Vikings at Redskins
THE STORY: After beating the Washington Redskins as interim coach late last season, Leslie Frazier said the win was “hopefully the start of great things to come.” This certainly isn’t what he had in mind. The woeful Minnesota Vikings will try to avoid a franchise-record seventh straight loss Saturday on the road against the Redskins, who are wrapping up another disappointing season. Frazier went 3-3 down the stretch in 2010 to earn the full-time job, but he could be looking for work soon. Minnesota needs to win its final two games to avoid the worst season in the franchise’s 51-year history. Minnesota has won four of the last six meetings. Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart each ran for a touchdown in last season’s 17-13 victory in Washington.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Redskins -6.5, O/U 44
ABOUT THE VIKINGS (2-12): Minnesota was torched for an astonishing 573 yards, including 412 through the air, in a 42-20 loss to New Orleans last week. The Vikings are now allowing a league-worst 29 points per game and the third-most passing yards (260.4 ypg). Minnesota eased Peterson back into the game plan against the Saints after he missed three weeks with a high ankle sprain. Peterson ran for 60 yards on 10 carries and is 68 yards shy of his fifth straight 1,000-yard season. Rookie QB Christian Ponder has regressed in recent weeks, but he has also been dealing with a hip pointer. Ponder was just 14 of 31 for just 120 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
ABOUT THE REDSKINS (5-9): Washington is wrapping up a third straight losing season, but you wouldn’t know it by its performance the last two weeks. The Redskins nearly upset New England before rolling to a 23-10 victory over a New York Giants team that had everything to play for. Rex Grossman threw a 20-yard touchdown, Graham Gano kicked three field goals and the defense intercepted Eli Manning three times. The most telling stat of the Redskins' season: That was the first game in which they won the turnover battle. Washington's minus-14 turnover margin is the worst in the NFL.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. The Redskins have committed at least one turnover in 27 straight games – the longest streak in the NFL.
2. "We might be down and out of it, but we still got something to play for. We're building something that will last longer than just this season.” – Redskins safety O.J. Atogwe.
3. The worst season in Vikings' history came in 1984, when Minnesota finished 3-13 in Les Steckel’s only season as head coach.