Written By Sam Ekstrom
Down 10 points late in the second quarter, it looked bleak for the Minnesota Vikings.
The offense was stagnant, Robert Griffin III looked healthy and the Redskins had the ball in good field position for a scoring drive before halftime. But a Captain Munnerlyn interception turned the tide. Teddy Bridgewater engineered a scoring drive that ended in a Chase Ford touchdown just before the end of the quarter and gave the Vikings a manageable 10-7 deficit at half. Minnesota then came back from three separate second-half deficits to beat the Redskins 29-26 in a fun, back-and-forth game at TCF Bank Stadium.
“It just gave us some confidence and gave us some momentum,” said Bridgewater of Munnerlyn’s interception, his second in as many games. “We got a three-and-out the first drive of the second half, so it played a huge role in our success today.”
After the running game only generated 14 total yards in the first half, Matt Asiata reminded everyone of his worth as a goal-line gasher in the second half. Asiata completed another touchdown trifecta, scoring three times in a game for the third time in his career. The bruising back found paydirt twice in the fourth quarter and converted a critical 2-point conversion after his final score to give Minnesota a three-point lead.
Asiata’s role has been fluid all season. He began as a backup to Adrian Peterson, then immediately became a starter in Peterson’s absence, ceded the job to rookie Jerick McKinnon and now has settled in as a short-yardage specialist, bringing fans back to the days of the powerful Vikings running back Leroy Hoard, who also wore no. 44.
Asiata spoke of his newfound role after the game.
“Just being a hammer,” said Asiata. “Just stay hungry. We need the points, our team needs to win and that’s my mentality; just set the tempo for our offense and for our team.”
The receiving star was not any of the usual suspects. While Greg Jennings led the club in receptions with six, Ford, the tight end from the University of Miami, stole the show with five catches for 66 yards, a touchdown and a spectacular sideline catch on the go-ahead drive.
“I felt like I was going to be in if he didn’t push too terribly hard to where I couldn’t get my heels down in time,” said Ford of his 21-yard catch that put the Vikings in the red zone. “He didn’t; my heels were still in. It was a good play, great win.”
Ford’s first-half touchdown, a 20-yard reception, was the first of his career, and it came a little easier than he could have ever anticipated as he beat safety Ryan Clark and hauled in a pass near the left sideline.
“I really was just thinking, ‘Catch it, catch it, and prepare to get hit,’” Ford recalled. “Like I said, I really thought something was going to happen. It was really too easy. But like I said, I’ll take it.”
Not only was it Ford’s first touchdown, but it was Bridgewater’s first touchdown pass at home. After a slow first half where Bridgewater missed several potential deep balls, his final line read nicely: 26-for-42, 268 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. It was his second consecutive game without a turnover.
Defensive line continues dominance
The Vikings now have five or more sacks in each of the last three games. They recorded five against Griffin III in his first game back from injury, flattening him time after time down the stretch. Griffin III appeared to be shaken up during the game’s final plays.
Defensive end Everson Griffen, the NFC Defensive Player of the Month, recorded his ninth sack of the season in the victory. According to Griffen, the second half was all about momentum as the defensive line was continually energized by their ability to reach the quarterback.
“We rush together,” said an impassioned Griffen. “When you rush together you can create sacks, you can create tackles for loss, you can create everything as a group.”
Chad Greenway, Anthony Barr and Brian Robison also had solo sacks, while Sharrif Floyd and Tom Johnson split one.
"I think our front four were doing a much better job of working off of each other," said Robison. "Four guys rushing together, and if we can keep doing that, we're just going to get better and better."
Penalties a problem
The Vikings overcame two personal fouls in the red zone that stemmed from hitting Griffin III. The first penalty was controversial as safety Harrison Smith appeared to dive over the top of Griffin III instead of illegally making contact with his head. It negated a third-down stop and set up a Washington touchdown that gave them the lead 17-14. The second personal foul was against Linval Joseph. It occurred in the fourth quarter, preventing a third-down opportunity, and gave the Redskins 1st-and-goal, which led to another go-ahead touchdown.
Smith mentioned after the game that head coach Mike Zimmer instructed the team to steer away from arguing with referees. He’d rather see them forget about questionable calls and bounce back without any complaints.
“I have to get them out of this complaining mode a little bit,” said Zimmer afterward. “There was a little bit of complaining, worry about the referees, worry about this and worrying about that. I’ve talked to them about it a couple of times, but I’m going to have to keep emphasizing it to them. Let’s just go to the next play, do our job and go the next play.
“When the game gets on the line, I want to be able to, however we have to do it, suck it up on both sides of the ball, special teams, whatever it is and finish these things out. We did that the last two weeks.”
As a team, the Vikings had nine penalties for 60 yards. Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer replaced rookies Antone Exum Jr., and Jabari Price in kick and punt coverage, but the Vikings still committed one special teams penalty and surrendered a lengthy kick return in the second half.
“That didn’t make me too happy,” said Zimmer.
But the victory did. The Vikings are now back in the conversation — at least for a Wild Card spot — and the coach couldn't have been prouder after the game.
Up next
The Vikings face the Chicago Bears on Nov. 16 after the bye week. They hope to have tight end Kyle Rudolph healthy by that time. Chicago (3-5) has their bye this week and plays Green Bay before Minnesota visits in two weeks.
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket. He has previously served as a play-by-play broadcaster in Iowa and South Dakota and has covered Minnesota sports since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights.