Vikings-Colts: Five things you can count on

The first game of a triple-header on NFL Network between the Vikings and Colts will be at 12 p.m. Central Time inside U.S. Bank Stadium. There will also be a broadcast on ABC of the game, so don't worry if you don't have NFL Network. In today's game, you can count on the following:

1. The Vikings win the NFC North.

This shouldn't take too long, and it's simple: Beat the Colts, and Minnesota will win the NFC North until 2023. No one will be able to take it from them. You see, the Vikings would be tied with the 49ers at 10-4 if they lost on Saturday, which would result in a loss.

However, the Vikings are 6-3 against conference opponents, while the 49ers are 8-2 in the NFC and have won seven straight to win the tiebreaker. That would give San Fran within track to the No. 2 seed and advance Minnesota to No. 3 seeds remaining after three weeks.

2. A difficult challenge for Justin Jefferson The Colts and their cornerbacks Isaiah Rodgers and Stephen Gilmore are the only team that can slow down Jefferson. However, nobody can stop Jefferson. Rodgers is ranked No. 1 among cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus. 2. Gilmore is the No. 7. That's an elite 1-2 punch at cornerback, similar to the dynamic duos of Darius Slay and James Bradberry of the Philadelphia Eagles and Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets.

Since Rodgers and Gilmore play the majority of their snaps wide, fans will probably see a lot of Jefferson running routes out of the slot in this game.

Minnesota seldom barrages, nor do they bring multiple rushers frequently. However, the pressure has increased to the point where defensive coordinator Ed Donatell needs to turn up the heat after being annihilated by both excellent and subpar offenses over the course of the previous five weeks.

When throwing to Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, and Parris Campbell, Matt Ryan cannot carve up the Vikings, right? That is likely a similar thought process everybody had when the Vikings were going to confront Macintosh Jones tossing to Jakobi Meyers, Davante Parker and Nelson Agohlor and that injury up being a lifelong day for Jones with 382 passing yards.

Jones stopped and shredded the Vikings when they brought in extra rushers against him late in the fourth quarter. Ryan and the Colts will be put under a lot of pressure early on.

4. Since the Vikings had a bye week in Week 7, Minnesota has the lowest rushing success rate in the NFL, at 31.4%, thanks to Christian Darrisaw's return. It is 22.4% in the last four games. It wasn't great even when Darrisaw played in the games against Arizona, Washington, and Buffalo in Weeks 8-10; however, it fell apart when Darrisaw didn't play in the four games he missed because of a concussion (he left the Dallas game in Week 11 early in the first quarter).

The Vikings are averaging 4.76 yards per rush when Darrisaw is on the field. Minnesota is averaging 2.88 yards per carry during his absence. If Garrett Bradbury recovers from a back injury, the running situation improves even further.

Indy is 21st in the NFL for allowing 126.2 rushing yards per game.

The veteran QB has unquestionably tidied up his mishandling issue that at one point this season had him poised to break the single-season bungle record. In the first four games of the season, he lost nine balls, bringing his total to 14, which is the most in NFL history. Five of those balls were recovered by opponents.

Who is good at forcing mistakes? Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith. There is a good chance that Ryan will misplace the ball if the Vikings are able to put pressure on him and hit him.