The Vikings Look to End a 25-Year Drought This Weekend
Josh Frey
|
The last time the Minnesota Vikings took on the Indianapolis Colts, it was September 20th, 2020, in Indianapolis. The Phillip Rivers-led Colts dominated the Vikings in that game to a tune of a 28-11 final score. It wasn’t quite as bad as the 34-6 beating that the Vikings took at the hands of Andrew Luck’s Colts in 2016.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1205571″ player=”26281″ title=”Let's%20Hash%20Out%20This%20Vikings%20Defense” duration=”793″ description=”Dustin Baker examines the Vikings 2022 defensive shortcomings and the path forward./usr/local/bin/yt-dlp/yt_dlp/jsinterp.py:344: FutureWarning: Possible nested set at position 1″ uploaddate=”2022-12-13″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1205571_th_1670957132.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1205571.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Put simply, the Vikings have not had much luck against these Indianapolis Colts in recent history. By recent history, we’re talking the past quarter-century. The last time the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Colts was nearly 25 years ago on December 21st, 1997. Now, the Vikings look to end a 25-year drought this weekend.
In that last Vikings win, QB Randall Cunningham caught fire in the Metrodome on a cold winter’s night. In the first half alone, the Vikings QB tossed 3 TD passes as part of a 29-point outburst through the game’s first 30 minutes.
Ultimately, the Vikings ended up winning that game 39-28, with Cunningham throwing for a total of 4 TDs. Cris Carter caught 3 of them. On the other side, Colts QB Jim Harbaugh passed for 162 yards and a touchdown before Kelly Holcomb came in to close the game.
Since then, the Colts have won six consecutive games against the Vikings, with three of them being decided by 17+ points.
This is probably the best chance the Vikings have had to end this losing streak, though. The 2022 Colts have not inspired much confidence at all for much of the year. Matt Ryan is set to make another start at QB this week, but he has not been great this year. Despite playing only 11 games this year, Ryan leads the league in both interceptions (13) and fumbles (14).
The Vikings defense has not been great this year, but when they get a chance to force turnovers, that’s when Minnesota becomes dangerous. It seems like they will have plenty of opportunity to do that against the 4-8-1 Colts.
So, Vikings fans, what do you think? Will the Vikings end their 25-year drought this weekend, or will it extend even further? Let us know on either Facebook or Twitter.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.