Changing a quarterback mid-season often indicates a problem with a franchise.
It will be up to Joe Flacco to prove that this time is an exception.
Flacco, 39, will take over quarterback duties when the Indianapolis Colts (4-4) visit the Minnesota Vikings (5-2) on Sunday night in Minneapolis. The 17-year-old veteran will replace sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was benched this week after an inconsistent start to the season.
Colts coach Shane Steichen said the switch would not be a short-term move.
“Joe is going to be our quarterback of the future,” Steichen said. “I feel like Joe gives us the best chance to win. … I just look at where we’re at with the team. We’re at .500. It’s my commitment to the 53 guys in the locker room to win football games.”
The Colts will try to do that on the road against a Vikings team suddenly desperate for a victory. Minnesota started the season with five straight wins before losing two straight games against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams.
During the slide, the Vikings lost a key player as Christian Darrisaw suffered a season-ending knee injury. The team wasted little time to respond, acquiring left tackle Cam Robinson and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2026.
Robinson did not make it north in time to participate in the Vikings’ first practice this week but there is a chance he could make his team debut on Sunday.
“If he’s ready to go and get ready, I’d like to put him in the mix there,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “If we stop him for whatever reason, whether it’s circumstantial or something like that, and give him a full week of preparation next week, we’ll see how it goes. I think we have a good plan.”
The Vikings are more confident that veteran TJ Hockenson will make his first appearance of the season after missing the first seven games recovering from knee surgery. Hockenson, 27, had 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games last season.
“I think TJ is ready to play,” O’Connell said. “He’s as good as he’s looked since we got here. And that’s saying something considering the impact he made right away in (2022), and the season he was having last year at the time he got hurt. He’s a big part of our team.” Crime, our system.”
The Colts hope to say the same for Flacco, who has a 102.2 passer rating this season compared to Richardson’s 57.2 passer rating. Flacco has thrown for 716 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception this season.
Jonathan Taylor leads the Colts’ ground game with 454 yards and five touchdowns. Alec Pierce has a team-high 394 yards and three scores.
For the Vikings, Sam Darnold will make his eighth start of the season. He posted a passer rating of 107.2 while throwing for 1,610 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Aaron Jones has 501 yards and two touchdowns in his first season with the Vikings. Justin Jefferson is dominating at wideout again this season with 41 catches for 646 yards and five touchdowns in seven games.
This is the first meeting between the two teams since December 17, 2022, when the Vikings emerged with a 39-36 victory in overtime. In that game, the Vikings overcame a 33-point deficit, making it the biggest win in NFL history.
– Media at the field level