Colts snap counts vs. Vikings: Notes and thoughts from the Colts' win

The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Minnesota Vikings in dominating fashion on Sunday, winning 34-6 on the road.  It was yet another example that we never know what to make of this Colts team, as they responded to their crushing loss the week before with this big win.

It gave the Colts a chance to get some of the starters some rest too, as a number of backups saw time in the fourth quarter of this game.  Let's take a look at the snap counts nonetheless to see how much certain players were in the game:

Offense:

Notes:

• The Colts had some changes up front along the offensive line, but they responded by turning in one of the cleanest performances the unit has had in the Andrew Luck era, allowing just two hits and no sacks.  Joe Haeg (right guard) and Jonotthan Harrison (left guard) played every snap, while Le'Raven Clark (right tackle) only missed two plays.  The Colts did pull Ryan Kelly (center) and Anthony Castonzo (left tackle) early when Andrew Luck left, which makes sense because they're the two top linemen the Colts had in the game yesterday - and with so many injuries already up front, there was no need to risk another one.
• The tight ends produced in a big way on Sunday, as Jack Doyle played the most snaps and caught four passes for 32 yards, while Erik Swoope came out of nowhere and caught three passes for 50 yards and a touchdown while playing a significant number of reps as well - in fact, only seven less than Dwayne Allen.  And Allen caught one pass for 13 yards, meaning that the three tight ends combined to catch eight passes for 92 yards and a score.
• At wide receiver the Colts were without Donte Moncrief, which meant that Phillip Dorsett saw the bulk of the reps as the number two wide receiver behind T.Y. Hilton, while Chester Rogers was the number three and played 60% of the snaps.  Hilton caught three passes for 45 yards, while Dorsett was targeted just once - but it was a 50 yard touchdown reception.  Rogers caught three passes for 24 yards.
• The running backs had a big day as well, as the Colts rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries!  Frank Gore led the way in both production and snaps as he rushed 26 times for 101 yards and caught four passes for 14 yards, meaning he touched the football 30 times on Sunday - and he's 33 years old!  Robert Turbin was once again a good number two back, as he rushed seven times for 32 yards and two scores while catching two passes for 22 yards.  Jordan Todman even got some work in the fourth quarter and rushed four times for 19 yards.

Defense:

• Mike Adams played every snap on Sunday, and he had a terrific game - the best he's had this year.  He recorded six tackles, broke up a pass, intercepted another pass, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble.  His strip of Adrian Peterson was a tremendous play, as he pulled the ball out and recovered it himself.
• Erik Walden recorded two sacks on Sunday to bring his total to ten on the year.  It was his second double-digit sack game of the season.  Robert Mathis displayed his strip-sack abilities, while T.Y. McGill and Zach Kerr also notched sacks.  With a big lead, the Colts' pass rush was able to show a few signs of life.
• Darryl Morris actually played the second-most snaps of any Colts cornerback (behind Vontae Davis), while Darius Butler and Rashaan Melvin (who came out of the game at one point with an injury) were close behind.  Butler made a really nice play on the ball as a safety when he crushed the Vikings receiver, though unfortunately he was penalized for playing football on the hit.

Special Teams:

(Note: Only those playing more than 50% of the special teams snaps appear here, so this is not the entire list):