Minnesota Vikings: Five takeaways from victory over the Washington Redskins

The Minnesota Vikings came away with a 38-30 victory over the Washington Redskins. What did we learn from the huge road win?

Behind a career day from Case Keenum, the Minnesota Vikings went to 7-2 on the season by defeating the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Specifically, Keenum threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, all to different receivers, leading the Vikings offense to 406 total yards against a solid Redskins defense.

The Vikings quarterback didn’t do it alone though. Wideouts Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs were open countless times throughout the game. In result, Thielen had eight catches for 166 yards and a touchdown, while Diggs grabbed four balls for 78 yards and a touchdown. Latavius Murray also was a bright spot on the offense rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

On the other side of the ball, the defense struggled against Kirk Cousins and the Redskins offense, but they came through at important times in the game. In particular, Mackensie Alexander came down with an interception that turned into a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the second quarter, giving the Vikings a 28-17 lead at halftime. Additionally, they stopped Washington twice on downs in the second half, drastically hurting the Redskins’ chances of a comeback.

Overall, the victory keeps Minnesota in the lead of the NFC North by two games over the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. They are also in a three-way tie for second in the conference with the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. The former they beat in Week 1, but they welcome the Rams to town next weekend in a matchup with potential playoff implications down the road.

Standings aside, let’s take a look at a few of the other takeaways from the win over the Redskins, starting with the offense!