EAGAN, Minn. — It's good to be 6-2 and better to have a long runway to improve.

That's the message Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell imparted Monday afternoon at TCO Performance Center on the heels of a hard-fought 21-13 win over Indianapolis on Sunday Night Football.

"That's been a goal of mine since we really reported to training camp, is just to be constantly chasing the progression throughout the season and having that be what our process is all about," O'Connell stated.

The Vikings got back to playing complementary football in the second half against the Colts and recorded their first win since the London game Oct. 6, pairing timely touchdowns on offense with a solid defensive effort.

Offensively, the Vikings were dynamic and generous; Four different players ran the ball, and nine registered at least one catch, averaging nearly 6 yards per play. The defense forced a couple turnovers, recorded a few sacks, thwarted the Colts rushing attack and cranked up the heat on Joe Flacco in the clutch.

Minnesota's identity isn't crystal clear through eight games, but it's taking shape. O'Connell senses it.

"Every year it seems like you want to build a new – not a new identity – but you want to allow a natural identity to take place with the guys you have, the type of players you have in all three phases," he said.

Then it's a matter of emphasis, of straining and pushing every single day to harden that identity.

"What am I trying to build with our coaching staff, with our players, building it together to make sure this year's version of our team can reach what our potential is going to be, all while overcoming some temporary, short-term results, adversity, or the ebbs and flows of injuries throughout an NFL season," O'Connell said of the big picture. "We want to be able to withstand both and continue to improve."

That magnifies injury news from Sunday's game – and Tuesday's impending trade deadline. The specialists are banged-up: Long-snapper Andrew DePaola is having a procedure on his hand, and kicker Will Reichard is undergoing tests to determine if his quad injury is going to require a stint on the sideline.

O'Connell is in constant communication right now with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. They're looking at ways to strengthen the club's identity, exploring all trade options by fielding and making calls.

There's a balance, however, to bringing in new personnel — O'Connell loves his team's current make-up.

"We're also very cognizant and aware of our team and what's been built here. And we have a lot of confidence in our team," he said. "But if there's an opportunity to improve our team, or there's an opportunity to improve our ability to build the team in the future, I think it's something we'll consider."

Here are four other takeaways from the Monday media session with O'Connell.

1. On the offensive line

Cam Robinson fared well in his Vikings debut, which happened 72 hours after his first practice.

The veteran offensive lineman gave up four pressures but no sacks, and was integral to Minnesota setting the tone in the trenches. O'Connell mentioned that although his technique "might not have been perfect," his length, strength and physicality were key to the offense's 415-yard output. Robinson should be praised for his swift integration and ability to pick up verbiage – but it's also a testament to the guys to the right of him: left guard Blake Brandel and center Garrett Bradbury. It was a collaborative effort.

"He did get some help at different times throughout the night," said O'Connell, pointing out the team devised ways to lessen the load for that position early in the week because of general uncertainty, "but as the game kind of went on and the interior became a little bit more of something that I was thinking about, we left him like a left tackle; we left him by himself a few times, and he answered the bell.

"I also want to highlight Blake and Garrett for their communication," O'Connell continued. "It's pretty unique, the way they're able to have that dialogue and make sure Cam was rock-and-roll and ready to go without having any of those [pre-snap infractions]." (Note: A holding call on Robinson was the lone penalty on the Vikings offense, ending a weeks-long period of "self-inflicteds" stalling possessions.)

Another layer O'Connell addressed, which likely has a trickle-down effect on the entire o-line and gets overlooked because consistency gets taken for granted, is the job Brian O'Neill has done manning the right flank.

"I cannot say enough about what he means to our offense and what he's been able to do this year," O'Connell said of the longest-tenured Vikings OL. "[He's] playing some of the best football of his career."

2. Taking advantage of opportunities

Cam Akers and Dallas Turner were unleashed against the Colts.

Logging his first offensive snaps in his third game in Purple this season, Akers rushed six times for 46 yards (7.7 avg.) and brought in a pair of targets for 7 yards. He touched the rock on half of his plays and tied starting running back Aaron Jones, Sr., for a team-long rush of 13 yards. On his very first snap, early in the second quarter, Akers cut left across the flow of traffic and ran for 12. He showed nice acceleration and wiggle on two more carries of 10-plus yards when he spelled Jones at the start of the fourth quarter.

O'Connell emphasized that it will be important to continue infusing Akers and Ty Chandler into the action so that Jones, who rushed 21 times in Week 9, isn't overworked. The knowledge that Akers has of O'Connell's vision for the run game lets him play fast and make smart, sharp second-level cuts.

"He really, he does know, kind of the origin of a lot of the things at the base level of our offense, from the standpoint of tracks and reads and where maybe some balls may hit, versus some fronts or movement or things like that," O'Connell said, noting that dirty runs set up the chunks. "I think he's a guy that can watch the game and see how we're being defended, see how certain runs are kind of looking, either on the tablet or in real time, and then he goes out there and he can adjust on the fly."

On the flip side of the ball, Turner earned his most extensive work on defense, 26 snaps, since playing 36 snaps in his NFL debut in Week 1. He flourished with the uptick in opportunities, with four pressures on Flacco, and did a mix of everything – Turner dropped into coverage six times; he flashed great rush speed off the edge; and even dimmed RB Jonathan Taylor's impact, strongly taking on lead blocks in the run game and folding inside to assist once Taylor picked a hole. In the third quarter, Turner deftly disguised a field-side blitz, initially lining up 5 yards off the ball in the slot then creeping and timing up Flacco's cadence. He was a fraction of a second away from notching his second career sack – but still forced an incompletion.

It was exactly the caliber of impact that's been brewing for the No. 17 overall draft pick.

"We wanted to make sure he was a little bit more involved in the game, and he showed up," O'Connell commented. "I thought it was a performance that I was not surprised by, and kind of had been telling you guys [could happen] as we move forward here, and based upon game plans and things like that. But I thought it was a real great step in the right direction for Dallas, and one that I think he'll build on."

3. Surging belief in Sam Darnold

It definitely looked like O'Connell's confidence in Sam Darnold gave the Vikings a winning edge Sunday.

Darnold committed three turnovers – one fumble on a sack that featured the officials retracting a penalty for illegal contact to his head and two interceptions on poor decisions, including one in the red zone – but never wavered in his ability to sling it and test the defense vertically or in tight windows.

There's no doubt O'Connell's confident play-calling has bled into Darnold's demeanor down the field.

"There's a lot of really good quarterbacks in the NFL, a lot of unbelievable talent throwing the ball, and I think Sam has demonstrated the ability to make some really high-level throws," O'Connell shared.

Darnold also has displayed his athleticism, both maneuvering the pocket and scrambling for small gains.

While the explosives are alive and well – he had six completions of 20-plus yards against a good Colts defense en route to a season-best 290 yards – the smaller gains are boosting O'Connell's confidence, too.

"It's not always dynamic catch-and-run plays, but … I do believe every completion of any kind has a negative effect on the defense," said O'Connell, explaining they provide the offense a chance to change tempo and alternate between run and pass. "We were kind of exhausting a lot of those things last night."

And obviously it worked more than enough.

4. Talented tight ends

As soon as T.J. Hockenson rejoined the fold, Josh Oliver reminded the world he's pretty darn good, too.

Oliver set a career high with five receptions, for 58 yards, on Sunday Night Football and showed a solid catch radius by readjusting and collecting a touchdown pass from Darnold on his last throw of the game in the final couple of minutes. Oliver also caught Darnold's first pass, reinforcing that he'll be part of the offensive plans even as Hockenson works his way up to a normal snap count. So will Johnny Mundt.

"It was great to have T.J. back out there," O'Connell said, "but the best thing was having that collection of three guys with T.J., Josh and Johnny – the versatility that they can bring, and then that feeling in the fourth quarter when we could, whether it was 21 personnel with Josh and C.J., Josh and Johnny out there [in 12], T.J. and Josh, whatever it was, we got fresh bodies that can go really handle the edge [in the run game]."

Oliver led Vikings tight ends with 41 snaps, while Hockenson and Mundt played 33 and 19. The group was targeted 10 times by Darnold, a notable increase from the 4.0 targets per game pre-Hockenson.

Overall, the trifecta helped Minnesota sustain drives and win the time of possession battle: 36:54 to 23:06.