The Washington Commanders‘ defense had a long afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings‘ offense, leading to the home side securing a 31-0 win on December 7 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Coming off a concussion, J.J. McCarthy went 16-for-23 on his pass attempts for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The second-year quarterback had no interceptions, keeping the Vikings turnover-free.
Washington’s defense did sack the second-year quarterback four times, but it wasn’t enough to rattle him and lead to turnovers, which he’s prone to during this stretch of rough play.
After the loss to Minnesota, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke to the media about his defense’s inability to stop the opposing offense.
“[The] skill group on that side of offense, it’s one that you don’t want to give up explosives and big ones to go hit that,” Quin said postgame. “So I was mindful of that, of what some of their receivers are capable of. I wanted to have the right balance. You can throw caution to it for sure.
“I thought a pressure with Quan [Martin] off the edge, the right space and still playing zone with it, which didn’t happen to nail it… When you don’t have the stops, it’s frustrating. So that’s what playing good defense is about in these situations.”
Commanders Couldn’t Stop the Vikings in the Red Zone
One issue the Commanders had on defense was their inability to stop the Minnesota offense in the red zone. Quinn noted that he was okay with the unit bending by giving up yards, but they had to stop them inside the 20. Nonetheless, that didn’t happen, as the Vikings went 4-for-4 in the red zone.
“In the past, we’d let up some, let them bleed, and then we got to the red zone, and we would make some stops. And so not getting those stops down the red zone, that’s huge… You let up some, but [if] you play good scoring defense, you can still win that way.
“Allowing the touchdowns in the red zone, that was the first in the three games. And so that one stings the most because no matter what, you got to get the field goal, get the stop, make them kick it, make them go for it into those spaces, and if you do, then you give yourself a shot.”
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Bounces Back
Sitting at 5-8, Minnesota hope the 22-year-old can finish the season strong and gain momentum heading into the 2026 NFL campaign. Following the commanding victory over the Commanders, head coach Kevin O’Connell discussed the factors that helped his quarterback perform well despite recent challenges.
“I think it was a combination of J.J.’s execution [and] staying efficient,” O’Connell said postgame. “We had some different looks early on in the game to try to change up some things we’ve done, either personnel-wise or schématically, and just try to get off to a fast start and then get a little momentum in the game, allow our defense to play with the lead, and eventually [and] force some turnovers.
“Then try to see if we can stack on that by just staying the course and protecting the football and playing smart. I do think the situational football is probably not going to be talked about but when you run the football efficiently, that’s great.”
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