Washington Commanders were held under 100 yards passing for the first time this season, falling 31-0 vs. Minnesota Vikings in arguably the most deflating loss of the 2025 season.
One week after the Minnesota Vikings were shutout, it was Washington's turn on Sunday after the Commanders were blown out, 31-0, to drop their record to 3-10. This comes after the Vikings themselves were shut out the previous week.
The Commanders were not the only team that saw their starting quarterback return, as JJ McCarthy came back from a concussion that caused him to miss next week’s game. Minnesota got the scoring started on an opening drive that took 7 plays to go 61 yards, finished off by an 18-yard touchdown pass from JJ McCarthy to Josh Oliver to go up 7-0.
The following kickoff saw the Commanders get the first penalty of the game, causing them to start at their own 15. Jayden Daniels’ first pass of the game went for 28 yards to Deebo Samuel, and led them down to a second-and-goal down at the two. Unfortunately, three straight incompletions led to a turnover on downs for the Commanders, with the last pass bouncing off of Samuel’s hands.
On the following drive, the Vikings took 12 minutes to go 98 yards in 19 plays to extend the lead 14-0 on a Jordan Mason touchdown run. They went a perfect 5 for 5 on third down, four of which were from six yards or further. During the drive, Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner moved into third all-time in tackles, only behind Ray Lewis and former Washington London Fletcher.
Washington would then go three-and-out, punting the ball right back to the Vikings. The Commander defense would have its first stop of the day, with Von Miller sacking McCarthy on a third-and-11. Minnesota then turned up the heat on the Washington offense, making Daniels uncomfortable with blitzes and forcing a punt.
On the first drive of the second half, a would-be three-and-out was offset by a pass interception penalty on Vikings’ cornerback Fabian Moreau. Later, 12 men of defense took away a Daniels’ fumble that would have set up Minnesota at the 30. But in the end, Minnesota would end up winning as Andrew Van Ginkel would get in front of a screen intended for Terry McLaurin, returning it 41 yards to the Washington 29. Daniels took a big hit on the return and landed hard on his injured elbow.
The defense then stepped up and only allowed Minnesota to get two yards, forcing a 45-yard field goal to extend the lead 17-0. The following Commander drive was led by Marcus Mariota while Daniels was getting his elbow looked at. Mariota was then intercepted by Vikings’ safety Harrison Smith. Four plays later, Josh Oliver would score his second touchdown of the day, the first multi-touchdown game of his career.
Things went from bad to worse on the following drive as an overthrown pass to Zach Ertz led to the tight end hurting his leg on a low hit by Jay Ward. He was taken out in the cart following the hit, and the Commanders punted two plays later.
TJ Hockenson put the final nail in the coffin on the day with a two-yard touchdown catch on fourth down, making it 31-0. Washington corner Jonathan Jones ended up getting hurt on the play.
The following Commander drive looked to be the one that finally got them on the board. However, a Mariota fumble recovered by Javon Hargrave put an end to that. That would, in turn, be the last drive for Washington, as the Vikings would run out the clock.
Takeaways from the loss:
Jayden Daniels Returns and Gets Hurt Again:
The return of Jayden Daniels was a cause for both celebration to see him playing and questions about whether it was worth bringing him back. The latter looked to be justified the whole game as he looked uncomfortable and ended up hurting his elbow for the third time in 2025.
Before taking the hit on the interception return, Daniels was 9-of-20 for 78 yards. One of the main problems for him all game was the rush from Minnesota. While he only took one sack on the day, the Vikings got consistent pressure and rarely allowed him to set his feet.
Now with Daniels injured again, the question becomes, should he sit the rest of the season as Washington is going nowhere fast?
The Vikings Offense vs the Washington Offense:
Minnesota’s first two drives went for 159 yards as they took control of the game from the very beginning. The biggest issue the Commanders’ defense had was getting off the field on third down. The Vikings converted six of seven third-down attempts, five of which came on a 19-play drive.
While the defense didn’t allow another conversion in the second half, the damage was done. JJ McCarthy looked comfortable all game and finished 16 of 23 for 169 yards and three touchdowns. The running game was also strong for the Vikings, finishing with 162 yards on 4.8 yards per carry.
Washington’s offense, meanwhile, could only muster two drives of over 20 yards, outside of garage time. Surprisingly, they did a good job on the ground game, rushing for 107 yards on 23 carries. But all of that was offset by their struggles to finish drives, starting with a turnover on downs at the two on their first drive of the game.
They would get back in the red zone to start the second half before an Andrew Van Ginkel interception on fourth down ended the drive with nothing to show for it. Those were the only times the Commanders ended up in the red zone, while the Vikings scored on all four of their red zone drives. Washington would also lose the turnover battle 3-0.
What's next for Washington?
Washington posted a season-low 206 yards and failed to eclipse 100 passing yards for the first time this season, while the offensive line allowed a season-high four sacks. Minnesota is expected to pose a challenge for Washington's offense with the Vikings among the best redbone and third down defenses in the league, but this was beyond that.
Three turnovers cemented a humiliating performance for Washington with now more questions than answers with four games left.
Head coach Dan Quinn admitted last week that the team took a step forward in a competitive loss - so what was Sunday's deflating loss vs. Minnesota?