Joe Flacco vs Sam Darnold! It’s the matchup we’ve all been dreaming of, well maybe not. While I didn’t have a Flacco and Darnold matchup on my bingo card of good games, this is a Sunday Night Football game we’ll all be waiting all day for. They’ll kick off on Sunday Night Football at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. Let’s take a look at this Flacco vs Darnold, Colts-Vikings preview and predictions.
The Colts come into this game at 4-4, winners of two of their last three and four of their last six after starting the season 0-2. The big news from the team this week, they are benching first-round NFL Draft pick of just a year ago Anthony Richardson in favor of the veteran Joe Flacco. Flacco went 4-1 as the Browns’ starter to end 2023 and is 1-1 this season starting for the Colts when Richardson was injured.
Minnesota started out red hot, they were the last remaining undefeated team along with the Kansas City Chiefs at 5-0. They’ve dropped their last two games to the Lions and Rams and now sit at 5-2. They’ll be without their top linebacker Blake Cashman who was ruled out already with a turf toe injury. On the bright side, TJ Hockenson makes his return to the team for the first time since tearing his ACL and MCL in Week 16 last season.
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings Preview and Predictions Video
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings Preview and Predictions
Joe Flacco Over 236.5 Passing Yards (-125)
Joe Flacco loves to sling the ball when he gets the chance. In his Week 5 start against the Jacksonville Jaguars he threw 44 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns. In fact over these two seasons of spot starting duty for Flacco, he’s gone over the 236.5-yard mark in six of his seven starts. On top of that, he’s facing a Minnesota pass defense ranked 30th in the league in stopping the pass. The Vikings allow 263 yards per game through the air.
Indianapolis Colts +5.5 (-110)
This Colts team gets the bump this week. Everyone on the team knows Joe Flacco is the better quarterback here that gives them a better chance to win. Now they get to go prove that. Flacco is also an incredible 6-1 ATS over the last two seasons and the Colts lead the NFL with the best record ATS at 7-1 on the season. The Vikings aren’t far behind with a 6-2 ATS record. But we’ve seen some cracks in the armor from the Vikings the last two weeks and they are catching the Colts in a bad spot for Minnesota.
