Minnesota Vikings at Washington Redskins: Second Quarter Open Thread

To get things started at FedEx Field on this NFL Sunday, the Washington Redskins won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Minnesota Vikings the first shot on offense. Dustin Hopkins launched it deep towards Cordarrelle Patterson, but it went through the end zone for a touchback. The Vikings did something they can ill afford to do at this point, starting with a three-and-out. Jeff Locke came on for his first punt of the afternoon, and he got away a short punt, giving the Redskins possession at their own 32 to start their first drive.

Washington got things going quickly on offense, as Kirk Cousins found Jamison Crowder for a 12-yard gain, and then a big 25-yard completion to tight end Jordan Reed, moving the home team into Minnesota territory at the 31. A couple of run plays pushed the Redskins down to the 20-yard line, and Washington was humming right along. Three plays later, the Redskins found themselves looking at first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, and finished things off with a four-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Jamison Crowder. Hopkins connected on the extra point, and the home team was quickly out to a 7-0 lead.

The next kickoff from Hopkins also resulted in a touchback, so the Vikings started at their own 25-yard line. Minnesota got themselves a first down on two touches by Jerick McKinnon, a 4-yard carry and a 12-yard pass from Sam Bradford. Then a run by Ronnie Hillman lost six yards on the subsequent first down, but Bradford found Kyle Rudolph for a big 20-yard connection into Washington territory at the 45. So, naturally, the play after that was a penalty on the Vikings, as Joe Berger was called for holding after a nice run by Hillman. Things stalled out from there, as the Vikings had to call on Locke for the second time in the quarter. Locke did his job, putting one downfield that the Redskins had to fair catch at their own 9-yard line.

Cousins started the drive by finding Vernon Davis. . .yes, that Vernon Davis. . .for a first down for Washington to their own 24-yard line. Cousins then found Davis again for 15 more yards to the 39, and the Redskins were rolling again. Two plays later, the home team had another first down at the midfield stripe. As we move to the second quarter of play, the Redskins are looking at a 3rd-and-6 from the Minnesota 46-yard line.

Fifteen minutes of football from D.C. in the books, ladies and gentlemen, and the Vikings find themselves trailing the Redskins by a score of 7-0. Can this team finally turn things around?