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The 2025 Vikings played either their most- or second- or third-most complete football game of the season on Sunday to claim a 31-0 win over the Commanders.

Minnesota said last week it planned to streamline some of the offense, and it appears the effort led to cleaner execution and a fast start.

The 61-yard opening touchdown drive didn't require a third-down conversion. After a goal-line stand by Minnesota's defense, the offense drove 98 yards on 19 plays by converting three third downs.

The Vikings defense certainly enjoyed playing with a lead, and special teams provided a quick spark to open the game with a 35-yard kickoff return by Myles Price and remained solid throughout the day.

Andrew Van Ginkel tipped a pass to himself and returned it 40 yards, and Harrison Smith recorded his 38^th career interception, breaking a tie with Ring of Honor safety Joey Browner for the fourth-most in franchise history. Javon Hargrave was rewarded for his hustle, as well. The big interior defensive lineman forced a fumble he recovered along the Washington sideline.

Minnesota improved to 5-8 on the season, which isn't where the team hoped to be at this point, but the Vikings certainly appreciated positive outcomes against the Commanders (3-10).

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is now 34-4 when the Vikings finish the game at even or win the turnover battle (Minnesota was plus-3 on the day with three takeaways and no giveaways). That's a win percentage of .895.

I'm excited we get to start today's questions with a photo submitted by our first Mailbag entry.

My wife and I chose a great game for our annual pilgrimage to the "mother ship" of U.S. Bank Stadium. The atmosphere was amazing, as always, but it was made all the more special by the best and most complete all-around game by our Vikings this year. It was J.J. McCarthy's best game of his young career and so fun watching him throw the ball to multiple targets, have the run game working, and to sing the Vikings fight song so many times.

For the defense to put up a shutout was stellar. The interceptions and turnovers felt like true Vikings defense. This may end up being a "building" year in the history books, but today's game felt like the team we all know we can be.

Props to the entire Vikes staff who make attending a game one of the best experiences in premier sports.

— Tom Vander Well in Pella, Iowa

First off, amazing photo, and thanks for making the trek up I-35 to add to a really good atmosphere that is beyond what sometimes greets two teams that have had such disappointing seasons.

The game presentation team at U.S. Bank Stadium should be quite proud, as well as the faithful fans who have supported during challenging times that are not-to-frequent. That was the Vikings 50^th win in regular seasons at U.S. Bank Stadium. How about Anthony Barr sounding the Gjallarhorn in a Vikings Classic Harrison Smith jersey, by the way?

McCarthy started brilliantly, completing all four passes he tried for 46 yards, which was highlighted by the first of two touchdowns by Josh Oliver (his first multi-TD game).

Sunday marked the first time the Vikings scored a touchdown in every quarter since Dec. 8, 2024. It also was the first shutout since the 3-0 win at Las Vegas on Dec. 10, 2023. I don't really know what it is about this weekend, but the Vikings would like to generate similar performances by the offense and defense going forward and do so more frequently.

While no two NFL teams are ever the same from year to year, growth and development will be important down the backstretch.

Where has this offense been all season? This was our best all-around game of the season. The offense got several third-down conversions, put up 31 points, had strong execution, long sustained drives, excellent run-pass balance; so impressive. And the defense pitches a shutout with three turnovers to include two third-quarter interceptions; other than Washington's opening drive and the three third-down penalties resulting in gift first downs in the third quarter, the defense was just plain fantastic. I don't care if Washington was 3-9, the Vikings played great on both sides of the ball. Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game:

UPS:

1. Back-to-back outstanding offensive possessions to open the game: First, starting with a great kickoff return out to the 39. Then, a beautifully called and executed TD drive. Second, a 90-plus yard sustained drive with multiple third-down conversions during a well-called and executed offensive performance. The run-pass balance was great — the running game with Aaron Jones, Sr., and Jordan Mason was on point, as was J.J. McCarthy's passing game. Those two TD drives were just remarkable. Very nicely done.

2. The Vikings defense gets a three-and-out after our second TD. Followed by a beautiful defensive stop and forced punt at the end of the first half. Excellent defensive play to end the first half; especially given our porous defense on the first Washington drive.

3. The two third-quarter interceptions by the Vikings defense. First, Gink' off of Jayden Daniels and then Harrison Smith off Marcus Mariota. Followed by a beautiful short-field TD drive by J.J. McCarthy and the offense after the second interception. Those two interceptions just stole the entire third quarter from Washington. Just what the doctor ordered!

DOWNS:

1. The Vikings defense played as lousy on its first series as the offense played well on their first possession: leaving Terry McLaurin wide open, not tackling Deebo Samuel, letting them overcome first-and-20 and third-and-14, allowing yet another no-name running back to run all over and all through our defense? An uninspired and concerning defensive performance to open the game. Thank you to Deebo for dropping that fourth-down TD pass. So glad they righted the defensive ship for the remainder of the game.

2. Another weak finish to the first half by our offense. It looks like J.J. thinks his passes will go right through any defensive lineman. Avoiding batted passes is not a strength of J.J. McCarthy's.

3. Coach O'Connell just cannot seem to get out of his own stubborn way. Second-and-goal from inside the 3-yard line in the fourth quarter up 24-0 when we are running ALL OVER Washington, and he passes twice???? He puts J.J. McCarthy at-risk in a huge scrum at the goal line. The single poorest two-play sequence of the season. We are just running all over them in the fourth quarter, and he does that? I certainly hope he reflects on those two play calls from a decision making and judgment perspective.

This was a fun game to watch. Great bounce-back game for the team. Looking forward to the Cowboys already.

Respectfully,

— Jeff L.

I spent some time in the game observations story yesterday going over the five third-down conversions, which were incredibly impressive and key to driving 98 yards on 19 plays, the most plays by the Vikings on a possession since at least 2000.

It was nice to see the plan executed cleanly with what felt like more of an "all 11" feel than we've seen too many times this season. McCarthy played point guard, and he navigated some pressure and used his mobility, an aspect that almost disappeared for a couple of weeks. He also protected the football and himself during scrambles.

It's hard to imagine ever tiring of seeing Van Ginkel or Smith intercept the football.

Today was a case study in what might have been. The offensive line featured the five starters that fans have expected all year. Turnovers favored the Vikings. Bounces and chance went our way. A penalty on the Vikings was negated by a roughing call on Washington. How often does that happen? The opposition made mental and physical mistakes at critical times. All three phases played strong games and contributed to a convincing 31-0 domination.

And yet, kicker Will Reichard gave us his first 'hold your breath' kicks of the season. No misses but razor thin points. So many missed tackles. I've never seen a Vikings defense allow runners to slip through so many hand and arm tackles. Drops. Decent, catchable throws continue to uncharacteristically hit hands and then turf. Very atypical for a Keenan McCardell crew.

Regardless of mathematical formulae, this team is playing for pride, player development and evaluation for the future. Glad to see Ben Sims and Tai Felton get action in the pass game and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins see time on the defensive line.

Like many fans, I've started looking at the draft. I honestly don't see a single position that I would consider untouchable for a top draft pick. Even at offensive tackle, I can make a case for a developmental selection. Quarterback? I doubt a true blue-chip prospect will be available for Minnesota. But I certainly wouldn't turn down high-level competition at the position. The Vikings are due for a rich and productive rookie class in quality AND quantity. Fingers crossed.

Further, the Vikings appear to have a philosophical decision to make. Play to McCarthy's current strengths and rely heavily on the run while passing sparingly or cater to Justin Jefferson and work to manufacture ways to put the ball in his hands with runs being mostly a threat rather than a practice. I know the best approach is to take what a defense gives you in terms of mismatch opportunities, but a run-heavy offense will frustrate most top wide receivers. Stefon Diggs comes to mind.

Hopefully today's win calms the short-sighted calls for coaching overhauls. Good coaches are good coaches. They deserve the opportunity to weather storms. I maintain a head coaching change makes sense if the coach loses the locker room and players aren't listening to and are not playing for the head coach. I seriously doubt that's the case here.

This week, the Vikings are 1-0. It was fun. Let's do it again. On to Dallas.

Skol!

— Jeff in Sacramento, California

There's going to be so many mitigating factors for the Vikings to assess this offseason, and one of the largest ones will be the lack of health and continuity on the offensive line.

The "intended five" started (once the game got out of reach, the Vikings rested Christian Darrisaw) after missing the left side to open Week 13 at Seattle and dealing with the loss of center Ryan Kelly again at the Seahawks.

Minnesota is not mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, but we could exhaust quite a few wish lists for all that's needed for the Vikings to return to the playoffs.

Instead, the remaining games of this season are about trying to build belief and momentum that can be somehow carried over, despite the changes that will inevitably occur on the Vikings roster.

Part of that is McCarthy showing an ability to get the football to multiple options so that an opponent will have to decide if it wants to dedicate as much coverage in Jefferson's direction. Eight different Vikings caught at least one pass, which was good to see McCarthy get the ball out to others.

We will have plenty of time to discuss all things draft, so I'd rather not wade in that water/set my foot on the ice with that topic just yet.

The Vikings tried to get the ball to Jefferson and had a couple of opportunities in the second half, but unfortunately the protection didn't hold long enough for McCarthy to be able to set and fire (O'Connell said the QB was "moved off the spot" by pressure). Another target in the end zone was disrupted by pressure that arrived right as McCarthy was releasing the football. One or both of those plays click, and Jefferson's stats look different.

Jeff's last point about good coaches deserving the opportunity to work through challenges is stable during an era when instability is frequent.

Two evenly matched teams played with the guys in Purple controlling things both on offense and defense. Conservative on offense to be sure but necessary to help our young QB. Wish K.O. called a similar game last week, but no matter. We won, and that should help down the stretch.

Skol,

— Nicholas Balkou

The adjustments made by the Vikings proved beneficial. Minnesota was able to implement multiple different personnel groupings and keep the chains moving. It will be interesting to see what follows, especially with Dallas basically facing a must-win scenario for the Cowboys playoff hopes.

With all our offensive line problems, and even though we did OK, he was still pressured a lot against a not-very-good defense. Don't you think after watching Garrett Bradberry do good in New England and Ed Ingram doing good in Texas that we need to get an offensive line coach, considering our offensive line has been the problem for the most part. I believe Sam Darnold would still be here if we had an offensive line because he would've done good in those last two games of last year.

Thanks,

— Toby in Alaska

McCarthy was sacked four times for negative 12 yards (and hit a total of six times) but he protected the football at every turn.

I'll again point out that Minnesota's plan for its offensive line has rarely been able to be put into effect this season. It's one of the wildest runs for any position group in memory. The group is still working hard, and it would be good if the "intended five" can stay on the field to provide better assessments of that group, as well as McCarthy and other aspects of the offense.

As for things working out for Bradberry (in New England) and Ingram (with Houston), congrats to those guys. We see it every year where free agents wind up working out in a different environment, and that has generally been the case with players that have been brought in during the O'Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah tenure.

Darnold had an offer to stay and an opportunity he ultimately decided to pursue. The Seahawks have appreciated him, but Seattle's defense and run game have also played incredibly well.

I'm a big Vikings fan, and it was great to see the shutout win on Sunday. I feel like I'm nitpicking, but I can't understand why K.O. did not use a timeout at the end of the first half. Washington was definitely punting, and it would have given the Vikes a chance to possibly get a field goal before the half.

— Carl Jarvis

Minnesota could have used a timeout after a 1-yard tackle for loss of Samuel by Byron Murphy, Jr., but Washington had the ball on third-and-11 at its 45. A conversion on the following play might have put a field goal in play for the Commanders, or given this season, something worse could have happened.

Instead, O'Connell was content to take a 14-0 lead into the locker room, and I don't blame him. With Washington getting the ball to open the second half, it is pragmatic in that situation to avoid momentum shifting toward the Commanders.

According to Next Gen Stats, Minnesota's win probability at halftime (up 14-0) was 88 percent.

We are so pleased that Vikings won the game, and by a decisive score.

Four big positives:

Getting to a lead in the beginning, 14-0. That is so important, as all our losses have proven.

A much better game plan for J.J. McCarthy, going simpler and easier. Twenty-three passing plays and 34 rushing plays, which is a winning plan. That goes so far to build experience and confidence.

NO turnovers, again as the Vikings know, makes all the difference in winning a game, which is part of this game plan.

I for one wish Justin could catch more passes for many more yards; opponents key on him, therefore, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Josh Oliver, Aaron Jones and T.J. get free to win the game. He will get catches again.

That is all it takes, well not quite. A defense that still is one of the best in the NFL: three turnovers and three scores. We cannot praise them enough. How about Van Ginkel! Maybe, he could use a little more speed, ha! Don't we love him?

So on to the Cowboys. It can be a win even though it's in Dallas. Can't wait to see the game. Don't change this plan: four more wins and the Bears, Packers and Lions beat each other up, who knows.

SKOL

— Gill Sorg in New Mexico

The Vikings defense is quite a thing to see when it has the opportunity to play with a lead. Minnesota was able to dictate instead of trying to mitigate.

The balance began on the opening drive with three runs and four passes and continued throughout the game. Implementing simplicity helped the Vikings stay ahead of the chains and find a rhythm on offense.

I'll remind that the Vikings have won essentially eight of every nine games under O'Connell when finishing even or better in turnover margin.

There were multiple times I saw Jefferson supporting teammates after their catches, including grabs that he enabled by magnetizing multiple defenders toward him. He's an undisputed superstar and an even better teammate.

A healthy offensive line.

Balanced offense: running 162 and passing 151.

Good ball distribution: 8 different players had receptions.

We won the turnover battle 3-0

Only three penalties for 24 yards.

We won time of possession 34:52 to 25:08.

J.J. got rid of the ball quicker.

Let's take the momentum of a well-played game into next week's game.

— Gerald Goblirsch

That time of possession had to be a welcome sight for a Vikings defense that will now turn its attention to an explosive Dallas offense that will have extra days of rest after playing at Detroit on Thursday to open Week 14.

I'm interested to see if a Vikings team that has struggled to maintain momentum this season will be able sustain it for Sunday Night Football.

Another week having to watch a team giving up poorly timed turnovers, having to see a procession of quarterbacks under center, and failing to take points early on when they were there for the taking.

In better news, this week, it was the opposition who found new feet to shoot themselves in.

A 12-minute drive and some sensible play calls throughout. Boys, I knew you could do it.

Kind regards,

— Ian Bowden, The Southport Viking, United Kingdom

Washington ran seven times for 40 yards on its opening drive (including two scrambles by Daniels that netted 7 yards) and had nice balance on the way to the Minnesota 2-yard line before opting for three consecutive passes, including one with an offensive lineman running a route.

I really don't know why the Commanders didn't run the ball in that situation, but the Vikings were able to lock things down on those passes. Washington also probably felt pretty good about giving Minnesota the ball at its 2-yard line, despite the success of the first Vikings possession.

Before everyone crowns McCarthy as the next Fran Tarkenton, we need to remember that the Vikings just beat a team with 3 wins!!

That means that Washington is even worse the Vikings this season.

Savor the win, but don't get ahead of what the Vikings are.

Skol,

— John S.

I don't believe there's a rush for a coronation ceremony, but I do think it's OK to enjoy some good happening for a 22-year-old who has been attacked from multiple directions and highly scrutinized.

Tarkenton's storied career was worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but people mainly focus on his well-seasoned parts that included three appearances in Super Bowls in four seasons (his 13^th, 14^th and 16^th SEASONS!) or the NFL MVP he won in his 15^th NFL season.

Sure, this is a better roster than the expansion Vikings, but Minnesota went 4-19-1 in the starts Tarkenton made through his first two seasons, and his completion percentage (52.5) and TD-to-INT ratio was 40 to 42 from 1961-62.

The Vikings are 3-4 so far in McCarthy's seven starts, and that mark could have been 4-3 had members of the kickoff coverage team not freelanced against Chicago. His completion percentage is 56.0, and he's thrown nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions for a passer rating of 67.4, so there's room for improvement, but now there's some positive energy as he continues his work.

A big win over Washington was a really nice and needed victory. I'm sure it feels even better for K.O. and the team.

I just wanted to say that I've been hard in my criticism of J.J. McCarthy in past Mailbag submissions, so I wanted to acknowledge the improvement I saw today. This was a game well-managed by our QB. He made choices in his passing that, instead of trying to win the game on every throw, allowed a good football team and good players to go win the game with him. I thought he played within his skills range, sticking to solid perimeter passing and avoiding throwing grab balls into double coverage.

This also allowed the defense to stay fresh enough to put on an absolute clinic today. Amazing job by that entire unit. I recognize that Washington is not a premier team in the league this season, but this is the kind of result we should expect to see from a team as talented as Minnesota.

Decent QB play, fewer penalties, no turnovers, and our Vikings looked like the team we all thought we would see this season.

Enjoying the win. Skol!

— Mike in Arden Hills

McCarthy went 16-for-23 with three scores, no turnovers and a passer rating of 129.2. That's a completion percentage of 69.6. All those elements of passing can contribute to winning football games.

The young QB strikes me as one who is always going to be self-critical and determined to keep improving his game. I think that's a good explanation Mike has "instead of trying to win the game on every throw," because O'Connell has mentioned the power of completions, and the team was committed to finding those completions more than chasing explosives (although the Vikings nearly landed a few of those).

NGS calculated McCarthy's time to throw at 2.56 seconds, which was his quickest in any game this season by more than a quarter of a second. It sounds small, but that's gigantic. According to NGS, McCarthy completed 10 of 11 quick throws (under 2.5 seconds) for 85 yards and two touchdowns, a rating of 138.4 on such throws.

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