The Indianapolis Colts' running game hits a wall against the Vikings' defense

The Indianapolis Colts' running game failed against the Minnesota Vikings' defense on Sunday night.

As a team, the Colts would only rush for 68 yards on 3.6 yards per attempt. That included adding Jonathan Taylor to the Vikings' front line, who came into the game as one of the most productive backs in the league this season. Taylor only managed 48 total yards on 13 carries.

Before this game, we talked about how important it is for the Colts to get the running game going against the Minnesota defense.

The struggles on the ground led to numerous second and third-and-long situations, putting the Colts offense in predictable passing situations. While the offensive line held its own against the blitzing Vikings, Minnesota's use of coverage and pressure masking caused the Indianapolis passing game to become disjointed and extremely unproductive.

Playing the ball against Minnesota was always going to be a difficult task. After Sunday's game, they rank third in the NFL in yards per carry allowed.

What made things more difficult for the Colts was that they didn't have Anthony Richardson at center. With Richardson's ability as a ball carrier, defenses cannot defend Taylor and the other running backs as aggressively.

As for the game, Shane Steichen has the ability to put a lot of horizontal stress on his opponents with the one-two punch that Richardson and Taylor combine to create in the run game – which can lead to better spacing.

Zach Hicks of SI's Horseshoe Huddle was aware of the small sample size, pointing out that Taylor averages 3.6 yards per carry with Joe Flacco at quarterback, compared to 5.2 yards per carry with Richardson.

In the only game against Pittsburgh that week in which Taylor played with both Richardson and Flacco, he averaged 6.0 yards per rush with Richardson at quarterback, versus 3.6 with Flacco.

While Flacco's presence is intended to add stability to the passing game, success for the Colts' offense as a whole still starts with his ability to move the ball on the ground.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: The Indianapolis Colts' running game hits a wall against the Vikings' defense