Frank Gore took three consecutive handoffs to start the game against the Vikings. He kept rolling downhill from there.
Gore, the NFL's all-time active rushing leader, padded his lead on Adrian Peterson with 101 rushing yards on 26 carries — most of it picked up by halftime of the Vikings' 34-6 loss to the Colts on Sunday. With Gore rolling, the Vikings' pass rush was neutralized; they did not sack quarterback Andrew Luck against an offensive line starting three rookies.
"We didn't stop the run," coach Mike Zimmer said. "So we never stopped the run, so we never really had the opportunity to rush the quarterback."
The Vikings allowed 4 yards per carry on a season-worst 161 rushing yards to the Colts, the most against a Zimmer-coached defense in more than a year. And it was death by a thousand cuts.
The Colts' longest run went just 12 yards, but they pounded through 40 handoffs while holding a wire-to-wire lead. Colts running back Robert Turbin dodged four Vikings defenders, including defensive end Everson Griffen twice, on a 6-yard touchdown run that put the Vikings in a 24-0 hole just before halftime.
No Vikings defender had a tackle for loss.
"They get paid, too, and they had a good game plan," defensive tackle Linval Joseph said. "They got the ball out fast."
Luck peppered in downfield shots, dodging pass rushers to find T.Y. Hilton for a 31-yard gain and later Phillip Dorsett for a 50-yard touchdown. They got ahead and then controlled the game with Gore, who became just the third running back to eclipse 100 yards on the Vikings defense this season.