14:55—Heyer is starting in place of Wade. No indication that the latter is not in good health, he's active. They must like the way he handled Strahan last week.
14:00—A three passes and out sequence for the Redskins. Kind of sloppy looking.
13:02—A delayed blitz forces and overthrown and Smoot gets the pick. He runs it back all the way to the eight. A false start makes it first and goal at the 13. Cooley time.
12:18—Third and goal at the six now. Look for Cooley still.
11:09—Skins going for it on fourth and goal at the one foot line. 280 pounds of beef up the middle gets into the end zone. Or did it? The Vikings will challenge. It looks like the ball was over the front part of the stripe. I don't think there's enough to overturn, but we'll see.
10:51—I didn't see anything that would conclusively say it wasn't in, but the challenge was upheld.
Richardson tackled in the end zone for a safety, but will they challenge again? He may have been out. If it's upheld, though, the Vikings won't have another challenge the rest of the game, so Childress may keep the flag in his pocket, concede the two points, and punt from the 20. Waiting to make the call here to see if they challenge.
No challenge.
Safety Richardson tackled in end zone
Redskins 2, Vikings 0
9:16—Caldwell makes the catch to convert third and four. The Redskins are spreading out the defense with four wides and trying to out-quick the larger but slower Vikings.
9:00—Collins hasn't been particularly sharp, but he already has half as many completions as he did all of last week.
7:48—Another third-down catch by Caldwell. The Redskins need a TD to make up for the fourth-down failure.
7:24—And Cooley gets it.
Cooley 33 pass from Collins (Suisham kick)
Redskins 9, Vikings 0
You definitely want to play this team from ahead. At this point, the Viking have three offensive plays—a run for two yards, an interception, and a run for a loss and a safety.
7:13—The Redskins lose another fumble at the bottom of a pile. Mix popped it out and it looked like a white jersey had it, but Farwell emerged from the pile with it.
7:06—Andre Carter came from the back side and nailed Peterson at the line.
5:06—Troy Williamson makes the third-down catch, but his momentum carries him inside the line to make and the Vikings have to punt. A sure tackle by Springs keeps Williams short of the needed yardage.
3:42—Collins fumbles the third-down snap and it's a three and out for the Redskins. Vikes should get good field position.
3:02—They do, even with a 10-yard penalty on the return the Vikings start at the Washington 48.
1:13—A false start turns a third and three into a third and eight. I didn't think the home team was supposed to jump. Not the blitz is coming.
0:44—The pressure forces an incompletion as Williamson catches it on the short hop.
0:39—A 53-yard field goal attempt is no good, so now the Skins get good field position at the 43.
End of first quarter
Redskins 9, Vikings 0
13:52—Collins sneaks for a first down on third and a long yard. The home crowd started to come to life there, but now they're sitting on their hands again.
11:40—This time the third and long draw to Betts goes nowhere. Suisham in to try a 51-yard field goal.
11:13—Frost muffs a good snap and the Vikings now take over right about where the Skins took over a few minutes ago. For a brief moment, I thought it was a fake which, of course, would have been shocking.
9:45—A good shot by Godfrey forces a fumble and the Redskins recover around their own 40. Time to take command with a touchdown drive.
8:53—A three and out instead. The Vikings are putting a lot of pressure on Collins and they're trying screens and hot reads and the like to counter it, but it's not working.
8:43—A punt into the end zone for a touchback. Frost has a knack for doing this from near midfield. He'll go all day without a punt over 40 and then he booms a 55-yarder into the end zone on one bounce.
7:54—Jackson hit and Springs gets the interception. Great field position this time at the Minnesota 31. It was Griffin with the hit.
Moss 32 pass from Collins (Suisham kick)
Redskins 16, Vikings 0
Man, that guy has a hell of a set of hands. The coverage wasn't bad, but Santana just took it away from the defender.
This game is far from over, but I'm checking to see how many double-digit deficits the Vikings have overcome to win.
A quick check reveals none, but I could be wrong.
6:12—At this point, Jackson and the Vikings can have those six-yard slants all day, even if they do move the chains. Eventually, the Vikings will make a mistake.
5:11—Peterson now has five carries for four yards. After a Jackson scramble comes up a yard short, the Vikings will punt.
2:44—Third and one for the Redskins at the Washington 43 with the two-minute warning approaching.
2:00—Sellers gets it with power up the middle.
2:00—Portis has just 25 yards rushing on nine carries, but he also has four receptions for 34. Thirteen touches for 59 isn't a bad half, especially since he wasn't supposed to be a factor in the game.
1:06—Collins calmly converts after the Skins find themselves in a first and 15. A screen to Portis picks up 14 and the Redskins burn their first timeout at the Minnesota 42.
0:49—Portis on a draw to the 15. He now has 39 on the ground and 48 receiving.
0:44—Now add 15 passing for #26.
Randle El 15 pass from Portis (pass failed)
Redskins 22, Vikings 0
The Metrodome PA is playing "Start Me Up". A bit late for that, wouldn't you say?
102 yards of total offense for Portis in the first half.
Jackson is the Vikings' leading rusher with two carries for nine yards. He's passed for 50.
Taylor and that Hall of Fame back Adrian Peterson (you mean he's not in yet?) have combined for 12 yards on eight carries.
I could go on detailing the Redskins' domination, but you're watching, you know it. The Redskins will be forced into the playoff conversation.
End of first half
Redskins 22, Vikings 0
(third quarter missing)
14:49—A personal foul against James Thrash, of all people, gets the Vikings to midfield after the punt return.
13:54—Smoot stays home and he makes the stop on a reverse after a gain of two.
12:38—The Vikings are on the move with a first down at the 20. Jackson is just dropping back and firing, the Skins need to get into his face and stop this prevent defense.
10:59—Big third and goal at the six after an incompletion and a loss on a run.
Jackson 6 run (Longwell kick)
Redskins 25, Vikings 14
The odds are still against the Redskins blowing this, but they're going to have to get aggressive both offensively and defensively to hold on.
9:27—False start makes it second and 10 after Collins picks up five on a scramble. As Madden keeps saying, the Redskins have to finish the deal.
8:58—Wow. The Redskins rush a snap after a big completion to Moss and they fumble and lose the ball. Vikings ball near midfield. The Redskins will challenge that there were 12 Vikings on the field on the last snap. Big challenge here. Perhaps someone was trying to get off the field and couldn't. We don't get a replay before the break. If this works, it's a stroke of genius. If not, they lose a challenge and a timeout. It's worth it.
8:58—A sheer stroke of genius. The challenge works and the Skins now have the ball back, first and five.
8:00—A first down by Portis has the Redskins on the move. Wow, what a great challenge.
7:25—Betts just picks up a couple, but there will be well under seven minutes left when the ball is snapped.
6:37—The Vikings have to use their first timeout.
Michaels was saying that it didn't look like Moss' catch before the fumble and challenge would have been upheld had Childress challenged, but it sure looked like he dragged the left foot to me. It's a moot point, though, and the Redskins face third and five.
6:28—Portis right up the gut—that place where nobody is supposed to be able to run against Minny—for a huge first down, perhaps the game clincher.
5:50—He's still throwing as Collins goes to Thrash on a slant for five.
Portis 13 run (Suisham kick)
Redskins 32, Vikings 14
Portis runs the Redskins into next week and, possibly, the Vikings into next year.
For all the flak that Gibbs has taken about in-game strategy, that 12-man challenge was a brilliant stroke. Certainly, someone upstairs saw it and got word to Gibbs to throw the flag, but whoever did it was a genius.
2:04—A lame pass interference call bails out the Vikings on fourth down and then Jackson scores.
Jackson 1 run (Longwell kick)
Redskins 32, Vikings 21
The Redskins were playing a bit soft on that drive, but not on the fourth down play as Landry blitzed and nailed Jackson as he released the ball. It was a dead duck, but the flag bailed them out.
2:00—Onside kick attempt coming. The Redskins will know about this one.
1:58—The onside attempt goes out of bounds and you can hear a few fans singing "Hail to the Redskins". I don't think it's the fat lady, but it might as well be.
1:50—The Vikings burn their last timeout. The Redskins will be punting with about a minute left.
Jackson leads the Vikings in both passing and rushing. He has 8 carries for 44 yards. That's seven less than the vaunted duo of Taylor and Hall of Fame back Peterson gained combined.
Final Score
Redskins 32, Vikings 21
Bring on the Cowboys!
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