Keenum's hot hand stymies Redskins
QB throws four TD passes; Vikings stretch winning streak to five.
Members of the Minnesota Vikings’ offense leapfrogged over each other, then
did the same to the Washington Redskins.
Case Keenum threw touchdowns to four different receiv
ers to build a big lead, and the NFC North-leading Vikings won their fifth in a row by beating the Redskins 38-30 Sunday despite two second-half interceptions.
With Teddy Bridgewater active for the first time since January 2016 after a devastating knee
injury, Keenum was 21 of 29 for 304 yards and TD passes to Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, David Morgan and Jarius Wright.
Mixing the good with the bad, Keenum was picked off on consecutive throws by D.J. Swearinger.
“Case played outstanding,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “I wish the two throws he had in the second half he would have not made. He’s an excitable guy and he needs to understand when are the good plays and bad plays sometimes.”
Thielen had eight catches for a season-high 166 yards, and the Vikings celebrated his TD by kneeling in a line the end zone while he
and Diggs leapfrogged over them. “We were just playing a little leapfrog, just taking it back to the playground,” Thielen said.
Latavius Murray also ran for a score as five players got into the
end zone for Minnesota (7-2), which was 8 of 12 on third downs.
The Vikings won their first game out of the bye week for the sec- ond time in eight seasons as they try to avoid a repeat of the swoon that cost them a playoff spot last season.
“This time around we just want to show that we’re a different team,” said Diggs, who had four catches for 78 yards. “We came back with a chip on our shoulders,
and we still got a lot to prove.” Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins had three TDs — two rushing and one passing — and was 26 of 45 for 327 yards with an interception. The Redskins (4-5) failed to build off an upset victory at Seattle and now find themselves on an uphill climb in the wild-card race.
“It seems like we’ve got this roller-coaster right now, where we’re up, down,” cornerback Josh Norman said after Washington allowed 406 yards and gained 394. “We’ve just got to get over that mark. And we will do that.”