First off, thanks to everyone that came to the Game Threads to hang out and converse while the Vikings and Redskins were doing battle today. It might not have been the most exciting game in Vikings' history, but after the season we've been through thus far and in the first game of the Leslie Frazier era, it was nice to see the Beloved Purple walk away with the team's first road victory in 393 days (dating back to 1 November of 2009). They did it by playing (mostly) solid defense, and getting some solid performances from a couple of unexpected sources.
There were a few things that I tossed out in the Game Threads that I thought could start some conversation, as well as a few things I've found in various places since the game finished. No real order to any of these or anything, just as I find them again or as they pop into my head.
-The touchdown Adrian Peterson scored on the Vikings' first drive was the 50th touchdown of his career. He has 48 rushing touchdowns, and two receiving scores. His 48 rushing touchdowns already put him into third place all-time in Vikings history, behind only Bill Brown and Chuck Foreman, each of whom have 52.
-The game-sealing scramble by Brett Favre covered 10 yards of ground. In his previous 26 games with the Vikings, he had rushed for a grand total of. . .six yards.
-Favre's scramble was one of only two rushes in the entire game that covered double-digit yardage. Adrian Peterson's first carry of the second quarter was the longest of the game, as it went for 14 yards.
-Toby Gerhart, who filled in for Peterson after his ankle injury, didn't have a run longer than six yards. . .nobody in a Washington uniform had a run longer than four on the afternoon. But while Gerhart didn't have a run of longer than six yards, he gained at least four yards on 13 of his 22 carries on the afternoon. That's some pretty decent consistency.
-This was the first time all season that the Vikings went for the entire game without turning the ball over. . .and hey, what do you know, they won. Weird how that works, huh?
-Something else that tends to help is getting off to a fast start, and the Vikings scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game for the first time all season. In fact, the Vikings only trailed today for three minutes and 46 seconds. . .the amount of time it took to answer the Redskins' opening drive touchdown with Peterson's five-yard rush touchdown.
-Toby Gerhart's performance today is almost certainly connected to the fact that he spoke with Eric at a Twin Cities Cub Foods location this past week. Unlike Anthony Herrera blowing out his knee not long after speaking with Eric, as those two events are in no way, shape, or form even remotely close to being connectable.
-Leslie Frazier got his first career victory as an NFL head coach today at FedEx Field. Four and a half years ago on a Monday night, Brad Childress got his first career victory as an NFL head coach at. . .FedEx Field.
And there you have it. . .a few random things from this afternoon's game. If you have other things you want to add or stuff that you heard about this afternoon's game that I missed, feel free to add them in the comments section.