The Vikings Week 9 Win over Washington Looks Impressive Now
Josh Frey
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If we went back in time to about 2 PM Central time on Sunday, November 6th, 2022, we’d see a lot of Vikings fans frantically panicking that their favorite team was trailing to the Washington Commanders by a score of 17-7 early in the fourth quarter. However, flash forward about three weeks later, and that Vikings Week 9 win over Washington, in which they overcame that double-digit deficit, looks rather impressive.
The most standout stat that supports this is the Commanders record since Taylor Heinicke took over at QB. Washington his 5-1 in his six starts during 2022, and overall, they are 6-1 since Week 6. The sole loss during this time frame came against the Vikings. Here are the teams they beat in that time:
- Week 6: Chicago Bears
- Week 7: Green Bay Packers
- Week 8: Indianapolis Colts
- Week 10: Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 11: Houston Texans
- Week 12: Atlanta Falcons
The standout team among this grouping is, of course, the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly sits at 10-1 on the season after beating the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football this weekend, and their only loss of 2022 came against these Commanders.
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The biggest reason behind this stretch of success for Washington has been their defense. During this seven-game stretch where they’ve gone 6-1, the Commanders have not allowed more than 21 points in a game, and they’ve held opponents to 16 or fewer in four of the games.
In fact, opponents are averaging just 14.1 points per game during this stretch. The Vikings scored 13 points against this defense in the fourth quarter alone.
The performance from Kirk Cousins in particular in that Week 9 win continues to look more and more impressive. During this seven-game stretch, Washington has allowed fewer than 200 passing yards in six of them. The only QB to surpass this mark? That’s right, it’s Kirko. It’s not Aaron Rodgers. It’s not Jalen Hurts. It’s the goody dad that dons chains on the plane ride home.
Cousins passed for 265 yards, and taking sacks into account, the Vikings finished the day with 245 passing yards. He also capped off the day with a game-winning drive, resulting in a Greg Joseph 28-yard field goal with just 12 seconds remaining.
Since this Vikings win, the Commanders have gone on to win three consecutive games, outscoring their opponents by a margin of 74-44. Anytime an NFL team gets a road win, it should be considered an impressive feat. However, this Vikings win is particularly impressive because it came against one of the best passing defenses in the entire league, and they broke up what would have been a seven-game winning streak.
This game is one that the 2020 and 2021 Vikings likely would have lost, and it just goes to show how great this group has been. Hopefully they can keep the good times rolling against the New York Jets this weekend.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.