Washington Redskins vs. Minnesota Vikings: Breaking Down Washington's Game Plan

Any game plan for besting the Minnesota Vikings has to begin with shutting down star running back Adrian Peterson. But that is not the only challenge facing the Washington Redskins on Thursday Night Football.

Mike Shanahan's team must also contend with a dangerous rookie return ace. They also need a plan to nullify a rotation of destructive defensive ends led by stellar veteran Jared Allen.

Defense: Committing Resources to Stopping Peterson

Limiting Peterson's ability to take over the game demands a commitment of most of the defense's resources. That means eight-man fronts and adjusting personnel to counter Minnesota's run-heavy sets.

A great example of that theory in practice was provided by Washington's NFC East rivals the New York Giants in Week 7.

On this play from the first quarter, the Giants showed an eight-man front. They flanked both sides of their four-man defensive line with outside linebacker Keith Rivers and safety Ryan Mundy.

The Giants also rolled both of their cornerbacks up close on the Vikings wide receivers. This essentially gave them eight men across the front and 10 defenders in total in the box.

The next step was to attack the inside, which is where Peterson is most dangerous. The key here was for defensive end Justin Tuck to stunt inside the right tackle. That put him in position to meet Peterson in the hole.

Just as important, was how the Giants targeted fullback Jerome Felton. Outside linebacker Keith Rivers took him on at the point of attack.

That left Peterson boxed in by Tuck on the inside and Mundy covering the outside. He was dropped by the pair for a three-yard loss.

Later in the fourth quarter, the Giants again stacked their front to deny Peterson room inside. Again Big Blue relied on eight men in the box.

They positioned linebacker Spencer Paysinger in between the defensive tackles, while Mundy again joined the edge of the line. Both cornerbacks stayed rolled up on the receivers to complete another 10-man front.

The key to stopping the play was once more attacking fullback Felton. Paysinger would execute a run blitz through the middle, while Tuck would make another inside twist.

With Paysinger disrupting the interior of Minnesota's O-line and Tuck meeting Felton in the hole, Peterson was denied the middle and forced sideways to the outside.

That is where he was met by cornerback Trumaine McBride and tripped for no gain.

These two plays showed the essential keys to containing Peterson. A defense has to first key the fullback and then deny Peterson room inside and string plays out toward the sideline.

Washington's 3-4 scheme actually makes them ideally suited to achieve this. The approach will apply pressure on the cornerbacks to make tackles.

Rookie David Amerson has the frame for that job, while Josh Wilson and DeAngelo Hall's experience playing in the slot should also prove useful.

But just loading up the box with base personnel won't be enough for Washington's 22nd-ranked rush defense. It will take some creative personnel use from coordinator Jim Haslett.

A play from the second quarter in the Giants game provided an example of some of the things Haslett could do. The Vikings supplemented their offensive front with two tight ends and kept Felton in the game as a lead blocker.

The Giants responded with an alignment that featured three defensive tackles and five linebackers.

They put three of those linebackers on the tight end side of the formation and used the tackles to cover up both guards and the center.

Peterson ran away from the three linebackers on the edge. But with the defensive tackles locking up the interior, the two inside linebackers were free to take on Felton and swarm on Peterson.

Middle 'backer Jon Beason and defensive tackle Mike Patterson stopped Peterson for a one-yard loss.

Haslett can do similar things to commit to negating Peterson. He can certainly keep both outside linebackers, Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, on the line.

Haslett could also swap out an inside linebacker for an extra defensive lineman, giving the defense a bigger, run-stopping front.

Committing so many to stopping the run may leave the Redskins vulnerable to the pass. But that is a chance Haslett's unit has to take.

Because although the Vikings have other weapons, they won't win if Peterson is contained. The main priority has to be eliminating any big runs.

Sudden big gains is what sets Peterson apart. In his three best games this season, Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys, big runs padded Peterson's rushing numbers.

Against the Lions, 78 of his 93 yards came on one carry. Against the Steelers, 60 of his 140 came on one carry, while he managed 80 yards on 22 other attempts.

Against the Cowboys, Peterson produced a 52-yard gain on one carry. He tallied 88 yards on 24 other carries.

Contrast that with the Giants game, where Big Blue held him to a mere 2.2 yards per carry and a long run of just eight yards. Both are season-low marks, and Washington must do the same to eliminate Peterson's big-play potential.

Offense: Control Prolific Pass-Rushers on the Edge

One of the reasons Washington's offense put 30 points on the San Diego Chargers in Week 9 was the Chargers' lack of premier edge pass-rushers.

But the Vikings pose a different challenge, as they boast three dangerous playmakers on the edge. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has to account for defensive ends Allen, Brian Robison and Everson Griffen.

All three can cause havoc for an offense, as they demonstrated in Week 9 against the Cowboys. They got to quarterback Tony Romo on back-to-back plays in the second quarter.

On the first of those plays, Allen would run a stunt with defensive tackle Letroy Guion.

Allen would crash inside, while Guion looped around him. On the other side, Robison would take a wide angle rush around the the right tackle.

Once they attacked their pass-rush lanes, Allen and Robison helped collapse the pocket and trap Romo. Robison would sack him for a nine-yard loss.

On the following play, the Vikings freshened up their front. They brought in Griffen (97) and veteran Kevin Williams (93) as 3-technique defensive tackles.

This time ends Allen and Robison would swap responsibilities. Allen would take the wide rush path, while Robison would stunt across the face of the right tackle.

Once the ball was snapped, Williams and Griffen crushed the pocket from the inside. That let Allen and Robison trap Romo, and Robison soon converged on him for another sack.

Countering versatile pass-rushers like this won't be easy. Shanahan would be smart to use some balanced lines with two tight ends to help offensive tackles Trent Williams and Tyler Polumbus on the edge.

I would also expect the Redskins to use more read-option plays. These carefully-crafted deceptions often exploit overly aggressive defensive ends.

The offense was successful with these plays against the Chargers, as The Washington Post's Mike Jones noted:

"

The Redskins again broke out the option attack against the Chargers, but they added a twist, using the triple option to keep their opponents off balance.

Three times Washington went to the triple option — first on Washington’s third offensive play when Griffin drew safety Eric Weddle to him and then pitched to tight end Jordan Reed, who had come in motion, set up in the backfield and proceeded to pick up 18 yards on the play.

In the third quarter, the Redskins went back to the play, but this time using slot receiver Santana Moss, who trailed Griffin as he rolled out to the right, drew safety Marcus Gilchrist to him and then pitched to Moss, who also picked up 18 yards on his run.

"

Additional creativity and daring will be needed to use Allen, Robison and Griffen's pass-rushing instincts against them.

Special Teams: Kick Short to Cordarrelle Patterson

Rookie Cordarrelle Patterson has wasted no time establishing a niche as a lethal kickoff return man. That should scare the Redskins, given their issues on a special teams unit that has already surrendered two scoring returns this season.

The key to corralling Patterson will be kicking short and targeting his favorite lane of attack, namely the right sideline. Two returns from the first quarter against the Cowboys show how the Vikings set up room for Patterson on the right.

On the game's opening kickoff, Patterson received the ball at the back of the end zone.

That gave the Vikings time to set up their familiar blocking convoy on the right. It features four blockers out in front and a fifth behind to take away the backside pursuit.

The forward quartet split off into two pairs and immediately made key blocks to free Patterson along the sideline.

At the same time, the backside blocker took out the pursuing defender, preventing Patterson from being chased down from behind.

Once he reaches the sideline, members of the forward four broke off from their initial blocks to lead the way downfield. In this case, fullback Felton made a key lead block.

Patterson gained 31 yards on this return, but would be even more effective the next time he received a kickoff.

The Cowboys again made the mistake of kicking deep, and Patterson once more received the ball at the back of the end zone.

First, the Vikings again took out the backside pursuit.

Then the four-man convoy in front made their blocks, clearing the way for Patterson to attack the right sideline.

The Cowboys had extra men on the right this time, but Minnesota's disciplined blockers still won. They gave Patterson two lanes to exploit.

He completed a 45-yard return to set up Minnesota's first score of the game.

On both returns, the Vikings were given the chance to set up their impressive blocking, because the Cowboys outkicked their own coverage.

Washington cannot make that same mistake. Patterson already has touchdown returns of 105 and 109 yards this season, further emphasizing the dangers of kicking deep.

Instead, kicker Kai Forbath must aim his kicks short. The Cowboys did that late on and it stifled Patterson.

In this example, the kick was aimed to the left and dropped short of the end zone.

That meant Patterson had to run out to receive the ball. So his blocking didn't have enough time to properly set.

It also meant that Patterson couldn't set himself to properly receive the ball and pick his lane. Rushing out to the kick resulted in him muffing the return. The ball went out of bounds inside the 10-yard line.

As the ball came down, the Vikings were still focused on setting up their quintet of blockers to the right. But the Cowboys had flooded what would be the backside area on the left. So even if he had caught the ball cleanly, Patterson would have been kept to a minimal gain.

Special teams coordinator Keith Burns has to modify the kicking game to force Patterson into these kind of mistakes and limit his threat.

Burns' group also faces a similar threat from cornerback Marcus Sherels on punt returns. Kicking away from Sherels would be the smart move.

Washington simply cannot surrender the field-position battle. Otherwise they will be handing a struggling offense a major boost.

Even at 1-7 the Vikings present tricky challenges in every phase of the game. Those challenges demand specific planning from Shanahan and his coordinators.

Their schemes must be ruthlessly tailored to limiting Minnesota's biggest threats, even at the expense of other areas.

If Peterson is kept quiet, quarterback Robert Griffin III is kept clean in the pocket and Patterson doesn't change the momentum, Washington will score an invaluable road win.

All screen shots courtesy of ESPN, Fox Sports and NFL.com Game Pass.

All statistics via NFL.com.