Shane Steichen not considering QB change, pleased…

MINNEAPOLIS – Shane Steichen knew if the Colts were going to be the first team to beat the Minnesota Vikings in 2026, it would likely follow a low-scoring, run-oriented, mistake-free script.

The Colts nearly hit those marks on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The game was low-scoring. Running backs Jonathan Taylor and Seth McGowan combined for 141 yards on 29 carries. And until the Colts’ final offensive play of the game, they didn’t commit a turnover.

But two uncharacteristic misses by kicker Spencer Shrader and a passing game that averaged just 4.9 yards per attempt ultimately sunk the Colts in a 16-10 loss to the Vikings in Week 7.

“The fight was there,” Steichen said. “There’s no lack of fight and effort. I know that. I’m just talking to those guys, and they feel it in there too. … We got to find ways to win at the end of the day. But it ain’t for a lack of trying or effort because our guys in there (are) great character guys that battle like crazy. They prepare the right way, and we keep going.”

The Colts will keep going with their QB1 being Daniel Jones, who Steichen reiterated he has “a ton of faith in” amidst the team’s three-game losing streak. Without tight end Tyler Warren (and wide receiver Alec Pierce), Jones completed 13 of 22 passes for 108 yards and was sacked four times by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ attacking defense. His interception came when he was pressured on the second play of the Colts’ final possession, which began with the Colts down by six with 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Steichen’s plan for Sunday’s game was not for Jones to air it out against a defense that entered Week 7 allowing a league-best 12.2 points per game.

“The game plan today was to go in and run the football,” Steichen said, “and obviously at the end he had the interception, and that happens in football.”

The Colts ran only 56 plays while the Vikings ran 59 plays; it was the first Colts game in which both teams ran 60 or fewer plays since the Colts narrowly lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 of the 2025 season. These types of games, by the way, are relatively rare for the Colts – it was just the sixth Colts game since 2010 in which both teams ran 60 or fewer plays.

“We expected it to be this kind of game, kind of an ugly game, and credit to them on defense,” Jones said. “They have a good system, do a lot of good stuff and we knew that going in. I think you go back and still look where there could have been some opportunities in the pass game, but we were running it well, controlling it. I think we largely expected it to be a game like that.”

Still, Steichen acknowledged the Colts’ passing attack “wasn’t where we wanted it,” he said.

The Colts head back to Indianapolis having to digest a loss, then, in which their defense played well: Minnesota averaged just 4.9 yards per play and converted only three of 11 third down tries. Defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore had two sacks and drew a key holding penalty late in the fourth quarter, and the Colts’ secondary held strong without cornerback Sauce Gardner (calf); cornerbacks Justin Walley and Cam Taylor-Britt both exited Sunday’s game with injuries as well.

“I thought our defense was phenomenal all day,” Steichen said. “… I thought they battled like crazy. All those guys showed up and made plays, a lot of third down stops as well.”

Steichen and Colts players also emphasized they haven’t lost faith in Shrader, who prior to his misses from 56 and 48 yards had connected on 22 consecutive field goal attempts. That pair of misses on Sunday represented only the second and third missed field goals of his career.

“Spencer’s been big time for us,” Jones said. “He’s come up huge this season for us. We got to do a better job sustaining drives and finishing in the end zone.”

Ultimately, the Colts had a chance to win – they needed to march 67 yards with one timeout and about 100 seconds left on the clock. But Jones’ interception, his seventh of the season, sealed the defeat.

For Jones and the Colts, they’ll now go back to work seeking any solutions they can find ahead of next week’s road date with the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It’s my job to play well and put the team in position to win games,” Jones said. “I got to do a better job of that, and I certainly understand that. I think we all got to go back to work. I got to go back to work and see where I can be better.”