Washington Redskins At Minnesota Vikings: Fourth Quarter Open Thread

The Washington Redskins got the ball to start the second half. And, once again, the Minnesota Vikings' defense offered up basically zero resistance. Kevin Williams even managed a sack of Robert Griffin III, but it went for naught as the Redskins converted the ensuing 3rd-and-15 with a 30-yard pass. That pushed the Redskins' total to 9-of-10 on third downs. However, the Vikings finally got a stop on a third down to "drop" them to 9-of-11, and the Redskins had to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Kai Forbath to increase their lead to 27-14.

So, the Vikings got the ball back, as the Redskins again avoided kicking to Cordarrelle Patterson, and Minnesota attempted to get something going. Christian Ponder and company moved the ball down the field, with a couple of nice passes keeping the chains moving for Minnesota. Then, Ponder faked a handoff to Adrian Peterson, rolled to his left, and found John Carlson. . .yes, John Carlson. . .for a 28-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch, and the Blair Walsh extra point made the score 27-21 in favor of the Redskins.

So, the Redskins got the ball back, and the Vikings' defense. . .forced a punt!? Why yes, yes, they actually forced a punt. I know, I couldn't believe it, either. Marcus Sherels got a very nice return on the punt, and another personal foul penalty on the Redskins moved the ball into Washington territory at the 41-yard line.

The Vikings got the ball back, and on a third down play, Ponder found Jarius Wright for a big play into the Washington red zone. From there, Ponder rolled out to his left, and seeing nothing open, took off for the end zone. He took a big hit from a Redskins player, and fumbled out of bounds at the 1-foot line. Ponder also injured his arm on the play. Matt Cassel came in at quarterback, and executed a brilliant handoff to Adrian Peterson, to coasted in from the 1-yard line. Blair Walsh hit the extra point, and the Vikings had the lead back at 28-27.

Ponder was tossing the ball on the sidelines after the injury, but now has gone back to the locker room, likely for x-rays. He has been ruled out of tonight's game with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury.

That's where we stand as we head to the fourth quarter of play. The Redskins have a 2nd-and-2 at their own 28-yard line as we start the fourth quarter of play.

Can the Vikings hold on to win this one? There's fifteen minutes left to find out!