MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time this season, the Minnesota Vikings were slow out of the gates.
The league's best first-quarter team was held scoreless in the first 15 minutes for the first time this season, and they trailed at halftime for the third consecutive game after the Indianapolis Colts scored on a fumble recovery in the second quarter.
The Vikings outscored opponents 72-10 in the first quarter through the first seven games — the biggest point margin in the league — but they struggled with turnovers and missed kicks through the first 30 minutes to allow the Colts to take a 7-0 into the half.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was intercepted in the first quarter for the first time this season, ending a promising opening drive that went down to the Colts' 16-yard line. After a punt on Minnesota's next drive, Kenny Moore II scooped up a ball on a sack and took it 38 yards for the game's first score.
Entering Sunday, Darnold was 38 for 47 in the first quarter for six touchdowns and no interceptions, but his blunder against the Colts wiped away a chip-shot field goal that could have resulted in Minnesota's first points in the game.
However, the chip-shot might not have been as automatic as it would have seemed. Rookie kicker Will Reichard, who entered Sunday's contest perfect on every kick through the first seven games, missed two field goals Sunday, including a 31-yard attempt late in the second quarter. Prior to his two misses, Reichard was 14 of 14 on field goal attempts and 20-for-20 on extra points.
