Last Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings hit the lowest of lows in a thoroughly embarrassing loss to the Seattle Seahawks. On Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, they were just about as far away from that as they could possibly be.
J.J. McCarthy had, by far, the best game of his young NFL career, and the Minnesota Vikings defense forced multiple turnovers for the first time in weeks as a team that got shutout last week got a shutout of their own by blowing out the Washington Commanders at home by a final score of 31-0
On the opening possession of the game, the Vikings did something that they hadn’t done since their final possession of Week 11. . .put the football into the end zone. J.J. McCarthy looked sharp on the opening possession, completing all four of his passes, including an 18-yard touchdown strike to Josh Oliver to give the Vikings an early 7-0 lead.
It looked like the Commanders might have an immediate answer, as they pushed the ball down the field on their first possession and into a goal-to-go situation. They ultimately faced a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line, and Jayden Daniels fired a pass for Deebo Samuel in the end zone that Samuel couldn’t hold on to, with the incomplete pass forcing a turnover on downs.
Following the turnover on downs, the Vikings embarked on what might have been their most impressive drive of the season. They went 98 yards in 19 plays, taking over twelve minutes off the clock. They capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run from Jordan Mason to give themselves a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
That’s how they went into the locker room at halftime, with each team only having gotten three possessions in the first thirty minutes of play.
Coming out of the locker room, the Commanders pushed the ball down into the Minnesota red zone and found themselves facing a 4th-and-3 from the Minnesota 19-yard line. And then, Andrew Van Ginkel happened.
Van Ginkel returned the interception down to the Washington 30-yard line, and the Vikings turned the turnover into three more points, as Will Reichard connected on a 45-yard field goal to make it a three-possession game at 17-0 with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Marcus Mariota took over at quarterback for the Commanders after Daniels re-injured his elbow on the return of Van Ginkel’s interception. Mariota didn’t fare much better, as his second pass attempt was intercepted by the ageless one, Harrison Smith, who took the ball down to the Washington 37-yard line to put Minnesota into scoring position again.
Minnesota cashed in on the turnover, as McCarthy connected with Oliver for the second time on the afternoon. This one was a six-yarder and made it 24-0 with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Vikings added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter, as they had a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line and decided to go for it rather than settle for three points. McCarthy found another tight end, this time hitting T.J. Hockenson on a short pass and watching him pinball into the end zone for a 2-yard score to make it 31-0 with just over eleven minutes remaining in regulation.
The Vikings added one more turnover for good measure, as Van Ginkel forced a fumble from Mariota on a scramble midway through the fourth quarter, with Javon Hargrave falling on the loose ball for a fumble recovery.
After that, the Vikings picked up a few more first downs and then went into victory formation, snapping their four-game losing streak and giving themselves a much-needed morale boost going into their final four games of the season.
McCarthy might not have had the “sexiest” of stat lines, but it was the best game of his young career by some measure. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 163 yards, three touchdowns, and. . .most importantly. . .zero turnovers, making it the first start of his career where he did not turn the ball over.
This was the Vikings’ first shutout win since 2023, when they defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in that ugly 3-0 contest in Las Vegas. And, with their win today, the Vikings became the first team since the 1992 Denver Broncos to pitch a shutout of their own after getting shut out the previous week. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 30-0, before defeating the Cleveland Browns the next week, 12-0.
Next week, the Vikings will take to the road again, as they’ll head to Jerryworld to face the Dallas Cowboys in a game that, at least for the moment, is still scheduled for Sunday Night Football. The league will have until Monday to determine whether or not there is a more attractive option for them to move into that spot, but for now, the Vikings are still slated for prime time a week from now.
The Vikings have snapped their losing streak, blowing out the Washington Commanders in Week 14 NFL action by a score of 31-0 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!
See More:
