In a fiercely contested intra-conference matchup, the Washington Redskins took advantage of quick touchdown strikes and stout red zone defense to come away with a big home victory against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings will look back on this game as one they could have put out of sight early. They couldn’t capitalize on their chances, however, and let the Redskins back into it. Minnesota’s defense forced a three-and-out on the Redskins’ first two possessions, but in three early trips into Washington territory, the Viking offense couldn’t punch it in, and settled for three field goals.
Despite losing a game in which they graded better on both sides of the ball, the Vikings remain in good position within the NFC North. And with a win, the Redskins keep their chances alive in a competitive NFC East.
Here are some interesting performances for both teams.
Minnesota – Three Performances of Note
Winfield
Antoine Winfield continued his strong start to the season season against the Redskins, and made plays all over the field from the outside. In particular, he was a consistent force against the run. He set the tone early as he knifed into the backfield on Washington’s first offensive play and stopped Alfred Morris for a 4-yard loss. He added two other tackles for loss on the day, including one on an end-around in which he blew up the block attempt of tight end Niles Paul on the way to the backfield.
Additionally, the Viking corner enjoyed a successful game in coverage. Although he was targeted just twice he made his presence felt, especially on the Redskins’ second possession when he came up with a spectacular sideline interception in front of receiver Josh Morgan. His only fault on the day was surrendering a reception that went for just 5 yards, though it did go for a first down.
Unfortunately, some of his teammates in the secondary were less impressive. Chris Cook surrendered three first-down completions, and rookie Harrison Smith (-1.6) missed two tackles and added a costly third-quarter penalty — though he did have a nice play on a deep ball to prevent a big play.
Get the ball to Percy
Once again, Percy Harvin showed why he’s arguably the best offensive skill player in the NFL, and an early MVP candidate. Lining up all over the field, he caught 11 of 14 passes and added six avoided or broken tackles, a category that he came into this game leading the league by a sizable margin. Of his 133 receiving yards, 74% came after the catch — no receiver has gained more YAC this season than Harvin’s 418. His elusiveness was on display at 2:43 of the fourth quarter, when he turned a 4-yard catch into a 22-yard gain by eluding DeAngelo Hall in primary coverage and dodging safety Jordan Pugh.
He wasn’t perfect on the day, though, as he gained just 1 yard on two rushing carries and fumbled an end-around. And, as usual, he didn’t offer much verticality in the passing game — he’s been targeted more than 20 yards downfield only three times on the season and his longest catch in this game went for just 23 yards. Christian Ponder’s game-ending interception also came targeting Percy, although it was hardly the receiver’s fault.
Costly Mistakes
Despite some gaudy numbers, including 353 yards and two touchdowns passing, Ponder (+0.4) had a fairly forgettable game. His two fourth-quarter touchdown passes couldn’t make up for some costly mistakes. His biggest mistake came early in the same quarter when, on third-and-12 with 12:56 to go in the game and the Vikings down by 12, Ponder had Michael Jenkins open underneath but inexplicably sailed the ball over the receiver’s head… and it ended up in the hands of Madieu Williams, who made some nice moves to take it to the house and put the game out of reach. You don’t often see quarterbacks miss short throws that badly, and that was just one of several passes overthrown by Ponder on the day. With all of the overthrows maybe he should start looking deep more often — after all, he did throw the ball 10 yards or further on just 15 of his 52 attempts.
On the positive side, Ponder was exceptional when blitzed, and posted a passer rating of 121 on those 17 plays. But he has to improve his play when not facing a blitz, as he threw both interceptions and took three sacks against Washington’s base rush. Two of these sacks resulted from the QB holding onto the ball too long — a repeated action that is aptly becoming known as ‘Christian Ponder Syndrome’ among some of the PFF analysts. On the year, Ponder has now thrown all four of his interceptions, and received a grade of -1.4 on plays facing the opponent’s base rush.
Washington – Three Performances of Note
The Legend Grows
This was a game in which Robert Griffin III’s dual threat ability was on full display, and one that might make the Rams question whether the trade was quite the good deal they thought at the time. Despite sustaining a concussion a week ago on a nasty sideline hit, Griffin didn’t hesitate to tuck the ball and run when he had the chance, though he smartly avoided taking any big hits. The Vikings were unable to contain him, as he ran for 143 yards and two scores, including a game-breaking 76-yard run.
In the passing game, Griffin wasn’t outstanding, but was good enough to move the chains when the team needed. After an early interception, the Redskins largely kept the ball on the ground and executed a game plan similar to what we’re used to seeing from Cam Newton and the Panthers. They made use of the full-house backfield and multiple option looks with receiver Brandon Banks at HB. This allowed Griffin to have success in play action to take advantage of soft coverage and a defense looking to stop the run. As usual, most of his passes were underneath — he attempted just one pass over 20 yards, and has attempted just nine deep balls on the season — but he was sharp with a 77% Accuracy Percentage. Griffin made accurate throws while his receivers did a good job after the catch, adding close to 50% of yards with their legs. Washington’s line deserves credit as well, as they limited a good pass rush to pressure on 27% of drop-backs.
If there’s one area Griffin needs to improve, it’s his handling of blitzes — he was blitzed five times and threw for just 1.8 yards per attempt and an interception on those plays.
Former Viking’s Big Day
On a day when the Washington defense didn’t play particularly well overall, the team got what was perhaps a career day from its starting free safety. Targeted only four times, Madieu Williams gave up three catches for just 19 yards. But the play of the day came late in the fourth quarter when he dove to intercept an errant Christian Ponder pass, followed by an exceptional effort to return the pick for a touchdown. The safety also made his presence felt in the run game, collecting three stops. Led by the game-sealing pick-six, William’s performance was good for a grade of +3.4, the highest single-game grade he’s received since PFF started grading players in 2008.
As impressive a day as Williams had, another member of the Washington secondary was equally unimpressive. Having the tough task of covering Harvin most of the game, DeAngelo Hall (-4.5) struggled mightily. On the nine passes Hall was targeted, he gave up six receptions for 102 yards. But the worst part of his day came after the catch, as he missed five tackles. About the only positive play on the day for Hall was a garbage-time interception. And though problems tackling may have been an aberration, as Hall had missed just two coming into the game, the struggles in coverage are not — QBs are now completing over 72% of passes targeting Hall, for a rating of 94.2.
Outside Linebackers
After starting the season on fire, Ryan Kerrigan (-2.9) this week put in his second consecutive sub-par performance. With 24 combined QB disruptions in his first four games, Kerrigan has been slowed significantly, with just three pressures in the last two. Against Minnesota, he rushed the passer 42 times but was able to affect Ponder just twice. Credit RT Phil Loadholt for completely controlling Kerrigan for most of the afternoon. Is the linebacker hitting a midseason sophomore slump? The Redskins hope not, as they now prepare for a Giants team that has given up pressure on little more than 25% of passing plays, one of the best marks in the league.
On the other side of the line, Lorenzo Alexander provided the pass rush that Kerrigan couldn’t. After playing 11 total defensive snaps through the first five weeks, and 11 snaps all of last season, Alexander logged 28 against Minnesota. And the 28 snaps made an impact, with the linebacker producing two sacks and two hits on 20 pass rushes. Don’t count on him reproducing this performance though — Alexander now has sacked the quarterback just eight times since the start of the 2008 season.
Game Notes
— After opening the season with nine QB disruptions and a strong +7.6 grade, Brian Robison’s failed to grade positively as a pass rusher and has averaged just 2.2 pressures in the five games since, including a single hurry against Washington.
— Despite running 26 more plays than the Redskins, the Vikings owned only a 3:03 advantage in time of possession.
— DeAngelo Hall is giving up 1.79 yards per snap in coverage, the 12th worst mark among all corners who have played at least 50% of defensive snaps.
PFF Game Ball
Another game ball to Robert Griffin III, who continued his outstanding rookie campaign.
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