Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions About Colts’ Week 2 Opponent, Minnesota Vikings
One week into the NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings are in the same predicament.
Neither wants to fall to 0-2 when the Vikings visit the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m., EST, FOX-59 TV).
The Colts are looking to bounce back from a 27-20 loss at Jacksonville. The Vikings will try to recover from a 43-34 home loss to Green Bay.
The Colts are three-point home favorites.
Will Ragatz of Sports Illustrated’s InsideTheVikings provided answers to five questions about the Vikings.
1. What concerns you more, the Vikings’ pass defense or rushing defense?
They're both concerning, considering the Vikings gave up 8.3 yards per pass attempt and 5.4 yards per carry in allowing 522 total yards to the Packers in Week 1. Minnesota's linebackers are strong in the run game, but nose tackle Michael Pierce opting out of the season was a big loss in that department. In the secondary, the team's elite safety duo (Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris) couldn't make up for the major struggles of a young cornerback group. Not being able to generate any pressure on Aaron Rodgers didn't help, either.
For this specific matchup, I'd say the run defense probably concerns me more. I know Philip Rivers can still sling it, but he's going to feel like a breath of fresh air for this secondary after what Rodgers did to them last Sunday. The Vikings intercepted Rivers three times in a blowout win over the Chargers last year and I'm fully expecting them to end up with a couple more picks in this one. Even with Marlon Mack out for the year, the Colts rushing attack worries me. Minnesotans are very familiar with Jonathan Taylor from his college career, and I could see the rookie having a big day this weekend if the Vikings can't shore up their run defense.
2. Who is more key to the Vikings offense, Kirk Cousins or Dalvin Cook?
Just from a positional importance standpoint, quarterback is always going to be more important than running back. That's why Cousins is making $33 million per year and Cook got $12.5 million per year on the extension he signed right before Week 1. The main determining factor for the success of the Vikings every week is Cousins. Can he make the right reads and create explosive plays through the air? Can he avoid pressure and make things happen when the play goes off-script? If Cousins is on his game, the Vikings are tough to beat.
Here's the thing, though. Cousins is the type of quarterback who needs everything around him to be working well in order for him to play at his highest level. That means the offensive line needs to give him time to survey the field and deliver the football. But it also is a major benefit for him when the running game is having success. That keeps Cousins in manageable down and distances, and it also helps set up his biggest strength: play-action passing. In Gary Kubiak's run-heavy offense, Cook is more important than the vast majority of running backs in this league. He's a true star player who can make a big difference with his ability to break tackles and elude defenders in the open field. Look for the Vikings to try to get him into space with outside zone runs and screen passes.
Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen makes one of his two TD catches in Sunday's home-opening loss to Green Bay.
Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports
3. Which wide receivers can emerge to do more to lighten the burden on Adam Thielen?
That's a great question. Thielen dominated targets in the Vikings passing game, finishing with six catches for 110 yards and two TDs, although much of that came in garbage time. With Stefon Diggs no longer around, Thielen is the clear No. 1 option for Cousins and will be heavily involved in this game. It'll be fun to watch him face off against Xavier Rhodes, who was his teammate for seven years in Minnesota. But the Vikings do need to get other wideouts involved more— Bisi Johnson and Justin Jefferson combined for just seven catches for 82 yards (and almost all of that came in the second half).
Those are the two non-Thielen names to know. Johnson is a 2019 seventh-round pick who has exceeded all expectations and is someone they really like as a possession receiver with upside. Jefferson, of course, is the first-round rookie out of LSU who they took with the pick they got in the trade that sent Diggs to Buffalo. He has more potential than Johnson, but is still finding his footing in the NFL. I would expect those two to see more targets than they did last week, in part because the Vikings are going to possess the ball for a lot longer than 18:44. That time of possession was the lowest in franchise history.
As a bonus non-receiver answer, I'm curious to see if second-year tight end Irv Smith Jr. has a big role in the passing game on Sunday.
4. What do you see as the most important factor in this Week 2 matchup?
There are a ton of things to choose from, but I'm going to go with the Vikings' ability to put pressure on Rivers and get him to the ground. On paper, it doesn't look great: the Vikings didn't record a single sack and the Colts didn't allow a single sack in Week 1. For as long as the Vikings are without superstar Danielle Hunter – who is on injured reserve for at least two more games – the pass rush is going to be a major question mark.
The player I'm going to be watching closely is Yannick Ngakoue. He played the Colts twice a year during his time with the Jaguars and played some of his best football in those matchups, recording 6.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in eight games. Ngakoue has done well against Colts offensive left tackle Anthony Castonzo, and I'd expect those two to see plenty of each other on Sunday, even if Ngakoue will line up on both sides of the defensive line. He wasn't much of a factor in Week 1, although that's not entirely surprising considering he held out of training camp in Jacksonville and has only been practicing with his new team for a couple of weeks. He's trying to shake the rust off quickly while getting acclimated to a new defense. But Ngakoue said this week that he has a bad taste in his mouth after the loss and has pledged to "go make a spark this weekend" for the defense.
If he can do some damage, and if the Vikings can get pressure from anyone else against a tough Colts offensive line, Rivers could be forced into even more mistakes than usual.
5. What's your game prediction?
Both teams are going to have a very high sense of urgency because, historically speaking, starting 0-2 means you're almost certainly not making the postseason. Even though the Colts are favored, I just think the Vikings are the slightly better team in this matchup. They've got the elite playmakers to rebound on defense, especially if the young corners take a step forward, which I expect. Offensively, I think Cousins and the Vikings are going to have a big day against the Colts secondary. I'm worried about Taylor and the Indy offensive line, but I think Minnesota pulls this one out on the road, 30-24.
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(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
