The relief was evident on the faces of the Minnesota Vikings
after Thursday night 34-27 win against Washington. There were smiles all around
the locker room after winning at home for the first time this season and
avoiding another late-game defensive collapse, snapping a four-game losing
streak.
Minnesota (2-7) now has nine days to relax and prepare for
its next game, with the good feelings built up from holding on to a win with a
strong defensive effort in the season half and the offense tying a season-high
with 34 points. Quarterback Christian Ponder had his best game of the season
before leaving with an injury.
Here's how the Vikings graded out in each phase on Thursday
night against Washington:
Pass offense: B
The numbers don't jump out, but Ponder was at his efficient
best and helped lead Minnesota's come-from-behind win. He finished with the
highest single-game completion percentage of his career (80.9 percent) after
going 17-of-21 passing for 174 yards. He was sacked just once and used his legs
to escape pressure while still making plays downfield. He passed for two
touchdowns, the first in a Vikings uniform for receiver Cordarrelle Patterson
and tight end John Carlson. Ponder recovered well from throwing an interception
on his second throw of the game.
Ponder led Minnesota to two touchdown drives in the second
half, overcoming a 27-14 deficit. But he suffered a dislocated shoulder while
diving for the end zone and had to leave the game. Matt Cassel came in and kept
the offense going. Cassel was 4-of-6 passing for 47 yards and led two field-goal
drives, including hitting Jerome Simpson for 25 yards on an important
third-down. The Vikings were 6-of-10 on third downs and controlled the game in
the second half, outscoring Washington 20-3.
Carlson had his best game with Minnesota, while filling in
for an injured Kyle Rudolph. He led the team with seven catches for 98 yards.
Seven different receivers had catches for the Vikings.
Run offense: B
Again, the numbers don't wow, especially considering the
high bar Adrian Peterson has set over the past year. But with the passing
offense getting going in the second half, Peterson running hard and the defense
finally getting stops, the Vikings controlled the clock in the second half.
Minnesota trailed in time of possession, 20 minutes, 40 seconds to 9:20 in the
first half. The numbers switched a bit after halftime and the Vikings finished
the game only trailing 36:01-23:59.
Peterson finished with 20 carries, as Minnesota was able to
stick to the running game on Thursday. He had 75 yards rushing, for a 3.8-yard
average. The Vikings averaged 3.8 yards per carry as a team, with Ponder, Toby
Gerhart and Cassel adding carries for a team total of 24 carries for 91 yards.
Most importantly, Peterson finished one drive with an 18-yard run for a
touchdown and one play after Ponder left with an injury, scored his second
touchdown walking into the end zone from one yard out.
Pass defense: C
It was a tale of two halves for Minnesota's defense,
especially against the pass. Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III was
taking full advantage of a short-handed Vikings' defense in the first half. He
was 16 of 21 passing for 179 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and
wasn't sacked. He hit three different receivers for touchdowns and worked the
read-option to perfection, accounting for 21 yards on the ground as well.
Then Minnesota found its pass rush. Kevin Williams had 2.5
sacks, his first multi-sack game since 2009, while playing nose tackle. Griffin
was sacked four times in the second half, with Everson Griffen getting one sack
and Jared Allen accounting for the other half-sack. Griffin was slowed to
8-of-16 passing in the second half for 102 yards. He did get Washington down to
the 4-yard line, but missed on three pass attempts in the final set of downs
and Marcus Sherels helped push receiver Santana Moss out of bounds in the end
zone on a near-catch on fourth down to seal the Vikings' win.
Run defense: D
Minnesota won't be happy with the effort in the run defense.
The Vikings simply missed too many tackles on Washington running back Alfred
Morris, one of the tougher backs in the league to bring down. Morris finished
with 26 carries for 139 yards and Washington had 191 yards rushing as a team
and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, with 44 yards added in from Griffin.
But again, most of the damage was done in the first half.
Morris had 17 carries for 88 yards in the first half, which led defensive
coordinator Alan Williams to challenge his defense at halftime, particularly in
regard to the missed tackles. After Washington was 7 of 8 on third down in the
first half, the Vikings held to just 2 of 8 in the second half. Minnesota
finally made a defensive stop at home, forcing Washington to punt after 14
straight drives for opponents in the Metrodome had either resulted in points or
kneeldowns. Sav Rocca's punt with 3:08 in the third quarter was the first punt
by a Vikings' opponent in the Metrodome since the second-to-last series against
the Carolina Panthers in Week 6.
Special teams: B
Minnesota's special teams didn't have the chance to be
involved much in Thursday's game. Washington kicked away from Patterson, who
leads the league in kickoff returns, much of the game, negating his impact.
From the start of the game, Washington used high, short pooch kicks to avoid
Patterson. Patterson finished with two returns for 37 yards. Gerhart had two
returns for 31 yards, and A.J. Jefferson and Joe Webb also had returns as
up-men in the kickoff formation. As a result, the Vikings average starting
position was the 32-yard line, but didn't have any big plays from Patterson.
Kicker Blair Walsh was good on his two field-goal attempts
and perfect on point-after attempts after missing the first of his career last
week. Washington averaged 24.7 yards on three kickoff returns and Walsh had four
touchbacks. Punter Jeff Locke punted just once, a 50-yarder. Punt returner
Marcus Sherels did have a nifty 20-yard run, helping set up Minnesota with
prime field position for one of its two second-half touchdown drives.
Overall: B
The Vikings really couldn't have asked for much more from
Thursday night's game other than Ponder staying healthy, especially after the
way the game started with Washington controlling the game in the first half and
leading 24-14 at halftime. But Minnesota responded, as did Ponder after his
early interception, and earned its first win at home, and first win the United
States this season. Coaching deserves credit as well for the strong second-half
turnaround.
And now the Vikings get to rest, with a weekend off and nine
days before having to go on the road to face the Seattle Seahawks. Ponder's
status won't be known until next week, but Minnesota is able to bask in earning
a home win Thursday night.
