It wasn’t the fireworks display they had put on the three previous games, but the Minnesota Vikings provided enough spark to outshine the duds from Washington for a fourth straight victory.
Without Pro Bowl wideout Adam Thielen, Minnesota moved the chains, never punted, but rarely exploded in a 19-9 win to improve to 6-2 and dump DC to 1-7 on Thursday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Vikings had scored 28, 38, and 42 points in wins over the Giants, Eagles, and Lions the last three weeks.
“We couldn’t really find our rhythm,” Cook said. “Short week. Quick turnaround. But that’s the NFL, I guess. You gotta be ready to go. We got the ‘W’ and that’s the most important thing.”
While the Vikings’ stars beyond Thielen shined on the stat sheet, a littany of offensive penalties made the end zone a difficult place to reach as Minnesota settled for four goals from Dan Bailey while the defense rendered punchless Washington quarterbacks Case Keenum — who left the game midway with a concussion scare and never returned — and rookie Dwayne Haskins.
Dalvin Cook gained 171 total yards — 98 ruhsing (on 23 carries) and 73 receiving — and scored the Vikings’ only touchdown just before halftime for a 13-6 locker room lead. He leads the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns (8) halfway through the slate.
Beating but not quite torching his former team who wouldn’t make a long-term, big-money commitment to him after 2017, Kirk Cousins — the league’s highest-rated passer — set the Vikings’ all-time record by completing 88 percent of his pass (23-for-26) for 285 yards and a 112.3 rating. He came in as the first-ever NFL quarterback to throw for 300 yards and record at least a 130 passer rating (out of a perfect 158.3) in three straight games.
Stefon Diggs shouldered the receiving load without Thielen, catching 7 passes 143 yards to become the first Viking since Randy Moss in 2001 to post three consecutive 125-yard receiving games, and the first in the NFL to go over 140 yards back-to-back-to-back since 2015.
“I felt like I left some out there,” said Diggs on the NFL Network’s postgame show.
Playing in U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time since completing the 60-yard walkoff “miracle” touchdown to Diggs in a 2017 NFC divisional playoff win for the Vikings, Keenum used his usual dose of handoffs to Adrian Peterson and short screen passes to keep Washington in striking distance, but DC never actually struck.
Keenum finished 12-for-16 for 130 yards and a rating of 89.4.
Rookie Haskins was 3-for-5 for 33 yards and a 40.0 rating, and his fourth quarter interception to Anthony Harris with Washington trailing 16-9 and taking over at Minnesota’s 32 after a failed Cousins sneak on fourth down thwarted any hopes of a road win.
Adrian Peterson thrashed for 76 yards on 14 carries but was not fed in the red zone, as Washington failed to score a touchdown for the second consecutive game.
The Vikings’ all-time leading rusher, who at times was all the offense Minnesota could muster during his 10 seasons there from 2007-16, surpassed both Jerome Bettis and LaDanian Tomlinson on the NFL’s career rushing list and moved to No. 6.
Most of the remaining fans in the sellout crowd of 66,000+ gave Peterson a standing ovation late in the game after it was announced he had reached that mark, and Peterson gave a heartfelt wave back. Later, he hugged and posed for pictures with former teammates like Diggs, Everson Griffen, and C.J. Ham.
It was a sentimental but offensively sedated night, but Minnesota is 6-2 and just half-game back of the Packers for the NFC North lead. The Vikings came in ranked among the Top 6 in the NFL in total yards and scoring — both on offense and defense.
The completeness of how they are winning provoked NFLN analyst and former Panthers Pro Bowl wideout Steve Smith to proclaim the 2019 Vikings a better team than the one that went 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship game under Keenum two years ago, with his “Minneapolis Miracle” to Diggs serving as the signature moment.
Sitting next to Cousins, who the Vikings opted to pay a guaranteed $84 million instead of saving a bundle on keeping Keenum, Diggs was asked on the NFL set if he felt the same way as Smith.
“I ain’t taking it there,” Diggs said. “What I will say is, we do have a good group of guys and we’re led by a good quarterback. He does everything right, and when you say we’re taking it one week at a time (and not looking ahead), it starts with our quarterback.”
