Not to go the route of revisionist-history, the Purple were a PI by one of the officials away from finally getting another double-digit win. Maybe Washington would have scored on that drive even if the play had not gone the way that it did, we'll never know. How it unfolded was one of the worst mistakes ever seen on the pro field. It did go to show once again how narrow a margin the team is playing with and also how close they are to having some comfort in victory. They will need to be several weeks better if they want to put loss number three on Buffalo but they can head to New York with the assurance that regardless of that outcome they will be at-worst tied for the second best record in the League.
That's a week away but there's plenty more to talk about from win #7.
The three-headed-monster of Jefferson, Hockenson & Thielenson (because he's MN's favorite son) did not disappoint in their debut together. If this is the sort of production we get from the Iowa TE the rest of the season then Detroit gave us a gift that the Battery Bunny would not be able to keep up with! 9 catches with just under 8 yards/catch is something we haven't seen since maybe Shiancoe in 08 (56/566/11). Kyle Rudolph was a good contributor but it already seems like Hockenson will bring more juice than Rudy did.
Through one week the loser of that deal, aside from Detroit, appears to be K.J. Osborn as his stat line was zeroes across the board. They will need him for some plays before the season's done but the message is pretty clear that he's an also-ran now.
That will be all the more true if the Dalvin Cook & Alexander Mattison get prior amounts of work over the remaining weeks of the season. A.M. was a non-factor and Cook didn't get a heavy workload but still managed one of the best touchdown catches you'll see.
Along the way Thielen notched his 500th catch, joining Moss & Carter as the only ones to do it in the jersey. He was joining in the record book by his long-time teammate Harrison Smith who started the day setting a franchise record for most starts by a safety. Only fitting that he would make the momentum-shifting play and set a new personal-best in his illustrious career with his third straight INT for the first time.
The offense wasn't done making their marks as Cousins surpassed Culpepper with his 136th touchdown pass. 160 will put him in second place, just above Tommy Kramer, while it would take at least one more season for him to eclipse Tarkenton for most in franchise history. His top target (13) kept pace with the best catchers in the game as Jefferson ripped-off his fourth 40-yard reception of the season.
Danielle Hunter, Za'Darius Smith & Akayleb Evans didn't hit those sorts of notes, though the QB Hunter has the longevity to start reaching the same kind of rarified air in the franchises history, but each were instrumental in limiting Washington to 17 points and just three in the first half. It was an all-around sound defensive effort which at the outset looked like it was going to be one of the best we've seen in several years. If they can hit the same sorts of high-notes going forward without the drop-off that followed then getting into the playoffs & advancing is much closer to a certainty!
It helps when the two inside linebackers combine for 21 tackles and a pair of PBUs by Jordan Hicks. KO Said he brought Donatell in because of the difficulty the defense presents and that has certainly begun to present itself! As was said above, the whole team will need to continue the upward trajectory of recent weeks and get dramatically better by next Sunday. Even if that doesn't happen though, today showed that there is reason to believe the trip to Wing City won't be a repeat of the Philly flop. If they do pull off the win next Sunday they would potentially, maybe certainly, tie Kansas City's 2020 team for the most consecutive one-score wins in League history.
They've gotten themselves to a spot where even after a loss they would still have the second best record in the League which is pretty magnificent! The big picture is what counts so don't lose sight of that this time 168 hours from now.
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