2020 Long Island EFL Week#2 Minnesota Vikings (0-1) vs. Indianapolis Colts (1-0)

[Long island EFL]

COLTS BEAT VIKINGS IN OT DEFENSIVE BATTLE!

 Colts Raymond Berry (82) shakes off double coverage for the game-winning 53-yard touchdown as Indianapolis beats Minnesota 13-6 in OT!

 August 13, 2020. Indianapolis, Indiana. The Long Island Electric Football League was rocking with stubborn defenses in this great match-up of teams and coaches.

When defense defines the team for the season, the will of the mind can play games with us. This Week#2 match-up between the new-look defensive Minnesota Vikings (0-1), led by Carl Eller, and Bubba Smith of the Indianapolis Colts (1-0) was just that, a game of the mind between legendary coaches, Joey Pizz and Billy O'C, two excellent coaches who have played in some humongous games. Pizz' most memorable game came in 1984 when his then Colts rocked O'C's Dolphins 21-14! Pizz said, "That was a great game and I actually loved that feeling of beating those old Dolphins because they were so dominant that season. But I had Curtis Dickey running the ball all season with precision.  I think he had 1600 yards and about 20 touchdowns that season, but he had 150 yards rushing in that Dolphins game. He was unstoppable!" The Colts lost that year 33-32 to the other dominant team in the AFC, the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Game. Since then, Pizz kept his Jets and Giants as each coach negotiated to keep their number-one favorite team, and Billy O'C kept Miami, and he won the hat-pick of the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, and these Indianapolis Colts, but he has Joseph Addai in the backfield.  

Coach Pizz' Vikings have a different tone to them this season. They lost to 2019 Coach of the Year, Ed Vigs and his Green Bay Packers (1-0) last week 7-0 in another powerful defensive game for Minnesota.  The game was predicted to be high-scoring "romp" by Slawson's Corner so Pizz said he took aim at Slawson's predictions because he feels Slawson always puts his teams on the losing end. We asked Slawson about that an he said, "Listen, I don't have a crystal ball and I predict, not determine the outcome of these electric games.  I think the coaches need to get their act together to win in this competitive league. I have been involved in football for 40 years, I am not Robert Channing. In reality my prediction that the Vikings would lose was correct wasn't it?"

On the opening kick-off Addai ran the ball for a short 33-yard kick return for Coach Billy O'C's Colts. O'C has turned this team into a running machine, but Coach Pizz has readied his Vikings defense, who are off to a slow start offensively this year. After four consecutive runs that "Purple-People-Eater" defense of Minnesota forced Indianapolis to pass the ball as Indianapolis quarterback, Jacoby Brissett hit Joseph Addai on the run for a 50-yard gain, bringing the ball to the Minnesota Viking 10-yard line with 6:01 left to go in the half. It took three more runs for the Colts to get into the end-zone until finally, from 6-yards out Addai curled around the left side of the field to scorch into the end-zone to make the score 7-0, Colts!  

The Minnesota Viking defense stepped up to the plate as the Colts offense ate up the clock ending the first half of great electric football and coaching. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson took it out of the end-zone on the kickoff for a 46-yard return, hit hard by Indianapolis Colts special teams player, Marvin Harrison. Harrison was slow getting up. This was such an intense battle. On this series of downs, Minnesota played the clock down to 2:27 in the game when Chuck Foreman caught a great 35-yard touchdown pass, running into the end zone to tie the game at, 7-7!

 

As time ran out in the game Joseph Addai went right to work, catching a a 21-yard pass for a first down, but Indianapolis ran out of time sending the game into overtime.

 

Billy O'C's Colts won the OT coin toss in what turned into a defensive war. On the kick-off for the Colts, Minnesota EFL Hall of Fame lineman Carl Eller came up with a huge hit on Addai for the second time in the game making a beautiful open field tackle holding Addai to a 27-yard kick return. On first down in overtime Addai busted out with a 23-yard run to bring the Colts offense to midfield. After two failed runs in a tough push back by the Minnesota Vikings defense, tight end Raymond Berry broke away from double-coverage as he blazed down the right sideline for the game-winning touchdown 53-yards play giving the Indianapolis Colts their second win of the 2020 season for Coach Billy O'C. What a game!  Billy O'C said, "I love competing against Pizz.  He is one of the classiest coaches in this league and I know we know each other's every move so winning will be when each of us makes a mistake and the other takes advantage of it."

 

Indianapolis Joseph Addai finished the day with 15 carries and 226 total yards with a touchdown and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson went 9-87-0.  The Colts face the tough New York Jets (1-1), at home next week and then they are on to way to Soldier Field to play the high-octane Chicago Bears in what should be a great game between Billy O'C and Bears Coach Paddy Brannigan. Coach Pizz' Vikings (0-2),  host Kevin Maloney's Tennessee Titans(1-1) next week in another great match-up.

 

2020 NFC NORTH	W	L	PF	PA	TDS	HOME	AWAY	DIV	CON	AFC
Detroit (3-4)	1	0	34	28	5	1-0	0-0	1-0	1-0	0-0
Green Bay (4-4)	1	0	7	0	1	0-0	1-0	1-0	1-0	0-0
Chicago (3-4)	1	1	44	44	6	1-1	0-0	0-1	1-1	0-0
Minnesota (4-3)	0	2	6	20	1	0-1	0-1	0-1	0-1	0-1
Totals:	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0

 

 

2020 AFC SOUTH	W	L	PF	PA	TDS	HOME	AWAY	DIV	CON	NFC
Indianapolis (5-4)	2	0	33	21	5	1-0	1-0	1-0	1-0	1-0
Tennessee (3-4)	1	1	31	27	4	1-0	0-1	1-0	1-1	0-0
Houston (3-4)	0	1	10	14	1	0-0	0-1	0-0	0-1	0-0
Jacksonville (3-4)	0	2	17	30	2	0-1	0-1	0-2	0-2	0-0
Totals:	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0

Edited August 13, 2020 by Long island EFL
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