Bradbury and Ingram get good grades

The Vikings survived an ugly first half to earn a much-needed 21-13 victory over the Colts on Sunday night at US Bank Stadium. It was a much closer game than it should have been due to Sam Darnold's three turnovers and a few missed field goals, but it was still a win. Let's take a look at Minnesota's snap counts and notable PFF grades to see what we can learn from them.

Number of Vikings offensive snaps against the Colts (of 73)

* QB Sam Darnold: 73
* C Garrett Bradbury: 73
* LG Blake Brandel: 73
* RG Ed Ingram: 73
* RT Brian O'Neill: 73
* LT Cam Robinson: 73
* WR Justin Jefferson: 72
* WR Jordan Addison: 67
* RB Aaron Jones: 55
* TE Josh Oliver: 41
* TE TJ Hockenson: 33
* WR Jalen Nailor: 20
* TE Johnny Mundt: 19
* WR Brandon Powell: 19
* RB Cam Akers: 16
* FB CJ Ham: 13
* WR Trent Sherfield: 10

Lots of interesting things here. Robinson made his debut for the Vikings at left tackle and received the first ball in the postgame locker room. Ingram remained on the right side despite the threatening presence of Dalton Risner. Jefferson and Addison had big games.

At tight end, Hockenson made his season debut, but played only 45 percent of the snaps and had three receptions on four targets. It was an important game for Oliver, who caught five passes for 58 yards and scored his third touchdown of the season. Mundt also remained involved and was unable to score in the end zone. I expect Hockenson's snap percentage to go up a bit next week against the Jaguars.

Akers has now clearly replaced Ty Chandler as the Vikings' RB2. And after rushing for 46 yards on six carries, it's unlikely he'll relinquish that role anytime soon. Chandler didn't play a single snap.

Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 20 snaps)

1. Oliver – 94.3
2. Bradbury – 80.0
3. Jefferson – 79.1
4. Darnold – 76.1
5. O'Neill – 74.8

Five others — Hockenson, Addison, Ingram, Robinson and Akers — also had grades above 65 on a night where the Vikings moved the ball with ease. The only thing slowing them down in this game were turnovers and sacks. Darnold's grade reflects how well he threw the ball all night, even with two rough interceptions.

When broadcast live, the eye test wasn't great for players like Bradbury and Ingram. Bradbury stepped on Ingram's foot as he was knocked over on the Colts' controversial fumble return touchdown. But he received an excellent run-blocking grade from PFF. Ingram's pass blocking grade was a season-high 77.6, which could help him fend off the threat of Risner for at least another week.

Only Brandel got bad grades on the Vikings' offensive line. Jones had his worst mark of the season.

Number of Vikings defensive snaps against Colts (out of 54)

* S Harrison Smith: 54
* CB Byron Murphy Jr: 54
* LB Ivan Pace Jr: 52
* CB Stephon Gilmore: 50
*OLB Jonathan Greenard: 48
* S Josh Metellus: 44
* S Camryn Bynum: 44
* OLB Andrew Van Ginkel: 39
* DL Jerry Tillery: 36
* DL Harrison Phillips: 31
* DL Jonathan Bullard: 30
*OLB Dallas Turner: 26
* DL Jihad District: 23
* CB Shaq Griffin: 20
*OLB Pat Jones II: 18
* LB Kamu Grugier-Hill: 18
* DL Jalen Redmond: 7

You immediately notice the number next to Turner's name. His 26 snaps were almost as many as the 31 he played in the last four games combined. Turner outpaced Jones and had the best game of his career, being pressured four times in just 11 pass-rush snaps. He expects to remain a real part of the rotation going forward.

If Blake Cashman returns next week, Pace would go back to a more rotational role and Grugier-Hill would likely only see a few snaps. With Taki Taimani going on IR, Levi Drake Rodriguez was active in this game but did not play a defensive snap.

Top 5 PFF grades on defense (min. 20 snaps)

1. Phillips – 83.2
2. Bynum – 77.1
3rd District – 72.2
4. Greenard – 71.5
5. Turner – 71.3

Murphy, Griffin and Metellus also received quality marks. Greenard had five more pressures and two late sacks, extending his streak of games with more than 5 pressures early in the season to eight. He now leads all of football with 48 pressures this season, and his 7 sacks are tied for sixth.

Van Ginkel, Tillery and Bullard received the lowest grades. These last two names highlight the Vikings' need to add a pass-rushing defensive tackle before Tuesday's trade deadline.