. \u201cWe definitely haven\u2019t got that full potential yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Need to know<\/p>\n

Indianapolis (2-4) at Minnesota (5-0).<\/p>\n

When\/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.<\/p>\n

Latest odds: Vikings by 6 1\/2.<\/p>\n

Against the spread: Colts 3-3; Vikings 4-1.<\/p>\n

Last week: Colts lost to Titans 26-20; Vikings had bye, beat Saints 23-13 on Oct. 11.<\/p>\n

Last meeting: Vikings beat Colts 21-13 on Nov. 3, 2024, in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Series record: Colts lead 18-9-1.<\/p>\n

Matchup to watch<\/p>\n

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor<\/a> vs. Vikings LBs Blake Cashman<\/a> and Eric Wilson<\/a>. Taylor, the three-time Pro Bowl pick who led the NFL last season with 323 rushing attempts and 18 rushing touchdowns, has yet to have a 100-yard game and is averaging a career-low 4 yards per carry. Cashman and Wilson, with their combined 18 years of experience in the league, have been the heartbeat of the defense. Cashman has 10 quarterback pressures, per Sportradar, the most in the NFL among all inside linebackers.<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Colts have lost 11 of their past 13 games, since starting last season 8-2. They\u2019ve dropped seven consecutive road games.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jones had a season-high 269 passing yards against the Titans. He has just four touchdown passes against six interceptions this season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Colts safety Cam Bynum<\/a>, who played for the Vikings from 2021-24, had his first interception of the season last week.<\/p>\n

\u2014 This is the third time in five seasons the Colts visit the Vikings, twice as the extra interconference opponent under the NFL scheduling formula for a 17th game that was enacted in 2021. The Vikings used the biggest comeback in league history, down 33 points at halftime, to beat the Colts 39-36 in overtime in 2022. <\/p>\n

\u2014 The Vikings have won 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. They missed the playoffs last season despite a five-game winning streak to finish 9-8. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Jones has 97 rushing attempts for 410 yards for the Vikings, the most of his 10-year career through the first five games of a season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy had two interceptions in the most recent game against the Saints. The Vikings have a league-leading plus-six turnover margin entering Week 7.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here <\/p>\n

Dave Campbell, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Daniel Jones made a pit stop with the Minnesota Vikings two years ago, when the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-942465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}