The Minnesota Vikings doubled their win total. Two wins! Now, 2-7. Nice!
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins 34-27. Like three of their seven losses, it came down to the very end. Like their one previous win, the defense let the opponent get to the goal line but not into the end zone at the end of the game.
The Vikings couldn't even field 46 players. Eight players on the 53 man roster were out. Two of those were starting offensive linemen. Right tackle Phil Loadholt and left guard Charlie Johnson. J'Marcus Webb replaced Loadholt. Joe Berger replaced Johnson.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph was also out. Broken foot. John Carlson replaced him.
The Vikings defense was just sad in the first half. Horrible tackling. Wide open receivers. The best play was a third and goal stop that forced a field goal. It was the only Redskins drive in the first half that didn't end in a touchdown. The Redskins had 288 total yards. They held the ball for over 20 minutes. Quarterback Robert Griffin III had three touchdown passes in the half. He had no trouble finding open receivers. They were everywhere. Running back Alfred Morris had no trouble finding holes or breaking tackles.
The Vikings defense really, really misses safety Harrison Smith.
The Vikings offense had the ball four times in the first half (not counting the kneel down to end the half). The first possession ended in a terrible interception by quarterback Christian Ponder. The fourth was a three-and-out. The middle two were terrific. Ponder made some throws. They moved the ball. They scored two touchdowns. An 18-yard Adrian Peterson run for the first touchdown. A short pass to rookie receiver Cordarrelle Patterson for the second. This was the first offensive score for Patterson.
24-14 Redskins at the half.
The Vikings outscored the Redskins 20-3 in the second half.
The defense wasn't so bad in the second half. At times, they were better than o.k. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams took over. 2.5 sacks. The Vikings sacked Griffin four times in the second half.
The Redskins had three consecutive possessions that totaled -5 yards. Three punts. This turned the game.
Ponder helped turn the game. Unfortunately, he dislocated his left shoulder when he dove for the pylon trying to score his team's fourth touchdown.
Ponder still had some shaky moments, especially on the first possession of the game. In this game, those moments were few. This was, by far, his best performance of the season. He was very good in the second half. For the game, he was 17 of 21 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Nice numbers. Many of his completions hit his receivers in stride. Quarterbacks are supposed to do that. Ponder hasn't. He did last night. He brought his team back. Fortunately, he has some extra time before the next game against the Seattle Seahawks. Hopefully, this dislocated shoulder doesn't keep him out of any games. Ponder was getting in a groove. It would suck to have an injury knock him out of it.
Vikings tight end John Carlson had a big game. Easily his best with the Vikings. 7 catches for 98 yards and a 28-yards touchdown. He really stepped up with the injury to Kyle Rudolph.
Then we have Adrian Peterson. He didn't have a bunch of yards. 75 yards on 20 carries. 2 touchdowns. But, he had big yards.
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was getting some criticism from the talking heads for taking two timeouts in the final minute. The Redskins were out of timeouts so the Vikings were stopping the clock for them. First of all, I've never understood criticism when the action being criticized resulted in a win. The Redskins offense had just easily marched 75 yards down the field. Based on this season's ridiculous pattern, there was no reason not to expect that the Redskins would complete this 80-yard drive with a touchdown. Those two timeout may or may not have contributed to the Redskins not completing the drive. The only thing that we know for sure is that the Redskins didn't score. The Vikings defense had left receivers uncovered pretty much the entire game. If for no other reason, the Vikings defense needed a chance to catch their breath. The Redskins failed to score the tying touchdown. That's all that really matters.
The defense is very frustrating at times. They aren't stopping many offenses. The past two games have shown some promise. The offense is playing better with Ponder. Stranger things have happened than the Vikings going on a seven game win streak. The schedule won't be kind. Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers are up in the next two games. Hopefully, the extra couple days will be enough for the Vikings to get Christian Ponder, Phil Loadholt, Charlie Johnson, Letroy Guion, Fred Evans, Chris Cook, and Jamarca Sanford healthy. Hopefully, they all stay healthy (Cook!).
Sadly, Harrison Smith and Kyle Rudolph will be out for a few weeks.
Two Wins!
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