Vikings use strong second half to beat Colts 21-13

“Felt the corner kind of come down on Aaron [Jones] in the flat,” Darnold said. “Felt like I had a window there. Then the catch was unbelievable. For him to be able to snag that the way he did, and keep the ball away from the ground, just unbelievable body control by Jordan.”

On the Vikings’ next drive, Darnold found Jefferson in a one-on-one with Samuel Womack III, and lofted a 41-yard pass to the receiver to the Colts’ 1. The drive ended with Darnold hitting Jalen Nailor for a go-ahead touchdown.

“We go a few snaps, now, and some games without seeing [one-on-one matchups for Jefferson],” O’Connell said. “So I normally try to hide my reaction to it when we break the huddle, and I can tell what might occur. But yeah, it was a critical moment for Sam and him to pitch and catch on that long throw, getting us down there and ultimately getting seven.”

The Vikings had a chance to go up by two scores after Byron Murphy Jr. mirrored Josh Downs’ route and undercut Flacco’s throw, but Darnold gave the ball back on the next play with a throw for Jefferson into traffic that was picked off by safety Nick Cross.

“He’s aggressive on those dagger throws, and he throws them about as well as anybody I’ve ever been around,” O’Connell said. “It’s one of his favorite throws. First and 10, I want to stay aggressive as a play caller. I thought the protection was phenomenal on that play. That’s just, you know, as great as he feels about ripping those dagger cuts, sometimes the defense can make you say no, check the ball down and move on like he did when we needed to throughout the night.”

Though the Colts gained just 2 yards on their next three plays, they were in position for a 42-yard Matt Gay field goal that made it 14-10.