The Minnesota Vikings have defeated the Washington Redskins on Thursday Night Football with 19-9 and posted their sixth win of the season. Mike Zimmer‘s guys played routine, as they didn’t have some strong opponent on the other side, plus, the guests had a lot of troubles with injuries during the game.
Their starting quarterback Case Keenum, who once played for the Vikings, had to leave the game due to a concussion. Also, the Redskins’ safety Jeremy Reaves was forced to abandon the game because of a concussion, too. So, already poor Washington was without any chance to make an upset in Minneapolis.
The Vikings’ defense quickly restrained Keenum’s backup, rookie Dwayne Haskins who was sacked twice and picked once during his stay on the field. He was 3 for 5 and 33 yards, but without any contribution. Keenum, however, ended the night with 130 yards, 12 of 16, being sacked twice.
On the other side, Kirk Cousins was feeding Stephon Diggs all night long. Captain Kirk had 285 yards, not completing just three of his 26 passing attempts. He didn’t post any touchdown tosses, but he did drove the Vikings’ offense perfectly. Now, Diggs caught seven passes for 143 yards, ending his third consecutive match with 140 or more caught yards.
Dalvin Cook had 171 yards form the scrimmage, and was very motivated to play against his old team. He scored the only touchdown of the game during the second period and was used by the hosts to control the clock and to finish the game. Washington’s offense spent just 2:20 on the field in the last period, and they practically had no chance of endangering the Vikes.
You’re always trying to prove that they were wrong for letting you go or whatever the reason was, so I thought he handled it really well,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said about Cook’s performance. “He’s playing outstanding right now.”
Dan Bailey scored four field goals, the first one from 50 yards, and Minnesota’s kicker was perfect last night.
There was one guy who stood above all others among the Redskins, and he was welcomed more than warmly. His name is Adrian Peterson. The former Vikings’ runningback had 14 rushes for 76 yards and he passed Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomilson on the all-time rushing yards list to become No.6.
During the game, once he appeared on the big screen standing near the sidelines, the US Bank Stadium exploded. According to Peterson, he was near the explosion, too, as he came back home to the people he loves.
“So, it was a special moment. I had to hold tears back, to be honest with you,” AD stated. “Just coming back and seeing the love that they still have for me and they showed, it felt good.”
Vikings (6-2) are now heading for Kansas City. It will be a tough test against the Chiefs who might have their starting QB Patrick Mahomes back until then.
Meanwhile, the Redskins and their interim coach Bill Callahan are still in search of some success. Their next game is in Buffalo versus the fired-up Bills.
