Cheers & Jeers: Colts-Vikings
INDIANAPOLIS — Welcome to the first installment of “Cheers & Jeers,” which takes another look at Indianapolis Colts games with an assessment of noteworthy results, good and bad.
The Colts routed the Minnesota Vikings 28-11 on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium to improve to 1-1 and drop the visitors to 0-2.
Cheers
— Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor rushing for 101 yards in 26 carries with one touchdown in his first NFL start.
— Taylor is the first Colts rookie to rush for 100 yards since Vick Ballard had 105 yards at Houston in 2012.
— Colts offensive line opened holes for 151 yards rushing on 40 carries.
— Rookie safety Julian Blackmon subbing for injured Malik Hooker and contributing two total tackles and two pass breakups, including a tip to safety Khari Willis for an interception. Blackmon underwent ACL surgery in December.
— The interception was the first of Willis’ two-year career.
— Third-year tight end Mo Alie-Cox starts for the injured Jack Doyle and caught five passes for 111 yards, both team highs and career bests. His 33-yard reception in the second quarter was the game’s longest play.
Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox hauls in a pass against two Vikings.
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports
— Colts had a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game for the first time since 2010 at Washington with running back Joseph Addai (128 yards) and wide receiver Pierre Garcon (103 yards).
— Rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. caught four passes for 37 yards, including a 9-yard reception that was tipped at the line of scrimmage that Pittman tipped to himself on the Colts’ first touchdown drive.
— Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner sacked Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins for his first career safety. Bucker finished with 1.5 sacks, three total tackles, and four QB hurries.
— Defensive tackle Tyquan Lewis had one sack and defensive end Justin Houston a half sack.
— Darius Leonard’s team-high six total tackles enabled the linebacker to pass Quentin Coryatt (297) for the fifth-most tackles in a player’s first three seasons in Colts history.
— Cornerbacks T.J. Carrie and Kenny Moore II joined Willis with INTs.
— Rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made all four FGs, 28, 38, 38, 44 yards as well as two PATs. He’s the first Colts rookie kicker to make four FGs in a game since Mike Vanderjagt vs. Carolina in 1998.
— Colts dominated time of possession, 38:25 to 21:35.
— Colts outgained Vikings 354-175 in total yards. The 175 yards allowed were the fewest for a Colts opponent since Cincinnati had 135 in 2014.
— Colts had nine passes defended to the Vikings’ three.
— Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins completed just 11-of-26 passes for 113 yards with three INTs and a 15.9 passer rating. The passer rating is the lowest allowed by the Colts since Alex Smith’s 8.5 at San Francisco in 2005.
— Colts quarterback Philip Rivers completed 19-of-25 passes for 214 yards with one TD, one INT, and a 97.8 passer rating.
— Rivers tied Frank Tarkenton (124) for the eighth-most wins as a starting quarterback in NFL history. He also tied Terrell Suggs (226) for the 11th-most games played in NFL history.
— Colts have never lost at home to the Vikings in 12 games at Baltimore and at Indianapolis.
T.Y. Hilton dropped a 44-yard touchdown pass on Sunday.
Jenna Watson/USA TODAY Sports
Jeers
— Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had just three receptions for 28 yards and dropped a 44-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Hilton finished last week’s loss with back-to-back drops on the Colts’ final offensive plays.
— On the same possession as Hilton’s first-down TD drop, the Colts were looking at a third-and-7 play at the Vikings’ 41. Instead of trying to gain a few yards for a long field-goal attempt, Rivers missed Hilton on a long incomplete pass, that necessitated a Colts punt.
— The Colts allowed Rivers to be sacked twice. Offensive left tackle Anthony Castonzo was beaten by Yannick Ngakoue, who forced a Rivers fumble that the Colts recovered.
— After being such a focal point in the offense in Week 1, running back Nyheim Hines had only one reception for 4 yards and no rushes. NFL fantasy owners who quickly claimed Hines on the waiver wire had to be surprised, considering the third-year back scored a TD rushing and receiving in the opener.
— The Colts had nine penalties for 93 yards. Offensive right tackle Braden Smith was flagged for a false start and holding.
— Defensive end Denico Autry was penalized for roughing the passer on a third-and-10 incomplete pass that extended the Vikings opening drive, which resulted in a field goal.
— Cornerback T.J. Carrie was penalized for illegal contact and pass interference.
— Rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was flagged twice for illegal blocks above the waist.
— Safety Malik Hooker was penalized for lowering his head to initiate contact, which offset a Vikings offensive holding penalty.
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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.)
