Minnesota Vikings lose to Washington Redskins in week 10
By Adam Carlson
The Minnesota Vikings suffered their fourth defeat of the 2016 NFL season in week 10 on the road against the Washington Redskins by a final score of 20-26.
Travelling to the nation’s capital for week 10, the Minnesota Vikings needed a big win to get back on track. Meanwhile, the Redskins were looking to do the exact same thing in a game which would make a big statement in the conference and for the team’s momentum. Here is what happened during the game:
The Vikings got the ball to start the game, completing a quick pass then losing yardage on a sweep. Finally, an incomplete pass forced Minnesota to punt the ball away after just three plays.
After the punt, Washington picked up a quick first down through the air and then Kirk Cousins connected on a nice pass to tight end Jordan Reed. Then, the Redskins started using the ground game, marching to the red zone.
Washington finds the end zone on a toss to Crowder, giving them a 6 point lead over Minnesota. The extra point puts the Redskins ahead of the Vikings 0-7.
This possession, the Vikings are moving the ball. With a healthy mix of run and pass, they moved the ball down the field a bit. Sadly, protection and penalties backed the team up and once again forced them to punt.
The Redskins passing attack already has the Vikings reeling. A creative batch or short passes with mid to deep looks with mixing in some rushing attempts opened up a deep shot to Vernon Davis, who was able to get in for another score, putting Minnesota behind 0-14.
Minnesota’s next drive got extended thanks to a penalty, but the team was still unable to move the ball into Washington territory. Washington’s possession also failed to gain any steam, and possession went back to the Vikings after another punt.
A nice pass to Diggs, some tough running from Asiata, and a jet sweep by Thielen got the Vikings into the red zone. A Kyle Rudolph reception put the team at the one yard line, where it took Matt Asiata three attempts to punch in the touchdown. Blair Walsh made the extra point, but the Vikings still trailed 7-14.
Washington’s chance to answer the score fell flat, as one of Kirk Cousins’ targets slipped and fell, resulting in an incomplete pass. Minnesota called for a fair catch on the punt.
The Vikings marched down the field as Sam Bradford looked to Stefon Diggs early and often of the drive. Eventually, the attention drawn by Diggs opened up Kyle Rudolph, who did a tight rope walk along the sideline into the end zone. Walsh’s extra point tied the game up at 14-14.
Following a touchback on the kickoff, Washington was able to get a nice run on the first play of the drive. However, Andrew Sendejo was able to pull the ball out of his hands with Everson Griffen landing on the football.
Another big pass to Diggs and strong run put Minnesota a couple of yards away from the goal line with 5 seconds left on the clock. Adam Thielen went in motion and came out of the formation uncovered for an easy touchdown score.
Minnesota went into halftime with a 20-14 lead after Blair Walsh missed the extra point.
Washington got the ball to start the second half and put together another nice drive. This time, they converted a couple of third downs to get into field goal range, but the Vikings were able to hold them to just three points on the field, making Minnesota’s lead 20-17.
Struggling on the ground, Minnesota couldn’t move the ball past midfield and found themselves in 4th and inches. After failing to draw the Redskins offsides and letting the play clock expire, the Vikings punted the ball away.
The Redskins chipped away at the Vikings defense, eating up a lot of clock while picking up first downs. Still, Minnesota’s defense did not break, with Washington settling for a field goal to tie up the game once again at 20-20 late in the 3rd quarter.
With possession of the ball to start the 4th quarter, the Vikings once again couldn’t convert on 3rd and short. Giving the ball back to the Redskins, Washington marched down the field once again. Minnesota’s defense stopped them to force a 50 yard field goal attempt, which Hopkins booted through the uprights to give Washington a lead over Minnesota 20-23.
More from The Viking Age
- 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
- Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
- Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
- 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
- Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022
Jerick McKinnon, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Cordarrelle Patterson all saw passes thrown their way during this drive, but the opportunity ended with an interception that killed the drive and put the ball back in Washington’s hands.
It only took a couple of plays to put the Redskins into Vikings territory, but again Minnesota kept them out of the end zone. The successful attempt put the Redskins ahead 20-26 with 2:35 left in the game.
The Vikings now needed to go the length of the field. Bradford looked to Diggs often once again, with him getting a bulk of the passes while Thielen and McKinnon also got looks. Moving into Washington territory, things started to fall apart for the Vikings. The Redskins got a sack and Jake Long suffered a horrifying knee injury. With only 11 seconds left, things looked bleak for Minnesota.
With 4th and 17 staring them in the face, the Vikings needed a conversion to stay alive. Pressure from Preston Smith on the left side of the offensive line got through to quarterback Sam Bradford for the sack and the clock expired with Minnesota losing to the Redskins 26-20.
Next: Vikings expected to stick with Blair Walsh at kicker
The Minnesota Vikings move to 5-4 on the season and will slide behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North rankings due to their head-to-head loss and division record. Next week, they will host the Arizona Cardinals in what should be another challenging game for Minnesota.