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Kirk Cousins and the Vikings came through with their 7th win of the season against the Commanders. … [+]
The Minnesota Vikings were playing one of their most uninspired football games of the season. But in the final quarter, facing a 10-point deficit and one of the most relentless defenses the team has seen this year, the Vikings turned things around, fought their hearts out and won their sixth game in a row.
The comeback featured a heady interception and sharp return by Harrison Smith, a superb touchdown catch by running back Dalvin Cook, and some gritty leadership by Kirk Cousins. It also was headlined by razor-sharp game-management by Kevin O’Connell, who went against a long-held football tenet that you don’t take points off the board – especially go-ahead points in the game’s final stages.
Yet, that’s just what O’Connell did and it was more than just a gutsy decision. It was the right thing to do.
Cousins had thrown an incomplete pass on the first play after the two-minute warning, giving the Vikings a 4th-and-goal at the Washington 4 with the game tied at 17-17. While it was an easy decision to send placekicker Greg Joseph out to try a 22-yard field goal for the lead, the Commanders were flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play.
That meant the Vikings had a first down and could run time off the clock – but they had to take the go-ahead points off the board. Washington had just one time out, so Joseph ended up kicking his second-go-ahead field goal with 16 seconds remaining. He connected on a 28-yard field goal with just 12 seconds remaining.
The Commanders ran one play and failed to get out of bounds, giving the Vikings a 20-17 win and a 7-1 record that has given them an enormous 4 1/2-game lead over the Packers and Bears in the NFC North.
Prior to the final quarter, O’Connell’s team appeared to be sleepwalking. Cousins had thrown a TD pass to Justin Jefferson on the opening possession, but the Minnesota offensive effort was moribund for the large majority of the game. Washington’s pass rush registered a clear victory over the Minnesota offensive line, and Cousins appeared to be in survival mode for large portions of the game.
He had thrown an interception late in the first half that prevented a field goal from being attempted, and the Washington front seven punished him with several big hits. He finished the game by completing 20 of 40 passes for 265 yards with a pair of TD passes.
“We’re finding ways to win,” Cousins said. “We grind on and keep trying to pull them out.”
O’Connell appreciated that Cousins came through in the late stages after facing rough treatment throughout the second half.
“For our QB to stand in there and be at his best when we really need him to be,” Kevin O’Connell said, “I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
Cousins got quite a bit of support from his new tight end T.J. Hockenson. The former Lion caught nine passes for 70 yards, and his biggest catch was a 10-yard reception that set up Joseph’s game winning field goal.
The Vikings have been finding ways to win and that’s a good thing. But the way they did it against the Commanders may be the most positive development this season. They refused to accept that defeat was imminent and they fought to dig out of a hole.
Washington may not be an elite team, but they are tough, physical and had the momentum of a 3-game winning streak. They did not give the game away. The Vikings simply took it.
Now the challenge comes in facing two outstanding opponents in Buffalo and Dallas. It will be a much more difficult assignment, but the win against the Commanders showed they are willing to punch back when the game is on the line.
That was not the case in either of the last two years, and it provides real hope that a 7-1 start is not just a mirage.
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Steve Silverman, Contributor
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