Vikings 16, Colts 10: Reichard Breaks Gary Anderson's Record, Harrison Smith Seals It and Minnesota Grinds Out a 6-0 Start

The Minnesota Vikings trailed for more than three quarters on Sunday. They had their kicker's historic streak end on a blocked kick. Their offense gained 275 yards against a team that had just fired its general manager.

They still won. Again.

Minnesota beat the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium to improve to 6-0, the NFC's last unbeaten team. Will Reichard broke Gary Anderson's 28-year-old franchise record with his 36th straight made field goal. Kyler Murray's 35-yard scramble set up the only touchdown of the second half. Blake Cashman terrorized Daniel Jones all afternoon, and Harrison Smith closed it with the 40th interception of his career as the crowd chanted his name.

It was not pretty. It rarely is with this team. But the Vikings now head to Detroit with the best record in the NFC and a defense that has allowed a league-low 74 points through six games.

The Final Score and the Big Picture

The Colts came in reeling, 2-4 and a week removed from blowing a 13-0 halftime lead to Tennessee. They played like a team with something to prove. Indianapolis held the ball for 31:50, converted 8 of 15 third downs and out-rushed Minnesota 154 yards to 136.

What the Colts could not do was throw. Brian Flores' defense held Indianapolis to 64 net passing yards, sacked Jones four times for 44 yards and shut the Colts out in the second half.

Minnesota's offense, meanwhile, is winning at a historic low. ESPN noted the Vikings' 125 points are the second-fewest by a 6-0 team since 1940, and Hockenson's score was just the offense's 10th touchdown in six games. Kevin O'Connell was not panicking. "We're not far off," he said afterward.

How It Played Out

First quarter: Myles Price returned the opening kickoff 46 yards to the Colts' 47, but Aaron Jones Sr. was stopped on fourth-and-1 and Minnesota turned it over on downs. Indianapolis made it hurt immediately. Jonathan Taylor broke through the left side for a 38-yard touchdown, the longest run of his season. Colts 7-0.

Second quarter: Reichard opened the quarter with a 28-yard field goal to cap a 15-play, 53-yard drive, tying Anderson's record of 35 straight. With 6:37 left in the half, he hit from 47 yards for No. 36 and sole possession of the record. Colts 7-6. Cashman then sacked Jones for an 11-yard loss in the final seconds, but Spencer Shrader drilled a 43-yarder as time expired. Colts 10-6 at the half.

Third quarter: Back-to-back sacks, one split by Eric Wilson and Jalen Redmond and one from Cashman, left Indianapolis facing third-and-33 on its opening possession. The Colts' next drive chewed up 7:22, but Shane Steichen passed on a fourth-and-2 at the Minnesota 37 and Shrader pushed a 56-yarder wide left, ending his streak of 22 straight makes. No points for either team.

Fourth quarter: On the first play of the quarter, Murray caught the Colts in a man blitz and sprinted 35 yards to the Indianapolis 5. One snap later he found T.J. Hockenson for a 5-yard touchdown. Vikings 13-10. Reichard's 59-yard try was blocked by Grover Stewart with 8:32 left, ending the streak, and Shrader missed again from 48 yards with 4:27 to go. Reichard answered from 52 yards with 1:39 left. Vikings 16-10. Two plays into the Colts' final drive, Smith picked off Jones at the Minnesota 44, and Murray knelt it out.

The Plays That Decided It

Murray's scramble. The Vikings had run for just 61 yards on 20 carries through three quarters. Then Murray saw open grass on third-and-8 and took off. It was Minnesota's longest play of the day by 14 yards, and it set up the touchdown that ended the Vikings' home end zone drought. "We'll continue to get better. I know we will," Murray said. "We've just got to put the ball in the end zone."

Steichen's fourth-down call. Up 10-6, the Colts chose a 56-yard field goal over fourth-and-2. Shrader missed, Minnesota took over with great field position, and the Vikings scored the go-ahead touchdown four plays later. Isaiah Rodgers, a former Colt, applied heavy pressure off the edge on the kick.

Smith, one more time. On Indy's last chance, Jones threw short right for Will Mallory. Smith jumped it, returned it 15 yards and planted the ball at the 40 to mark the 40th pick of his career. "There's a lot of fight in this group," Smith said.

Reichard Owns the Record, Even After the Block

Two weeks ago, SPSN wrote that Reichard was one kick from history. He got there in the second quarter.

Reichard's 47-yarder gave him 36 consecutive made field goals, passing Anderson's mark of 35 from the perfect 1998 regular season. He had not missed a field goal since Oct. 23, 2025, against the Chargers, and he still has never missed an extra point in his NFL career.

The streak ended on a 59-yard attempt that Stewart got a hand on, the fourth blocked field goal of the Colts defensive tackle's career. A block is different from a clean miss, and O'Connell sent Reichard right back out for a 52-yarder in a one-score game. He drilled it. Reichard finished 3-of-4 for 10 points and is 18-of-19 on the season.

There is something fitting about the opponent. Reichard's last bad day in purple came against Indianapolis on Nov. 3, 2024, when he missed twice while playing hurt and went to injured reserve two days later. Two years later, he set the franchise record against the same team.

Flores' Defense: Cashman Leads the Charge

Flores blitzed Jones relentlessly, and the Colts never solved it. Colts Wire reported Jones was pressured on more than half of his dropbacks.

• Blake Cashman: 12 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 4 passes defensed

• Dallas Turner: 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 QB hits, 0.5 sack (now 6.0 on the season)

• Harrison Smith: INT, 0.5 sack, 4 tackles, pass breakup

• Eric Wilson and Jalen Redmond: Shared a third-quarter sack

Jones finished 13-of-22 for 108 yards with an interception. He now has four touchdown passes and seven picks in seven games. He was gracious about his former team: "I think we expected it to be this kind of game, kind of an ugly game, and credit to them on defense." Steichen said afterward he is sticking with Jones.

The one blemish was Taylor's opening run. He finished with 95 yards on 18 carries, but 38 of them came on that first play. His other 17 carries gained 57 yards. The third-down defense also slipped; the Colts converted three times on third-and-7 or longer, which is how they won time of possession.

Smith's half sack gave him 22 for his career. Paired with 40 interceptions, that puts him in the 40/20 club alongside Hall of Famers Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson. Minnesota's sack streak is now 34 straight games.

The Offense: Mason Returns, Jefferson Hits 600

This was supposed to be the week the full Vikings offense finally played together. Instead, it looked a lot like September.

Murray went 14-of-24 for 150 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers and a 90.6 passer rating. He ran three times for 41 yards, not counting kneel-downs, and was sacked three times by a Colts front that came in with the NFL's lowest pressure rate. Minnesota went 3-for-11 on third down.

The bright spot was Jordan Mason. In his first game since Week 1, he led the team with 68 yards on 15 carries, including a 12-yard run at the two-minute warning that set up Reichard's 52-yarder. As a team, Minnesota ran for 136 yards at 4.7 per carry.

Justin Jefferson caught four of seven targets for 44 yards, including his 600th career reception. Hockenson, back from his concussion, had four catches for 35 yards and the touchdown. Jauan Jennings added a key 20-yard catch on the final scoring drive.

How SPSN's Prediction Held Up

We called Vikings 24, Colts 13, with four sacks, two takeaways, a Mason touchdown, 80-plus yards for Jefferson and Reichard tying the record before halftime.

• Four sacks: Dead on.

• Reichard ties Anderson before the half: He did better. He broke it.

• Colts points: 10, three fewer than projected.

• Two takeaways: One, Smith's interception.

• Vikings points: 16, eight short. The offense keeps missing its number.

• Mason TD and Jefferson 80+: No and no.

The Injury Report

Aaron Jones Sr. (knee): Aggravated a nagging knee injury on a low hit at the end of a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter and did not return. He finished with 26 yards on eight carries. Mason's return could not have been better timed.

Myles Price: Evaluated for a concussion and stinger after a first-quarter punt return but returned in the second quarter.

Colts: With Sauce Gardner (calf) inactive, cornerbacks Justin Walley (knee) and Cam Taylor-Britt (groin) both left in the second half. Tight end Tyler Warren (groin) missed his second straight game.

What It Means for the NFC North

• Vikings: 6-0

• Bears: 5-2

• Lions: 4-2

• Packers: 4-3

Minnesota's cushion is down to a game and a half over Chicago, and the Vikings head to Ford Field next Sunday to face a Lions team just two games back. A win in Detroit gives Minnesota a commanding grip on the division by the end of October. A loss turns the North into a race.

The Colts fall to 2-5 and visit Jacksonville. With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching and a new personnel boss in charge, Indianapolis has big decisions coming.

Bottom Line

Six games, six wins, and the formula has not changed: elite defense, elite special teams, and an offense that does just enough. O'Connell described it plainly: Minnesota is confident it wins when it avoids turnovers and wins the field position battle. It did both on Sunday.

The question is how long that holds. Detroit can score with anybody, and a 16-point offense will not win many games at Ford Field. But Reichard is now the most reliable kicker in franchise history, Cashman is playing at an All-Pro level, and Smith, in his 15th season, keeps making the play that ends games.

The Vikings are 6-0. Not pretty. Still perfect.

Stay locked in with Scene Projects Sports Network for Aaron Jones' injury update, trade deadline coverage and our full preview of Vikings at Lions.

Sources: Associated Press via ESPN, CBS Minnesota and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; ESPN box score and Kevin Seifert; NBC Sports/ProFootballTalk; Star Tribune; Colts.com; Colts Wire; Minnesota Sports Fan and Vikings Wire via Yahoo Sports; Football Nation. Stats and injury statuses as of reports through Oct. 26, 2026, and subject to change. The AP's initial recap listed Reichard's record at 35 straight; the Vikings and most outlets put it at 36 (the 28-yarder tied Anderson's 35, the 47-yarder broke it).