Redskins Lose High Scoring, Mistake-Filled Battle To Vikings
November 12, 2017
By Steve Thomas
The Washington Redskins dropped a hard fought, high-scoring game against the first place Minnesota Vikings by a score of 38 – 30 today at Fed Ex Field. The contest featured high scoring by both teams and numerous failures by the Redskins offense and defense that ultimately proved too much to overcome. The Redskins had plenty of chances on offense, the most prominent of which being a play during which Josh Doctson tripped and fell in the end zone in the without being touched on what would otherwise have been a sure touchdown, and an overthrow by quarterback Kirk Cousins to an open Doctson in the end zone. Those two plays and others would have completely changed the tone of the game. Defensively, Washington’s front 7 was outplayed by the Vikings offensive line, and the Redskins secondary, including star corner Josh Norman, had multiple, significant busts that led to Vikings scores.
The first quarter was an exciting, scoring-filled affair, as both teams started off on the right offensive note. The Redskins, who had four of their five original starting offensive lineman back for the first time in several weeks, struck first on the game’s opening drive when quarterback Kirk Cousins connected on a spectacular, one-handed 38 yard touchdown grab by newly promoted receiver Maurice Harris, in what was surely one of the best catches of the season. Regarding his incredible touchdown, which was the first of his NFL career, Harris later stated, “Yeah, it was just a go route…I looked up and I saw the ball and I just reacted to it. I was surprised myself. I figured I was in but I wasn’t 100 percent sure.” The Vikings came right back, however, on a touchdown drive that featured a long reception by Stefon Diggs, who beat Norman deep. The Redskins struck again later in the quarter on a Nick Rose 28 yard field goal, putting the Redskins up by a score of 10-7.
The scoring parade continued in the second quarter. The Redskins put themselves in position to score via an ugly-looking quarterback sneak following a strike to a wide-open Jamison Crowder deep into the Vikings red zone. Vikings receiver Adam Thielen, who finished with a game-high 166 receiving yards, dominated the Redskins secondary in the second quarter, racking up 100 yards by halftime. The Vikings rapidly scored three touchdowns in for a total of 21 points in the quarter, one of which coming after a Cousins interception on a poorly thrown ball set the Vikings up deep in Redskins territory. As the first half ended, the Redskins were down by a score of 17-28.
Both teams continued to score continued in the third quarter, but ultimately to the Redskins’ detriment, as the Vikings gained more ground on the home team. The Redskins managed to tack on a field goal, but the Vikings used their passing game to score another touchdown on a nicely designed 7 yard screen pass to Jarius Wright. With things going wrong for Washington on multiple fronts, the quarter ended with the Vikings up 35 – 20.
The Redskins mounted something of a comeback in the 4th quarter, with a big assist by D.J. Swearinger, who had two interceptions on the day, the second of which coming at the beginning of the quarter and resulting in a Redskins touchdown. Ultimately, though, the defense allowed the Vikings to drive down the field and score a late field goal to put the game out of reach despite another late Redskins field goal that was too little, too late. The competitive portion of the game ended on a poor onside kick attempt by Nick Rose.
Head coach Jay Gruden acknowledged that his team’s mistakes were a factor in the loss, stating, “I feel like we missed a lot of opportunities today, especially offensively. It’s too bad…..You have to make those plays. We’re good enough to make them and we usually will.”
On the day, Kirk Cousins completed 26 passes out of a season-high 45 attempts for 327 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, for a subpar 78.7 quarterback rating. As a team, the Redskins once again failed to crack the 100 rushing yard mark, with 81 yards on 27 carries for an average of 3.0 yards per carry. Samaje Perine was Washington’s leading rusher, with 35 yards on 9 carries for an average of 3.9 yards per carry. Both Jamison Crowder and Vernon Davis had 76 yards receiving on 4 receptions and 7 receptions, respectively. Maurice Harris performed well in his first game action of the season, with 2 receptions for 50 yards. In total, the Redskins posted 394 yards of offense, which is their third-highest yardage total of the season.
The Redskins once again suffered a variety of significant injuries. Safety Deangelo Hall and running back Rob Kelley both went down with knee injuries, linebacker Will Compton suffered a foot injury, and receiver Ryan Grant was placed in the concussion protocol. Safety Deshazor Everett briefly left the game as well. In addition, Center Spencer Long and guard Brandon Scherff were both in and out of the game at various times. Updates on all players will come later in the week.
The Redskins fall to 4 – 5 on the season and will visit the New Orleans Saints next Sunday at 1 p.m. in a game that will have a major impact on Washington’s playoff chances.