Vikings no-show against Redskins

They came into the game with one simple guideline: win, and you're in. The Minnesota Vikings had won five in a row, obliterating the Giants, Lions, and 49ers and handling the Raiders and Bears. Their ground game was on a roll, with Adrian Peterson running through everything in sight and Chester Taylor doing pretty much the same behind him.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson had been blossoming over the first four wins of Minnesota's streak, and because of that his subpar outing last week against Chicago was only considered a minor setback to a very promising end of the season for the 23-year old Jackson. The run defense was nearly impenetrable, demonstrated by its number one ranking in the NFL.

Still, all of that went by the waste-side on Sunday night against the Washington Redskins. The Vikings had the home crowd behind them. Everyone in the building knew that a playoff berth was theirs for the taking. However, Minnesota put up a sad sac of a performance, getting down by 25 early and ultimately falling 32-21.

Things went awry right from the start for the Vikings, with Jackson picking up right where he left off last weekend by throwing an interception into the arms of Fred Smoot on the second play of the game for Minnesota. Smoot returned it 47 yards to the eight-yard line, setting Washington up for a score. But, the Vikings' defense came up big as it has done many times this season, holding the Redskins down on their first three plays and, on fourth-and-goal from the one, stopped fullback Mike Sellers from getting into the end zone. It was originally ruled a touchdown, but Brad Childress challenged the play and won.

This gave Minnesota the ball at their own one, and that's where the disaster began. Jackson handed the ball off to fullback Tony Richardson who was stoned back in his own end zone for a safety. Washington would then score on the ensuing possession thanks to a 33-yard pass from 36-year old journeyman quarterback Todd Collins to tight end Chris Cooley.

After being scored on twice more to fall behind 25-0, the Vikings began to hear the boos from the hometown fans. Many in the state of Minnesota thought Christmas would come early, assuming their team would clinch a playoff spot by beating the Redskins a day before Christmas Eve. That didn't happen, and because of this the Vikings now find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.

Now, in order for Minnesota to get in, they would have to go to Denver and win next week while Washington would have to lose at home to the Cowboys, a squad that has absolutely nothing to play for as they have already locked up home-field advantage in the NFC. Not only that, but Terrell Owens certainly won't be playing as he nurses a high ankle sprain and there is also a chance that Tony Romo may sit to avoid causing further damage to a sore thumb on his throwing hand. I can see the Vikings beating the Broncos, but I cannot see the Redskins losing at home to Dallas with that much at stake.

Jackson appeared to be coming into his own for Minnesota, but back-to-back head-scratching performances are making everyone wonder once again whether or not the Vikings have truly solved their quarterback situation. In the past two contests, the second-year player has thrown five interceptions compared to one lone touchdown. It would probably help if he had some receivers to throw to, though, as the team's number one receiver is Bobby Wade. Wade has caught 49 passes for 555 yards this year. A decent number three wide-out on any other team could post those numbers without much of a problem. This is where Minnesota is lacking and will continue to lack unless they do something to rectify it in the draft and in free agency.

The Vikings had a nice run, but there was a reason they started the season with a record of 3-5. They're a solid team, but they are not good enough to contend in the playoffs like many thought they could after they reeled off those five victories in a row.

Washington, on the other hand, seems like a club on a mission. After the death of Sean Taylor, the Redskins lost a heartbreaker to Buffalo, and their season appeared to be over. However, Washington didn't give in, not even after losing their starting quarterback Jason Campbell to a leg injury in the first half the following week against Chicago. Collins stepped in and led the 'Skins to victory. Washington then went on to beat the Giants in terrible weather conditions at the Meadowlands, putting them at 7-7 and in great position to make a playoff push. Clearly, they knew what was at stake Sunday night, as they did almost everything right in blowing the doors off of Minnesota (the score doesn't tell the story as to how one-sided the game was). They now control their own destiny; win next week against the Cowboys, and they're in as the sixth seed.

Give a lot of credit to Collins, who, after not starting a game in the NFL for 10 years, came in in week 14 to spark this ball-club. He threw two touchdowns against the Bears and despite going only 8-for-25 against New York, he didn't make any costly mistakes and did enough for the Redskins to win the game. Also remember that there were 40-50 MPH winds in Giants' Stadium. Collins then had what was the best game of his career against the Vikings, completing 22 of 29 passes for 254 yards and two scores.

I expect this trend to continue next Sunday.

Somehow, the Redskins will be playing January football.