A week ago at this time, the Minnesota Vikings were coming off their low point of this 2025 season after suffering an embarrassing 26-0 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, marking the first time the team had failed to put points on the scoreboard since a 34-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers on November 11, 2007.
This week, of course, there's a far different feeling surrounding the franchise, as Kevin O'Connell & Co. flipped the script in Week 14 with a dominant 31-0 win over the Washington Commanders.
The gap between shutout victories wasn't nearly as lengthy, though, as Minnesota took a 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders less than two years ago on December 10, 2023. Furthermore, Sunday marked the third shutout victory for the Vikings this century, as they also recorded a 16-0 win over the Packers on December 3, 2017.
However, what hasn't happened to the Vikings this century—or to any other team in the NFL, for that matter—is shutting out an opponent one week after being shut out themselves.
In fact, the last time this rare feat occurred was all the way back in 1992, when the Denver Broncos suffered a 30-0 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, only to bounce back in Week 4 with a 12-0 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Minnesota Vikings make history in Week 14 win over Washington Commanders
So, this was a bit of a historic victory when you break it down like that. Unfortunately for Minnesota, it likely won't be enough to save the season.
While the Vikings improved to 5-8 with the win, they're no longer in contention to win the NFC North, as the Green Bay Packers now sit atop the division at 9-3-1 after taking down the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
And with the San Francisco 49ers and the Bears currently holding the final two wild-card spots at 9-4, Minnesota will need to win out and hope for a lot of help over the final four weeks.
Nevertheless, while some Vikings fans may have been rooting for a loss here, as more defeats down the stretch ultimately lead to better draft selections come next April, Minnesota as a whole needed this win for morale's sake, and quarterback J.J. McCarthy definitely needed this win for his own personal sake.
After sitting out last week's loss to Seattle with a concussion, the 22-year-old returned to the lineup against the Commanders and put forth the best overall performance of his young career thus far.
McCarthy completed a career-high 69.6 percent of his passes for 163 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions, thus marking the first time in his seven NFL starts that he's played turnover-free football.