The Indianapolis Colts looked at their Week 9 game against the Minnesota Vikings as a jumping off point. The Colts were 4-4 as they approached the high-profile Sunday night game at U.S. Bank Stadium and head coach Shane Steichen had made a decisive move to insert Joe Flacco as the team's QB1 in place of Anthony Richardson.

The Colts had tried to make the point that they still had faith in Richardson as the team's quarterback of the future, but the best chance to win in the 2024 season came with Flacco at quarterback.

The move did not appear to fracture the locker room or set off a major controversy. However, it was clearly a critical decision that would either propel the Colts toward success or leave the team wondering what went wrong.

The Vikings struggled in the first half and trailed 7-0 at the end of 30 minutes. However, the home team did well enough to fix their early shortcomings and they came away with a 21-13 victory. The Indianapolis defense had played very well against Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones and Justin Jefferson early in the game, but the Colts offense never did its part.

Instead of gaining a key victory before facing a tough three-game stretch against the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Detroit Lions, the Colts were left shaking their heads and wondering why they couldn't dent the Vikings defense.

Here's a look at those most responsible for falling short in the game

Colts QB Joe Flacco

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws a pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Colts went with Flacco at quarterback because they thought he would lead them, throw the ball accurately and diagnose what the Vikings defense was doing.

Flacco ended up with ordinary numbers. He completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards with 1 interception and no TD passes. At no point in the game did he play decisively, and that's what the Colts needed most.

That may not be all on Flacco, because the play calling left something to be desired and his receivers did not threaten the Vikings secondary very often. But at some point or another, Flacco needed to string completions down the field and take advantage of a secondary that had been exposed by the Lions and Los Angeles Rams in Minnesota's two previous games.

It seemed that the Indianapolis offensive line did a solid job of protecting Flacco until the team's last drive of the game, when he was sacked 3 times. Prior to that drive, Flacco had enough time to survey the defense and make key throws 15 yards or more downfield, but he simply did not do that.

Flacco was disappointed with his performance, per James Boyd of The Athletic. “I think any time you have a game like we had, you’re probably surprised a little bit you weren’t able to get it going because they obviously did a really good job against us,” Flacco said.

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Perhaps he will improve in upcoming games, because Flacco performed extremely well when he became the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns last season. He has the arm strength and he sees the field quite well.

Despite those tools, he was indecisive against the Vikings and that cost the team badly.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

It was expected that Jonathan Taylor would be an impact player for the Colts against the Vikings. His ability to cut back quickly and make big plays on the ground should have opened up some opportunities for Flacco and the passing game, but it did not.

The Colts tried to deliver a balanced offense against the Vikings, and they appeared to be starting the game in an impressive fashion. They moved the ball from their own 30 to the Vikings 26 on the game's opening drive. Taylor had three carries in that sequence and gained 3, 6 and 13 yards, which was his longest rush of the day.

However, when Flacco tried to hand the ball off to Taylor on a 1st-and-10 play, the ball slipped through the running back's grasp (36-second mark) and the Vikings recovered. The Colts offense struggled badly after that.

Taylor had 13 carries for 48 yards in the game, and just 26 yards after the opening series. He had 3 receptions for just 11 yards when Flacco threw to him, and that was also a major disappointment.

Both Flacco and Taylor had substandard games, and those were two of the primary reasons to Colts lost to the Vikings in Week 9.