Flashback Friday: Vikings Beat Commanders in 2019
This Sunday, the surprising 6-1 Minnesota Vikings will travel to the nation’s capitol to face the 4-4 Washington Commanders. Minnesota is on a five-game winning streak and defeated the Arizona Cardinals at home 34-26 last week, while Washington is on a three-game winning streak and defeated the Indianapolis Colts on the road 17-16 in their last game.
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Minnesota is 14-13 all-time against Washington, including winning the past two matchups against them. During all those games, they were known by a different name.
With the exception of week one at home against the Green Bay Packers, all of Minnesota’s wins have come by eight points or less. Sure, they have not been very good wins but wins nonetheless. Vikings fans have to wonder, though, how many more nerve-wracking games they can deal with the rest of the way.
This is another very winnable game for Minnesota.
The last time these two teams faced each other came in 2019 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota won 19-9.
Kirk Cousins went 23/26 for 285 yards in his first game against his former team. Dalvin Cook rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. He also had five receptions for 73 yards. Stefon Diggs caught seven passes for 143 yards.
“It just shows how we can pull a win out. We’ve got a team that can go out and keep battling and keep fighting,” Cook said. “That shows you the toughness that’s in this group.”
For Washington, Case Keenum went 12/16 for 130 yards in his first game against his former team. Vikings all-time leading rusher Adrian Peterson ran for 76 yards on 14 carries. He passed Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomlinson to reach sixth on the all-time rushing list.
Peterson received cheers from the fans that rooted for him during his 10 seasons in purple.
“It was bittersweet because you come here to win a game,” said Peterson, who played for the Vikings for 10 seasons from 2007-16. “Just coming back and seeing the love that they still have for me and they showed, it felt good. It was definitely a great home welcome. They welcomed me with open arms and just showed the love that they have and have for over a decade. So, it was a special moment. I had to hold tears back, to be honest with you.”
With the victory, Minnesota improved to 6-2 on the season, and Washington fell to 1-7. Minnesota finished the season at 10-6, while Washington finished at 3-13.
Given this is a road game, it will not be an easy game for Minnesota. Very winnable, yes, but it certainly will not be easy. Every game this year outside of week one has shown to not be easy for them. In the end, a win would improve their record to 7-1.
They last had that record in 2009 when they made it to the NFC Championship Game. In 1998 and 2000, they also started 7-1 and advanced to the title game in those seasons. It is still early, but maybe they will go that far again if they keep racking up more wins. The NFC is very wide open.
The Green Bay Packers were considered by many to be the favorites to win the North for the fourth consecutive season. They are currently 3-5. A Vikings win would put even more pressure on their biggest rival.
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