Vikings take control of NFC North
Case Keenum threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns, and the Vikings never trailed in a 30-23 victory over the Lions. Minnesota now owns a threegame lead in the NFC North.
DETROIT — Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit, dipped his right shoulder to slip out of a sack and shuffled his feet in the pocket to give his receivers more time to get open.
Looking like a savvy winner, instead of a journeyman, he picked apart Detroit’s defense with his arm and made plays with his legs to help the Minnesota Vikings beat the Lions 30-23 Thursday.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings a doubledigit lead and they went on to win a seventh straight game.
They took a huge step toward winning the NFC North by taking a threegame lead over the second-place Lions.
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 7-2 this season after going 9-15 with the Houston Texas and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams.
“I want to be great and I have confidence in myself that I can be great,” he said.
The Vikings signed him to be a backup and he has made the most of his opportunities with Sam Bradford injured and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from a knee injury.
Keenum was 21 of 30 for 282 yards with both TD passes going to Kyle Rudolph, giving the Vikings a 20-3 lead late in the second quarter.
“Case is amazing because he does so many small things to pick up first downs and keep drives alive,” Rudolph said.
Redskins beat Giants 20-10 in turkey of a Thanksgiving game
LANDOVER, MD. — Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to compensate for a pick6, and the Washington Redskins beat the New York Giants 20-10 on Thursday night on a drab field in a drab game between two injurydepleted teams that did not look ready for prime time.
The two NFC East rivals combined for more punts (nine) than points (six) in the first half, which ended 3-all on a pair of short field goals — from 30 yards by New York’s Aldrick Rosas, and 28 by Washington’s Nick Rose. The big play on Washington’s lone scoring “drive” of the half? A 37-yard flag for pass interference on New York’s Ross Cockrell; the entire possession covered 38 yards.
But Cousins led Washington (5-6) on two TD drives in the second half, connecting with Jamison Crowder on a 15-yarder in the third quarter that broke a 3-all tie, and with Josh Doctson on a 14-yarder with 3 ½ minutes remaining in the game.
In between, cornerback Janoris Jenkins intercepted Cousins’ pass and returned the ball 53 yards to make it 10-all.
That one play involved more yardage than Eli Manning and the Giants (2-9) generated in the entire second half. They gained 47 yards and one solitary first down.