Sam Thiel

Sunday night's win over the Colts marked a return to form for the Vikings defense to the level we'd seen prior to their Week 6 bye. Brian Flores'unit hounded Joe Flacco and Jonathan Taylor, picking off Flacco for the team's 13th interception of the season, which is a terrific total through eight games. They allowed the Colts a mere six offensive points, all on field goals, with Indianapolis' only touchdown coming on a (controversial) scoop and score. Sam Darnold coughed that one up, and he had a seriously up-and-down game. Ultimately, his three-TD second half proved to be enough; until then, the defense buoyed the team while the offense stalled. There likely was some adjustment around the arrival of Cam Robinson, who took over at left tackle with less than a week's worth of practice, but Darnold's play has flatlined recently. They'll need him to pick things back up as the Vikings hit the road for the duration of November.

The Vikings and Jaguars have met only seven times in their history, with Minnesota holding a 6-1 record in the all-time series. Minnesota scored 50 points in its inaugural meeting (50-10 victory in 1998) with Jacksonville and has claimed the past five matchups, including the most recent in 2020 (27-24 win in OT). The Vikings won both of their road games in Jacksonville (30-12 in 2008 and 25-16 in 2016), while the Jaguars lone win in the series came in 2001, a 33-3 victory in Minnesota.

Making his NFL debut, Romo – who signed with the team last Wednesday after rookie Will Reichard was placed on Injured Reserve – connected on all four of his field goal attempts (45, 33, 34 and 29 yards). Romo became the first player in NFL history to make four or more field goals and score all of the team's points in a debut. He is also the first Vikings kicker since Blair Walsh in 2012 with four made field goals in a debut.

Offensively, Darnold responded from back-to-back three-turnover games with an impressive afternoon. He completed 62.5 percent of his passes (20-of-32) for 246 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Darnold also showed off his athleticism on the ground, adding a season-high eight carries for 18 yards and another score. All in all, it led to Darnold being given the highest offensive grade in a game in his career (90.8) from Pro Football Focus.

The game against the Bears never should have gotten to overtime. It happened thanks to the Vikings terrible approach to the onside kick and some defensive lapses – without which we also wouldn't have had the chance to see one of the best drives of the season from Sam Darnold. He led the Vikings straight down the field in OT, overcoming a sack and hitting all six of his pass attempts for 90 yards to set up the winning kick, providing a silver lining to the collapse by delivering in the clutch on the road with the game on the line. Losing would have been pretty horrific, given that Minnesota was ahead by 11 points with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. Darnold threw for 330 yards and two TDs, working around a quiet day for Justin Jefferson (one 7-yard grab in the first 64 minutes of the game). Jordan Addison had a career-best outing to offset the attention the Bears paid to Jefferson.

NFL Expert Picks: Vikings Return Home as Favorites Against Cardinals

NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Keep Their Footing with 5th Consecutive Victory

For starters, it serves as a critical contest between two teams who are very much in the NFC playoff conversation as well as their respective division title races. Minnesota (10-2) currently holds the fifth seed and the first Wild Card spot, but only trails the NFC North-leading Lions (11-1) by a game while simultaneously being a game ahead of the Packers (9-3) in the standings. Coincidentally, the Lions and Packers will square off in Detroit on Thursday Night Football.

NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Win Streak Hits 7 After ‘MNF’ Victory Over Bears

NFL Expert Picks: Vikings Favored by Most in Road Trip to Seattle