Washington Redskins vs. Minnesota Vikings: Week 9 Preview for Washington

With their year-long drought on the road behind them, the Washington Redskins will now look to extend their winning streak to three games by defeating the host Minnesota Vikings in Week 9.

After posting a 20-17 win over the rival Dallas Cowboys, all signs point to the Redskins starting their third different starting quarterback in as many games. 

Putting an end to their two-game slide with a 19-13 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Vikings enter this bout with a defense that's allowed an average south of 16 points per game the past three weeks.

In a matchup of teams both sporting 3-5 records, which unit will inch back to .500 and keep its playoff hopes alive?

Let's find out. Here is the Week 9 preview for Washington.

Week 8 Recap

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Going against the NFL's best team—with their third-string quarterback no less—the Redskins still managed to pick up a 20-17 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 in Week 8.

Behind a stifling defense, the Skins kept Tony Romo and company at bay and rode a hot Colt McCoy in the second half to pull off the upset.

Completing 25 of 30 passes on the night, McCoy connected on 14 of his final 15 throws and directed his team to 17 second-half points. Avenging last year's season sweep, Washington's offense tallied 409 total yards for the game.

Shifting to the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett manufactured pressure via the blitz and contained an explosive Dallas offense. His defense tallied five sacks and forced two turnovers.

Now sporting a 3-5 record, with two other sub-.500 teams on deck, the trek to .500 isn't as daunting as it once appeared for the Skins.

While the playoffs remain unlikely, Washington's momentum from its two-game winning streak, along with the looming return of Robert Griffin III, lifts the dark cloud that hovered over the team during the first half of the season.

News and Notes

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Robert Griffin III's Return

So much for an encore. After leading the team to its first winning streak since 2012, McCoy's reward is a trip back to the bench. And that's because, as NBC's Dianna Marie Russini reported, Griffin will start on Sunday against the Vikings:

"

Robert Griffin III will start against the Vikings on Sunday per multiple sources with the Redskins organization.

— Dianna Marie Russini (@NBCdianna) October 29, 2014"

Of course, this comes with the caveat that he doesn't suffer any setbacks, in the slightest degree, in the lead-up to the game:

"

Reiterated by multiple sources, only thing that will change RG3's starting status? If he has "even the slightest pain in his ankle, he sits"

— Dianna Marie Russini (@NBCdianna) October 30, 2014"

Facing Minnesota's fourth-ranked passing defense, Week 9's contest isn't the ideal matchup for Griffin to be making his return. Even with that said, this move has everything to do with the team's need to evaluate Griffin in head coach Jay Gruden's offense.

Is he the franchise quarterback? With half a season left in front of him to play, this week's contest is the first step in finding out.

Bashaud Breeland Becoming a Student of the Game

Marred by penalties and lapses in coverage, the growing pains Bashaud Breeland went through early in the season were learning experiences for the rookie.

A fourth-round pick out of Clemson, the knock on him coming into the league was that he was raw. So his early struggles—he has a team-high eight penalties—should come as no surprise. But in light of the work he's put in to improve such flaws in his game, neither should his startling performance in Week 8.

As ESPN.com's John Keim notes, the key to holding Dez Bryant to three receptions and 30 yards for Breeland was extensive work in the film room. Detailing one of Bryant's failed attempts to snag a touchdown in the red zone, Breeland relayed to Keim how his study of game film helped him make the stop.

"If he’s going back shoulder, he’s going to stem to the outside,” Breeland said. “But he came straight at me, and I knew he wasn’t running the curl at that point so it had to be a slant. In the red zone, he doesn’t have that many routes.” 

While Breeland's lapse in coverage was responsible for Jason Witten's touchdown, he's moving farther away from the player who was so overwhelmed early on in the year.

Kai Forbath's Return to Form

It wasn't too long ago that Kai Forbath was fighting for his job. After missing four field goals and struggling to produce touchbacks on kickoffs in 2013, Forbath had to outlast seventh-round pick Zach Hocker in training camp.

Converting 13 of his 14 attempts this season, Forbath has connected on his last nine tries, two of which were game-winners. His latest field goal, a 22-yard game-winning kick against Dallas, earned him the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week:

"

RT to congratulate @KaiForbath on winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance vs. Dallas! pic.twitter.com/A3cRLRpSkP

— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) October 29, 2014"

With Forbath netting nine touchbacks on his last 19 kickoffs, the NFL's sixth-worst unit in yards allowed per kick return has been relatively decent of late. Over the past three games, Washington has surrendered 21.3 yards per return, short of its season average of 27.2.

Facing an explosive return man in Cordarrelle Patterson, the team's improvement on this front could pay dividends.

Injury Report

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Player	Position	Injury Status
Ryan Clark	S	Questionable
Robert Griffin III	QB	Probable
Ryan Kerrigan	LB	Probable
Trent Murphy	LB	Probable
Perry Riley	LB	Probable
Tracy Porter	CB	Probable
Keenan Robinson	LB	Probable

*All injury statuses from CBSSports.com.

Saddled with an extensive injury list all season long, the team's health is finally taking a positive turn. While the injuries of DeAngelo Hall, Brian Orakpo and Barry Cofield will continue to be felt, Ryan Clark is the lone starter whose status is up in the air.

In light of his play over the past few weeks, this may not even be a negative thing. Hampered by injuries to his ankle and shoulder, Clark has looked slow and has continuously missed tackles in the open field—just check out Dez Bryant's touchdown reception in Week 8.

With a bye week following the team's Week 9 contest, it may behoove Clark to sit out and nurse his injuries, with Week 11 being his targeted return date.

X-Factor and Matchups to Watch

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DeSean Jackson vs. Vikings Secondary

Still bogged down by third-down struggles, DeSean Jackson's penchant for big plays has been a godsend to the Washington offense.

Just in the past four games, Jackson has averaged 26.8 yards per reception. He's had six receptions of 40 yards or more in the past three.

Going against Minnesota's fourth-ranked pass defense, though, you have to question if his hot streak will continue. The Vikings surrender just 10.5 yards per reception, third-best in the league. This unit has given up its share of big plays, though. Opposing receivers have tallied four receptions of 40 yards or more against the team's secondary.

So, at the very least, Jackson's presence should open up the field for Jordan Reed and Pierre Garcon to do work in the short and intermediate area.

Alfred Morris vs. Minnesota Front Seven

For the first time in weeks, albeit in just one half, Alfred Morris and the Washington running game showed signs of life.

After rushing for just 11 yards in the first half against the Cowboys, Morris tallied 62 yards after the break. Facing a Vikings defense that's allowing over 110 yards per game, there's little reason for Morris not to build off of this performance, especially with RG3 making his return to the starting lineup.

Let it be said, though, as Gruden demonstrated during the final possession of the first half against Dallas, if Morris can't get things going on the ground, Silas Redd and Roy Helu could see their chance to take on some of Morris' workload going forward.

X-Factor of the Week: Robert Griffin III

Were you expecting anybody else?

It's been six games since we last saw Griffin in action. In all the snaps he'd taken leading up to his injury, did anybody see a quarterback confident in what he was doing?

Whether it was obeying his instincts or going through his progressions, Griffin seemed unsure of himself. With a limited amount of practice snaps under his belt since then, can we really expect that to change?

The time off may have allowed him to have a better mental grasp of Gruden's offense, but his ability to translate that to on the field remains a big unknown. In light of this, it's unrealistic to expect Griffin to carry his team to victory in this contest.

With that said, the task for him will be to limit his mistakes and to utilize his dual-threat ability to convert third downs. Facing a punch-less Minnesota offense, that's all the Skins need from him to garner a victory.

Prediction

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McCoy's insertion into the lineup may be viewed as the catalyst for Washington's two-game winning streak, but the truth is the wins have come on the back of a revitalized defense. 

Among the NFL's worst teams in takeaways, the Redskins have forced four of their eight turnovers on the year in the past two weeks. Additionally, the team has scaled back its own giveaways. Owners of 16 turnovers, which is 29th in the league, the Skins have one turnover in the past six quarters.

Considering Minnesota itself ranks in the bottom half of the league in this department, it's evident that turnover differential will factor heavily into the outcome of this game.

Enter Griffin. For all his misgivings, protecting the ball hasn't been an issue for him over the course of his injury-riddled career. An owner of 17 career interceptions, Griffin has thrown a pick once every 52 passes.

As for rookie Teddy Bridgewater, the same can't be said. Albeit a small sample size, Bridgewater has thrown an interception once every 30 pass attempts. Under duress for much of his outings against the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, both losses, the net result was him taking 13 sacks and throwing five interceptions.

With Washington's propensity for sending pressure—its defense rushes five or more defenders 42.4 percent of the time, according to ESPN.com's Ben Goessling— the rookie could make similar mistakes.

In a low-scoring affair, look for the Redskins to enter their bye on the high of a hard-fought victory.

Prediction: Redskins 19, Vikings 13