Minnesota stayed undefeated in 2026, outlasting Indianapolis 16-10 on Sunday, thanks in large part to another strong defensive performance, including an epic game by linebacker Blake Cashman and Harrison Smith's game-sealing interception — the big 40^th for him — plus timely contributions from the offense and special teams. The Vikings are set to meet Detroit in Week 8. But first, let's look closer at the hidden gems and figures in their sixth win.

Three standout players

DeeJay Dallas

Don't overlook the dirty work Dallas is doing in the third phase. The backup running back doubles as a special teams demon, and his impact Sunday was noticeable from the press box. Dallas made three tackles on Vikings kicks, and they were even more fun on a rewatch.

The first happened after Will Reichard nailed his second field goal and cut the Colts lead to 1 point. It involved Dallas sprinting from a few yards outside of the opposite numbers to the Vikings sideline and laying the smackdown on Seth McGowan, nixing his full head of steam on a 43-yard kickoff return, in the process saving Reichard from a hero-level tackle attempt.

Dallas logged his next tackle on a punt in the third quarter, racing from the Vikings 39 to the Colts 14 and immediately wrapping up and tossing Josh Downs to the turf for a 0-yard return. It epitomized Dallas' fearlessness and fundamentals — and it flipped field position.

His third tackle captured the play style that's been integral to Minnesota's 6-0 start and reminded us of the deafening Week 1 block on kickoff return that ignited a terrific runback by Myles Price. This time, Dallas attacked the Colts fence of blockers and uprooted receiver Ashton Dulin, who was the deep returner on the other side and became a lead blocker. The contact made Dulin stumble, but Dallas maintained his balance and dove for McGowan's legs as he darted for daylight. His super effort limited a potentially bigger return to only 28.

Let's not forget that Dallas took the previous week in stride, going from the 53-man roster to the practice squad as Minnesota returned Jordan Mason to the running backs room.

Joe Huber

The undrafted, unheralded, unglamorous (most offensive linemen are) Huber has played hard through three games and two starts (280 offensive snaps) as the replacement for 2025 first-round pick Donovan Jackson, who tore his meniscus in Week 4 against Miami. It was particularly apparent in pass protection Sunday. Huber allowed just one pressure across 33 pass blocks per Pro Football Focus. We really enjoyed rewatching three of them.

The first showed Huber's physicality at the finish. On a third-and-7 at Minnesota's 40 with 5:31 left in the first quarter, he initially assisted Blake Brandel, punching and slowing down Adetomiwa Adebawore, and then he swiveled his eyes to the outside and whammed Laiatu Latu in the midsection as the edge rusher was engaged with Christian Darrisaw. It resulted in a pancake for Huber on a play where Murray synced with Justin Jefferson near the sticks.

The second helped spring an explosive catch-and-run for Gavin Bartholomew (17 yards) and featured Huber 1-on-1 against DeForest Buckner. Huber guarded his inside shoulder, beat the veteran to the punch and won a hand fight with the three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle. Huber did a solid job sitting down and out-leveraging Buckner and finished violently, again. He slammed Buckner into Darrisaw, entangling his feet, and to his knees.

The third highlighted Huber's ability to recover — not panic — after getting knocked back. On third-and-10 at Minnesota's 39 with 10:33 to play in the third quarter, he gave ground to Adebawore but stayed composed and battled to stay in front. Huber did for long enough that Murray escaped the pocket to the left and scrambled for 5, although he was stopped short of the line to gain. It was a play that sometimes causes someone to commit a hold except Huber disengaged Adebawore once he abandoned his bull rush and moved laterally.

Huber is showing why the Wisconsin-to-NFL pipeline reputation among O-linemen is real.

Jalen Redmond

The soft-spoken leader of the Vikings defensive line split a sack with Eric Wilson and put pressure on Daniel Jones on the pass Smith intercepted in the final 90 seconds, but his best impact Sunday transpired versus the run where Redmond recorded three of his stops.

Next Gen Stats constitutes a "stop" as a play that failed for the offense/resulted in negative expected points added. His four total in Week 7 tied his single game high he set at Chicago.

Red's first stop happened on a second-and-8 rush by McGowan that picked up 4 early in the first frame. The third-year defender took on a block by right guard Matt Goncalves and seemed to get walled off to the inside at first but shed him to make a solo tackle in the hole.

His third and fourth stops of the game (his second was the half-sack) were fabulous and happened in the fourth quarter against Colts top running back Jonathan Taylor. With 13:22 remaining, Redmond was destructive on a first-and-10 near midfield. He walked Goncalves 2 yards into the backfield and extended his arms to peek at Taylor's path, then clutched the back's left leg as he turned north on a toss run to the right. Redmond hung on for a loss of 1.

It was a similar story a few minutes later on a second-and-3 at the Vikings 44 when Redmond pushed through Goncalves and bottled up Taylor alongside Levi Drake Rodriguez. Redmond's play may have paled in comparison to Cashman's, but it was lowkey awesome.

Two impressive statistics

Another woeful passer rating

The latest in a line of disturbed quarterbacks, Jones, suffered his lowest passer rating (52.8) since Nov. 10, 2024, when he posted a 50.2 rating in his final game as a Giant, before the franchise that drafted him 6^th overall in 2019 cut ties with him and Minnesota signed him to its practice squad. Jones was 13-for-22 Sunday with 108 yards and a long completion of 13.

He should take solace in the fact that he has company.

Minnesota's defense has held quarterbacks to a combined passer rating of 61.7 over six games; it's the Purple's stingiest effort out of the gates since the 2003 group limited its first six opponents to a 58.3 rating. The 1970 squad, by the way, set the franchise record of 30.3.

Additionally, the 61.7 mark is the top bar across the league since the 2019 Patriots (42.6).

The Vikings have limited opponents to fewer than 90 net passing yards in each of the past three games, tying for the second longest such streak in team history (matching 1967, 1970, 1972, 1976 and 1977 and trailing only five instances by the 1969 NFL Champions).

A scramble 15 years in the making

Kyler Murray has elevated the Vikings offense with his feet the past two games.

Murray rushed for 51 yards at New Orleans and clocked one carry over 20 miles per hour, according to NGS (the team's only run this season that fast), and he scrambled for 35 on the first play of the fourth quarter Sunday to set up the lone touchdown to T.J. Hockenson. Murray topped out at 19.88 mph during that scamper.

That run was timely on a third-and-8 — and it provided a dynamic Minnesota hasn't seen in a while. It signaled the longest rush by a Vikings quarterback since Joe Webb bolted for 65 against Detroit in Week 14 in 2011. The only other Vikings QB with a run of at least 35 yards since 2000 is Daunte Culpepper, who did it once apiece during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

Murray's 35-yard scramble eclipsed Jordan Mason's 28-yard tote in Week 1 as the longest for the offense so far in 2026 and is the second longest since 2024 after Jordan Addison's 65-yard end-around on Christmas Day last season against the Lions. There have been six other instances of a carry gaining 35 or more under Head Coach Kevin O'Connell: In 2022, Dalvin Cook did it three times, and Aaron Jones, Sr. (2x), and Cam Akers (1x) did so in 2024.

Murray's up to seven career rushes for 35-plus.

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