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The Washington Commanders were riding high heading into their Week 9 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, as they were on a surprising three-game win streak that had kept them somewhat afloat in the crowded NFC East. For a point in time, it seemed like the Commanders had a chance of pulling off a huge upset of the Vikings, but they came up just short, losing by a score of 20-17.
The Commanders actually controlled the action for much of this game despite falling behind 7-0 early in the day, and appeared on the verge of surprisingly extending their win streak to four for much of the afternoon. But the Vikings rallied late in the game and managed to push their record to 7-1, ensuring that Washington wouldn't walk away with a huge upset.
Now the Commanders are back to the drawing board after their latest disappointing loss, and their slim playoff hopes likely evaporated into thin air with this loss. Let's take a look at the three players most responsible for this loss, and see why their poor play could have been the difference between winning and losing this game.
3. Taylor Heinicke
Taylor Heinicke has had the Commanders looking much better ever since he began filling in for the injured Carson Wentz, and he actually was solid for much of this game. But he made a crucial mistake in the fourth quarter that allowed the Vikings to strut their way back into this game, and he failed to show up when Washington needed help closing this game out.
Heinicke's final line on the day was OK (15/28, 149 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 4 CAR, 17 YDS) but that interception he threw changed the tides of the game. The Commanders were up 17-10 when Heinicke sailed a throw to a wide open Curtis Samuel, and it ended up getting intercepted by Harrison Smith. Two plays later, the Vikings tied the game at 17.
Heinicke wasn't able to do anything on the ensuing drive, and Minnesota bled the clock out on their way to kicking the game-winning field goal. Heinicke did a good job at controlling the play early on, but his interception was a crucial mistake the Commanders couldn't overcome, earning him a spot on this list.
2. Cornelius Lucas
Cornelius Lucas was back in at right tackle for his fifth straight start, but after this outing, it might not be long until Sam Cosmi finds his way back into his starting job. Cosmi has been limited to special teams work over the past two weeks, but the Commanders may want to see if he can handle a full workload after Lucas' latest outing.
Lucas spent most of this contest acting as a turnstyle for the Vikings pass rush, as their top rushers in Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith were having loads of success getting by Lucas whenever they were matched up against him. Lucas allowed a crucial sack to Hunter shortly after Minnesota tied the game, which allowed the Vikings to get the ball back and bleed out the rest of the clock.
This is the second straight week in which Lucas has looked awful in pass protection, and the Commanders may want to see if they can get Cosmi more involved in Week 10. If Cosmi is deemed good enough to take on a bigger workload, it could mean a return to the bench for the veteran tackle Lucas.
1. John Ridgeway
John Ridgeway doesn't play much on defense for the Commanders, and he gets most of his action with Washington on special teams. That's exactly where Ridgeway was found making the biggest mistake of the game that cost Washington a final opportunity to win or tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal at the Commanders four-yard line, which Greg Joseph ended up hitting. But Ridgeway committed a foolish unnecessary roughness penalty that gave the Vikings a new set of downs, which they proceeded to use to milk the clock down to a mere 12 seconds left in the game. The Commanders offense had virtually no shot at getting themselves into field goal range as a result.
Had Ridgeway not committed his penalty, the Commanders would have had a minute and 52 seconds, along with one timeout, to tie or win the game. Instead, Ridgeway's penalty ensured that Minnesota could effectively end the game by running the ball three times and kicking a field goal from the same spot. Ridgeway didn't do much in this game, but what he did was bad and ended up costing Washington a shot to win this game, earning him a spot at the top of this list.
