Redskins 38, Vikings 26
LANDOVER, Md. -- The Washington Redskins were down three scores and had been outgained by a whopping 141 yards.
But sensational rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III and the Redskins quickly recovered, scoring the next 24 points while outgaining the Vikings by 224 yards en route to winning 38-26 on Sunday.
Washington improved to 3-3 in ending its home losing streak at eight while dropping surprising Minnesota to 4-2.
Griffin completed 17 of 22 passes for 182 yards with a touchdown, and ran 13 times for 138 yards with two scores. Seventy-six of those yards came on a touchdown run with 2:43 left that clinched the victory on a third-and-7 after the Vikings had closed with 31-26.
The Redskins were leading 24-12 early in the fourth quarter when Minnesota quarterback Christian Ponder threw wildly under pressure on third-and-7 at his 22. Ex-Vikings safety Madieu Williams intercepted and bobbed and weaved 24 yards to the end zone with 12:40 remaining. The touchdown was the fourth by Washington's defense this season, its most since 1999 -- the Redskins' last NFC East championship season.
Minnesota drove inside the Washington 10 on its first three possessions, but settled each time for short field goals by rookie Blair Walsh, failures to reach the end zone that would prove very costly.
The Redskins made it 9-3 with 10:51 left in the second quarter on a 50-yard field goal by Kai Forbath, the first NFL attempt by the franchise's 19th kicker in 18 years.
After being backed up to their own 7 on its next possession, Washington drove 90 yards in 11 plays. Passes to Alfred Morris and Santana Moss got the Redskins out of the hole and Moss' 30-yard catch-and-run put them on the Minnesota 20. A personal foul on the Vikings' Erin Henderson moved the ball to the 7 and, three plays later, Morris scored from the 1 to put Washington up 10-9.
The ball slipped out of Ponder's hands on the Vikings' next play. Lorenzo Alexander recovered for the Redskins, who immediately extended their lead on a 6-yard toss from Griffin to fullback Darrel Young with 2:14 left in the half.
Washington's momentum continued after halftime as Griffin ran for 25 yards on a 10-play, 80-yard march -- aided by consecutive penalties on Minnesota's Harrison Smith -- that ended with his 7-yard touchdown burst.
The Vikings responded with yet another Walsh field goal, a 37-yarder. Minnesota finally scored a touchdown with 8:02 remaining on a 9-yard pass from Ponder to Michael Jenkins. A 2-point toss to Kyle Rudolph followed. An eight-play, 67-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard Ponder to Rudolph touchdown and a failed 2-point toss to the tight end closed the gap to 31-26 with 3:36 remaining.
Notes: Pierre Garcon, whom Washington signed from Indianapolis to be its No. 1 receiver, was inactive for the third time in six games after aggravating his right foot injury during Friday's practice. ... Receiver Jerome Simpson was inactive for Minnesota with weakness and numbness in his left leg that occurred last week. ... The first 19 points were scored by players who are NFL newcomers in 2012: Morris, Forbath and Walsh.
