While the Washington Redskins are looking for consistency, especially from Robert Griffin III, the Minnesota Vikings are hoping that they finally get a less than bad night from their quarterback, Christian Ponder, and that their awful losing streak ends at some point.
The Redskins haven’t won back-to-back games this season but at 3-5, coming off a win against the San Diego Chargers, the Vikings might present the best opportunity to begin a streak all season. Robert Griffin III hasn’t been able to run the ball as well as he did last season (257 yards, 49 carries), and that has hurt his passing performances. When Washington win, it’s been very hard to touch him, and he has completed 64.1% of his passes. During the two October losses, Griffin was only completing 49.3% of his passes, turning the ball over five times and being a lot easier to sack.
A big problem for him and the Redskins has been when their play-action doesn’t work. Those attempts drop by half in their losing efforts, and his completing percentage on such plays drops from the 70’s to 50.9%, while their yards per attempt are also cut in half. What’s been more consistent is fellow second-year player, Alfred Morris. The running back is averaging 5.2 yards per carry, leading all running backs this season. He’s averaging 97.5 yards over the last four games, scoring three touchdowns.
The Minnesota Vikings have lost their last four games, blowing a fourth quarter lead against the Dallas Cowboys last week. Christian Ponder was back under center, but he threw his sixth interception of the season and fumbled the ball while sacked in the end zone, leading to a Dallas touchdown.
Adrian Peterson had a big game against the Cowboys with 140 yards, and he hopes that this means things will be easier in the second half of the season, just like they were for him last year. He’s doing very well when teams load the box against him (6.1 yards per rush), and maybe against one of the worst defenses in the league, ranked 30th in total defense and 31st in points allowed, he’ll finally have two big games in a row this season.
Prediction – The Vikings played well against the Cowboys last week, a better team than Washington. Not falling for play-action calls, Christian Ponder might finally have a mistake-free games as the Vikings win for the second time this season.