MINNEAPOLIS — A second-half lead dissipated and a sometimes-impressive offensive performance went to waste as the Washington Redskins squandered a chance to craft their first two-game winning streak of the season. They lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 34-27, on Thursday night at Mall of America Field in a game in which the Redskins once seemed firmly in control.
The Redskins (3-6) have the same record they had after nine games last season before putting together a seven-game winning streak to capture the NFC East title. This time, they fell two games behind the first-place Dallas Cowboys.
Their bid for a tying touchdown in the final minute fell short. Quarterback Robert Griffin III threw a pass to wide receiver Santana Moss in the end zone on a fourth-down play from the Minnesota 4-yard line. Moss made the grab but was ruled not to have gotten both feet inbounds for a legal catch.
“I thought I had it. I drug one foot. I guess I didn’t get the other one down,” Moss said.
The incompletion with 28 seconds left gave possession back to the Vikings, who ran the final seconds off the clock.
“I was really disappointed we didn’t pull that thing out,” Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said.
Griffin threw three touchdown passes, all in the first half, and the Redskins had a 27-14 lead after Kai Forbath’s third-quarter field goal. But it all unraveled from there.
The offense suddenly turned unproductive and the Vikings (2-7) scored 20 straight points.
“It hurts,” Griffin said. “This loss definitely hurts. But we’ve got to pick it back up.”
Tailback Adrian Peterson ran for a pair of touchdowns for the Vikings and quarterback Christian Ponder threw touchdown passes to rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and tight end John Carlson. Ponder completed 17 of 21 passes before leaving the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. Matt Cassel finished the game at quarterback .
Griffin threw for 281 yards in a 24-for-37 passing performance. His touchdown passes went to wide receiver Pierre Garcon in the first quarter and tight ends Jordan Reed and Logan Paulsen in the second quarter . Garcon had 119 receiving yards and tailback Alfred Morris ran for 139 yards .
The Redskins amassed 288 yards in the first half and produced three touchdowns and a field goal on their four possessions in the half to build a 24-14 lead.
They had been hoping to build on Sunday’s overtime triumph over the San Diego Chargers at FedEx Field, a game in which the defense stopped San Diego on three plays from the 1-yard line in the final minute of regulation to force a tying field goal after the Chargers had a go-ahead touchdown overturned by an instant-replay review.
It was a quick turnaround for both teams but particularly so for the Redskins, who had to travel here Wednesday after a couple days of light practices at Redskins Park. All NFL teams must play once per season on a Thursday following a Sunday game, and the Redskins were crossing their fingers that they could get out of here with a win and then have this weekend to rest, recuperate and savor being back within a game of .500.
No comments:
Post a Comment