Revisiting that Vikings comeback and other sports news
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates after catching a pass for a first down during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr | AP
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Three turnovers and three touchdowns. That was the story for the Vikings in Sunday night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
After struggling at first and losing possession several times, the Vikes came back to win 21 to 13.
Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson join MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk game highlights and other sports news.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: Three turnovers, three touchdowns-- that was the story for the Vikings in last night's game against the Indianapolis Colts. After struggling at first and losing possession several times, the Vikes came back to win 21-13. Joining us to talk about the game and other Minnesota sports news, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Hey, you guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Cathy.
ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Thanking you both. Thanking you both. Happy Monday. So it looks like, really, Sam Darnold kind of took the Vikings out of the fire there and came out in that second half. Wow. That was pretty darn fine. What did you think of it, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, he kind of led him into the fire at first. I mean, he did throw the couple of interceptions. He did have the fumble that turned into a scoop and score for Indianapolis, their only touchdown of the night. Eric and I were both there to witness it in person. We went into the locker room afterwards. And I think that if you look at what the overall takeaway from this game, I would say, the defense really showed up. They only allowed the Colts one field goal that wasn't precipitated previously by a turnover. The Sam Darnold interception led to the other field goal. And of course, the Colts got a defensive touchdown.
So the defense, which has not been very good the last couple of weeks for sure, against Detroit, and against the Rams, and really against the second half, against the Packers, they showed up. They played really well against the Colts. They had three sacks on Joe Flacco, all of them in the fourth quarter. They had an interception. And I think the number one takeaway from last night's game is that the defense played well. You mentioned Sam Darnold. He did have the three touchdown passes, none to Justin Jefferson, although he did spread the wealth. He found eight different receivers on Sunday night. He was 28 of 34 for 290 yards and three touchdowns. But again, it was the Vikings defense.
The other takeaway, a little concerning, but maybe not so much-- Will Reichert, your kicker, the rookie out of Alabama, he missed for the first time all year. He missed twice, as a matter of fact, missed a 53-yarder, missed a 31-yarder. He also had gone 49 straight kicks since the preseason without missing. He missed last night. But he did convert a couple of extra points, all three extra points. So Vikings are now 6 and 2. They don't play another home game until December 1.
CATHY WURZER: Yes And this, of course, reversed a two-game losing streak. Eric, what's next for the Vikes?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, and before I get to that, Cathy, it's not all kumbaya for the Vikings after this win over the Colts. As Wally touched on, Sam Darnold threw a couple of bad interceptions in the game. And one of them upset Jordan Addison's father, Rolando, who went rip city on Darnold with a post on X, tweeted Rolando, quote, "Even Stevie Wonder could see Jordan Addison as open on Sam Darnold's interception," three exclamation points, end of quote, so ouch on that one. Keep it in house, Rolando Addison. That would be my advice.
Next up for Minnesota, though, is a game at Jacksonville. That'll be on Sunday. That begins a three-game road trip, which includes visits to Tennessee and Chicago. Now, the Jaguars are struggling. They are 2 and 7. They lost in Philadelphia yesterday, 28 to 23. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was the top overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, has definitely had an up and down career so far.
Another sidebar to this game, Vikings offensive left tackle Cam Robinson returns to North Florida to face his old team. Last week, the Jags dealt him to the Vikings. And Wally and I had a chance to talk to him last night. And I asked him about going back to Florida, and he says, it's going to be fun. And that's all he would say. But I think for Cam Robinson, this might be personal, if you know what I mean.
As far as other games around the NFC North on Sunday, it was a monumental match-up in Wisconsin, Detroit winning over Green Bay 24 to 14 to really take control of the NFC North on a very soggy day in Wisconsin. It was raining all game. So the Lions are now 7 and 1. The Packers are 6 and 3. They dropped behind the Vikings. And the other NFC North team, the Bears, lose in Arizona, 29 to 9 to the Cardinals. So the Chicago Bears are now 4 and 4 on the season, but the division remains very strong top to bottom.
CATHY WURZER: Say, real quick here, Eric, the Loons swept Salt Lake first round of the soccer playoffs. And it sounds like they're in pretty good position. They look pretty good.
ERIC NELSON: Yes, Cathy, absolutely. So Minnesota United has reached the Elite Eight of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Loons are the number six seed. They're now into the Western Conference semi-finals against the LA Galaxy after that sweep of Real Salt Lake. Both matches came down to penalty kicks. And Minn U Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was outstanding in both wins.
Now, this is the first time the Loons have gone past round one since 2020. The Galaxy are the number two seed. And they are a formidable opponent. LA outscored Colorado 9 to 1 in their two-game sweep in the quarterfinals. The Galaxy are paced by Riqui Puig, Joseph Paintsil, and Gabriel Pec. And Los Angeles has won 5 MLS cups. That's the most of any team in League history. But their last one came in 2014, so it's been a 10-year drought. We'll see what happens when Minnesota United takes on the LA Galaxy. I believe that game is about a week and a half away out there in SoCal.
CATHY WURZER: Before we go, Wally Langfellow, Gophs won their fourth straight game over the weekend. And I'm wondering if we should start buying Rose Bowl tickets.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. No. Rose Bowl is part of the college football playoffs. Gophers won't be going to that. They have three losses, unfortunately. But they're playing well, no doubt. They've won four straight Big Ten games. They got another one against Rutgers this weekend at Rutgers. And they still have three games left total, so we'll see. PJ Fleck has had a good run. And they have now qualified for a Bowl game. It's the sixth time in eight years for PJ Fleck's teams.
CATHY WURZER: So, maybe the-- what was it, the Meineke Car Bowl we've been in one year, and the Music City Bowl, and one of those bowl games.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, some of the predictions-- well, one of the predictions I saw puts them back in Detroit for what used to be the Quick Lane Change Bowl, then the Detroit Bowl. And it's some crazy thing now. I'm not sure what it is now. But that's where they haven't predicted. But if they keep winning, I think that they'll up the ante and they'll get a better bowl bid. But right now, they're 6 and 3. They're a 6 and 3 team. And they've won four in a row. Let's live on that.
CATHY WURZER: All right, you guys. Talk to you later. Thank you.
ERIC NELSON: See you, Cathy.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: See you.
CATHY WURZER: Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson, here on MPR.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Cathy.
ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Thanking you both. Thanking you both. Happy Monday. So it looks like, really, Sam Darnold kind of took the Vikings out of the fire there and came out in that second half. Wow. That was pretty darn fine. What did you think of it, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, he kind of led him into the fire at first. I mean, he did throw the couple of interceptions. He did have the fumble that turned into a scoop and score for Indianapolis, their only touchdown of the night. Eric and I were both there to witness it in person. We went into the locker room afterwards. And I think that if you look at what the overall takeaway from this game, I would say, the defense really showed up. They only allowed the Colts one field goal that wasn't precipitated previously by a turnover. The Sam Darnold interception led to the other field goal. And of course, the Colts got a defensive touchdown.
So the defense, which has not been very good the last couple of weeks for sure, against Detroit, and against the Rams, and really against the second half, against the Packers, they showed up. They played really well against the Colts. They had three sacks on Joe Flacco, all of them in the fourth quarter. They had an interception. And I think the number one takeaway from last night's game is that the defense played well. You mentioned Sam Darnold. He did have the three touchdown passes, none to Justin Jefferson, although he did spread the wealth. He found eight different receivers on Sunday night. He was 28 of 34 for 290 yards and three touchdowns. But again, it was the Vikings defense.
The other takeaway, a little concerning, but maybe not so much-- Will Reichert, your kicker, the rookie out of Alabama, he missed for the first time all year. He missed twice, as a matter of fact, missed a 53-yarder, missed a 31-yarder. He also had gone 49 straight kicks since the preseason without missing. He missed last night. But he did convert a couple of extra points, all three extra points. So Vikings are now 6 and 2. They don't play another home game until December 1.
CATHY WURZER: Yes And this, of course, reversed a two-game losing streak. Eric, what's next for the Vikes?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, and before I get to that, Cathy, it's not all kumbaya for the Vikings after this win over the Colts. As Wally touched on, Sam Darnold threw a couple of bad interceptions in the game. And one of them upset Jordan Addison's father, Rolando, who went rip city on Darnold with a post on X, tweeted Rolando, quote, "Even Stevie Wonder could see Jordan Addison as open on Sam Darnold's interception," three exclamation points, end of quote, so ouch on that one. Keep it in house, Rolando Addison. That would be my advice.
Next up for Minnesota, though, is a game at Jacksonville. That'll be on Sunday. That begins a three-game road trip, which includes visits to Tennessee and Chicago. Now, the Jaguars are struggling. They are 2 and 7. They lost in Philadelphia yesterday, 28 to 23. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was the top overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, has definitely had an up and down career so far.
Another sidebar to this game, Vikings offensive left tackle Cam Robinson returns to North Florida to face his old team. Last week, the Jags dealt him to the Vikings. And Wally and I had a chance to talk to him last night. And I asked him about going back to Florida, and he says, it's going to be fun. And that's all he would say. But I think for Cam Robinson, this might be personal, if you know what I mean.
As far as other games around the NFC North on Sunday, it was a monumental match-up in Wisconsin, Detroit winning over Green Bay 24 to 14 to really take control of the NFC North on a very soggy day in Wisconsin. It was raining all game. So the Lions are now 7 and 1. The Packers are 6 and 3. They dropped behind the Vikings. And the other NFC North team, the Bears, lose in Arizona, 29 to 9 to the Cardinals. So the Chicago Bears are now 4 and 4 on the season, but the division remains very strong top to bottom.
CATHY WURZER: Say, real quick here, Eric, the Loons swept Salt Lake first round of the soccer playoffs. And it sounds like they're in pretty good position. They look pretty good.
ERIC NELSON: Yes, Cathy, absolutely. So Minnesota United has reached the Elite Eight of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Loons are the number six seed. They're now into the Western Conference semi-finals against the LA Galaxy after that sweep of Real Salt Lake. Both matches came down to penalty kicks. And Minn U Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was outstanding in both wins.
Now, this is the first time the Loons have gone past round one since 2020. The Galaxy are the number two seed. And they are a formidable opponent. LA outscored Colorado 9 to 1 in their two-game sweep in the quarterfinals. The Galaxy are paced by Riqui Puig, Joseph Paintsil, and Gabriel Pec. And Los Angeles has won 5 MLS cups. That's the most of any team in League history. But their last one came in 2014, so it's been a 10-year drought. We'll see what happens when Minnesota United takes on the LA Galaxy. I believe that game is about a week and a half away out there in SoCal.
CATHY WURZER: Before we go, Wally Langfellow, Gophs won their fourth straight game over the weekend. And I'm wondering if we should start buying Rose Bowl tickets.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. No. Rose Bowl is part of the college football playoffs. Gophers won't be going to that. They have three losses, unfortunately. But they're playing well, no doubt. They've won four straight Big Ten games. They got another one against Rutgers this weekend at Rutgers. And they still have three games left total, so we'll see. PJ Fleck has had a good run. And they have now qualified for a Bowl game. It's the sixth time in eight years for PJ Fleck's teams.
CATHY WURZER: So, maybe the-- what was it, the Meineke Car Bowl we've been in one year, and the Music City Bowl, and one of those bowl games.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, some of the predictions-- well, one of the predictions I saw puts them back in Detroit for what used to be the Quick Lane Change Bowl, then the Detroit Bowl. And it's some crazy thing now. I'm not sure what it is now. But that's where they haven't predicted. But if they keep winning, I think that they'll up the ante and they'll get a better bowl bid. But right now, they're 6 and 3. They're a 6 and 3 team. And they've won four in a row. Let's live on that.
CATHY WURZER: All right, you guys. Talk to you later. Thank you.
ERIC NELSON: See you, Cathy.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: See you.
CATHY WURZER: Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson, here on MPR.
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