The Minnesota Vikings head into their meeting with the Indianapolis Colts with more than one thing on the line. Yes, the matchup gives them a look at a struggling 2-4 opponent that could become a source for potential trade targets. But it also offers Minnesota a cleaner path to something bigger: building a run game that can actually carry into the late season.
That part matters because the Vikings still haven’t settled into a steady ground attack. The issue hasn’t been volume - Minnesota ranks fourth in the NFL with 30.4 rushing attempts per game - but availability.
Injuries have piled up around the run game, and that has kept it from climbing out of the bottom half of the league in advanced metrics like PFF. Jordan Mason, Josh Oliver, T.J.
Hockenson, Donovan Jackson, and Christian Darrisaw have all missed time for different stretches.
The good news for Minnesota is that help is coming back at the right moment. Mason, Darrisaw, and Hockenson are all returning to practice and trending toward being available for the Colts game. KOC said that Jordan Addison, Mason, Darrisaw, and Hockenson are all expected to practice today.
That matters because Aaron Jones Sr. has been holding things together behind the scenes, and he has done it while playing through a sprained MCL. He’s kept the offense moving, but the bye week came at a welcome time. Now, with reinforcements back in the fold, the Vikings have a real chance to get their backfield working in a way that actually lasts.
The matchup itself sets up well for that. Indianapolis has struggled up front all season.
The Colts also traded Pro Bowl linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Green Bay Packers this offseason, and financial limitations forced them to move on from edge defenders Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam in free agency. Both players had been important in setting the edge against the run, and Neville Gallimore also departed as a key rotational interior piece.
Put it all together, and it helps explain why PFF has the Colts ranked 31st against the run.
For Minnesota, that creates a prime opportunity for Mason to slide back in with a manageable workload and lighten Jones’s load. The idea is simple: get both backs involved, take some pressure off the veteran, and see whether the offense can finally find some rhythm on the ground.
That kind of balance tends to matter when the games get bigger. The league keeps leaning toward the pass, but the playoff teams that finish the job usually still know how to run the football.
Recent champions have leaned into that formula, with Kenneth Walker III powering the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl LX last season with 313 yards and 4 TDs in the postseason and earning a ring and Super Bowl MVP honors. Saquon Barkley also led a major postseason surge, rushing for 499 yards and 5 TDs during the Philadelphia Eagles’ championship run in 2024-25.
That’s the backdrop for this weekend. Minnesota’s offense has a chance to sharpen a part of the game that has been inconsistent, and the timing could be perfect.
If Mason and Jones can form the kind of true tandem this team has been missing, the Vikings may be setting themselves up for more than a good Sunday. They may be laying groundwork that shows up when the playoffs arrive.
In Other News...
Vikings Could Catch A Break As Colts Injuries Start Looming
The Colts second injury report of the week gave Minnesota a little more to monitor heading into Sundays game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The reports, which track participation from Wednesday through Friday and note designations like IR-OUT and limited work, showed a handful of Indianapolis starters dealing with availability concerns as the weekend draws closer.
Sauce Gardner, Tyler Warren and Rigoberto Sanchez were among the Colts players who were not on the field Thursday, leaving their status worth watching as the week moves along. Indianapolis did have some players move in the right direction on the report, but with no final game designations out yet, the Vikings still have to wait for the last word before knowing exactly who theyll be facing. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Fans May Have Blamed The Wrong Coach For Last Season
The frustration around last seasons finish still lingers in Minnesota, and it is easy to see why special teams keeps coming up in the discussion. A single kickoff return, along with a handful of other key moments across the year, fed the belief that the Vikings let a playoff spot slip through their hands. But when you zoom out from one play to the broader arc of the season, the blame gets harder to pin on any one coach or unit alone.
Matt Daniels has remained a central figure on that side of the ball, and his work has continued to matter for both special teams and player development. The bigger lesson for the Vikings is that the seasons disappointment was built from more than one breakdown, from quarterback play to coaching decisions to late-game execution, which is why the aftermath still feels unfinished. [Read more 🡒]
Justin Herbert Is Suddenly At Center Of A Chargers Debate
The quarterback market keeps a Minnesota angle in view, even after the Vikings made their own offseason choice by bringing in Kyler Murray and letting Sam Darnold walk. Justin Herbert has been productive across his first six seasons with the Chargers, and the questions around his future have only sharpened the intrigue for teams that are always watching from the edge of a franchise-altering move.
For the Vikings, any Herbert talk is less about immediate need than about the kind of rare opening that can reshape a contender in a hurry. Nothing official has been confirmed, and Los Angeles has given no clear answer on where it stands, but the uncertainty alone is enough to keep Minnesota in the conversation as long as Herbert's status remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]