MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings departed U.S. Bank Stadium's playing field for the final team in the preseason on Saturday night, set to be away from their stadium for more than a month before a Week 3 regular-season home opener against the Seahawks.
At least until they face Seattle on Sept. 26, linebacker Troy Dye will have the distinction of being the only player in purple to visit the stadium's end zone in a game this year.
The Vikings failed to produce an offensive touchdown in eight quarters of preseason football at U.S. Bank Stadium, including a 12-10 loss to the Colts on Saturday that only could assuage concerns for the Vikings on one side of the ball.
Kirk Cousins saw what might have been his only action of the preseason, completing 5 of 7 passes for only 23 yards while the Vikings rested Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson. Adam Thielen left after colliding with a defender on a third-down pass over the middle, throwing his helmet before entering the medical tent following the Vikings' first series of the game.
After four consecutive runs to start the Vikings' fourth series of the game, Cousins was sacked on first down from the Colts 32-yard line when first-round pick Kwity Paye beat Rashod Hill with a speed rush off the quarterback's blind side. A second-down throw to Ameer Abdullah lost two yards, and after Cousins recouped 9 yards with a third-and-20 scramble, Greg Joseph missed a field goal wide right from 51 yards out.
The fact the Vikings nearly emerged as winners on this night was largely because of their defense.
With starters like Eric Kendricks, Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson playing the first two series of the game, the Vikings defense come back from a 33-6 loss to the Broncos with a spirited performance, generating consistent pressure against Colts quarterbacks Sam Ehlinger and Jacob Eason despite the fact Danielle Hunter and Anthony Barr didn't play.
Two plays after several Vikings defensive starters left the game, Stephen Weatherly pressured Ehlinger for the second time in the first quarter, and Armon Watts got a piece of Ehlinger's pass as he helped collapse the pocket. The throw went off the hands of intended receiver Pierre Campbell and was intercepted by linebacker Troy Dye, who returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
Safety Harrison Smith and cornerback Patrick Peterson also watched from the sideline as the Vikings opted to keep several of their established players out of the game; cornerback Bashaud Breeland played for the first time in a Vikings uniform, breaking up an Ehlinger pass inside the Vikings' 10 when he jarred the ball from Michael Pittman's grasp.
The play forced the Colts to kick their second field goal of the game, and the Vikings got a field goal before halftime when Jake Browning directed an eight-play drive, stepping up and away from pressure before hitting Chad Beebe for 32 yards on the run.
But Browning otherwise struggled for the second straight week, completing just six of his 15 passes for 82 yards while either trying to evade pressure or occasionally inviting it by holding the ball in the pocket. Kellen Mond came in to start the third quarter, recovering a botched exchange on his first snap; the Vikings punted on the first four drives of the second half before Mond connected with Myron Mitchell over the middle for a first down with just over five minutes left in the game.
Mond hit six of his 12 passes for 61 yards, completing one of his final two throws after an Isaiah Kaufusi interception was ruled incomplete.
