Game On! (UPDATE: Liveblogging the Redskins Game / UPDATE 2: WooHoo!!)

Thanks to an opportune collapse by the Saints, the Redskins find themselves, much to my amazement, in complete control of their playoff destiny tonight.

Here’s how it works. The Redskins must beat the Vikings tonight and the Cowboys, who will be without Terrell Owens thanks to a high ankle sprain, next week to make the playoffs. One loss, and they’re out.

The good news is that the Cowboys have locked up home field advantage in the NFC because the Packers lost today. They don’t have to play for anything but the opportunity to deny the ‘Skins the playoffs, which given the rivalry that exists between the two teams, may be enough.

But that’s next week. Tonight is the league’s best run defense and Purple Jesus. Tonight is a game where desire and heart means more than skill, where it doesn’t matter who started the season and who was a backup before the kickoff. This is what football is all about and the Redskins needs to bring every ounce of resolve and ferocity because the Vikings will not roll over and die tonight.

UPDATE: What the heck. I’ve never done this before, so let’s liveblog this bad boy!

8:20 – Ooh…that’s not great. Three and out and the offense doesn’t look particularly smooth.

8:29 – SMOOT!! That interception was due completely to a blitz that made Tavaris Jackson throw before he wanted to and crushed him the second he released it. First and goal Redskins.

8:31 – 4th and 1 and we’re going for it? Play the game like you want to win it, Joe! Touchdown, Washington Redskins!

8:35 – Or not. Reversed on appeal. I don’t think the review was conclusive, so let’s give that call to the home team. If it had happened in Washington, it would have gone for us. I question the wisdom of reviewing that one. If you win, your offense has just about the worst field position it can get.

8:36 – Aaaaaand…a safety! That wasn’t tough to see coming.

8:45 – Touchdown, Washington Redskins! I heard the guys on Redskins Radio talking about how one of the aspects of the offense the team really hasn’t had a chance to employ is the tight-end routes up the middle (like Al Saunders use to run with Tony Gonzalez in Kansas City). Well, there you go. The Vikings’ coverage was horrible. If the ‘Skins keep getting that sort of chaos in the secondary, they could win big.

9:02 – Longwell missed to the left. The shutout is still intact. I’m a little distressed by how little heat the ‘Skins are getting on Jackson. He’s a raw rookie. They should be rattling his cage every time he drops back to pass.

9:10 – Okay, that was ugly. A botched snap or hold and the holder got mugged. Yeesh.

9:13 – Fumble! Redskins ball. You could pretty much see that fumble coming. Shiancoe was holding the ball up high, with one hand, and the defenders trailing hand was in the perfect position to knock it free. That was a fumble in the making from the first cutback. The offense needs to score points off this turnover, though. In a game this important, you can’t waste the opportunities you create. Nice stat coming out of the break, too. The Redskins lead the league in causing fumbles after a reception. Kudos to Gregg Williams for teaching tackling hat not only brings the man down but goes after the ball.

9:17 – Collins isn’t going to last the game if they don’t give him some protection. And there’s a blown opportunity for the Redskins. Can’t do that.

9:21 – The defense is laying the pipe to the Vikings tonight. That’s two picks – the third turnover in the first half. Again, the Redskins need points here. A touchdown would be really, really nice here. Just to prove they can do it twice in one game.

Oh, did you know that this year the Redskins have scored more than 21 points only three times? Two of them have come in the last three weeks with Collins at QB.

Speaking of Collins…Touchdown, Washington Redskins! That was a really nice catch by Santana Moss to get up over the cornerback and snatch the ball off of the top of his head.

9:28 – It looks to me like the Vikings are going to have to start finding some success running short slants and out patterns to get the ball out of Jackson’s hand before the rush gets to him. With the ‘Skins packing the box and daring the Vikings to throw the ball on them, short patters might loosen them up some. They haven’t really gone to this much, but if they do, they could cause real problems.

9:38 – Idle Thought: Who took the wide receiver screen pass out of the Redskins’ playbook? They ran it a ton the past two seasons and it often went for big yards. I don’t recall seeing it run very often this year.

9:42 – Look at the trickery, why don’t you? Touchdown, Washington Redskins on a Clinton Portis tailback option pass! The Redskins are looking to go for two and head to the locker room up by 24!

FYI – Portis came really close to overthrowing that pass. There was a bit too much lob and too little oomph. Oh, and Portis, in his career, is 3 for 3 in passing, with 3 touchdowns.

Nope…no two-point conversion there. Only 22-ziperoonie.

Halftime.

9:45 – Remember a few weeks ago when NBC did it’s “Green Week” thing by blacking out all of the studio except for the giant TV screens flashing its sponsor’s logo? And they sent some schmuck reporter to the arctic circle and lit him with enough candlepower to heat a hot tub? Yeah, well, looks like that’s all done and over with. I h ope they gave the pasty white boys some SPF-45 sunscreen in there or they’re going to get a nasty burn.

10:03 – Oh, man. Oh man oh man oh man. Mike Sellers is down, and he’s not moving very much. I did see him move his legs, but only a little. They’re bringing out the cart.

10:06 – Whew. What a difference a commercial break makes. Not only did Sellers not need the cart, he actually ended up going off the field under his own power. That doesn’t mean he’ll be right back in the game as soon as the offense hits the field, but it’s great news.

Speaking of…Kevin Everett came to the Bills game today and walked around quite a bit. That’s miraculous progress for a man about whom it was said he might never walk again. He’s shown a ton of heart and will and he and his family should have much for which to be thankful this Christmas. Thank God for miracles like that.

10:09 – Idle Thought: Call me blasphemous if you must, but Adrian Peterson’s nickname “Purple Jesus” is the bet in pro football right now.

10:09 – Fourth and one? Baleeted! Redskins take over on downs. Save one longish run, the Redskins have been all over Purple Jesus like a blanket. I recall hearing that the Redskins have not allowed a run for more than 40 yards this season. May that continue tonight, Oh Lord. Thank you.

10:13 – All these passes to the wide receivers is nice and all, but has anyone seen Cooley since his touchdown? My fantasy team needs a few more points to ice down my 2-0 week (8-1 in the past four weeks, thankyouverymuch).

Oh! There he is! About five yards under that overthrown pass…

Hey guys? A touchdown here would be really nice. Thanks.

10:20 – What the…..?? Another halfback option play? Okay, Joe. Once is fine. Twice is…not good.

So it’s a field goal to make it 25-0. That’s three Todd Collins starts and three games over 24 points. I’m not exactly saying “quarterback controversy” but I’m thinking it. Maybe Collins is just a journeyman. Maybe Campbell still needs more seasoning. Maybe the offense has gone back to their brutal bone-crushing running game that Joe Gibbs teams are known for. Maybe having their starting receivers back is a huge help. Still, Collins is winning and the offense is scoring points. So far, his numbers are 18/25, 214 yards, 2 TDs. That’s impressive.

10:33 – No pressure on the kid. Result? Vikings touchdown. 25-7.

10:37 – And a successful onsides kick. No reason for the ‘Skins to change their defensive gameplan right now. They just need to continue to execute it the way they did in the first half.

10:47 – Minnesota is sustaining this drive longer than it should have. Something in the Redskins defense changed a little bit at halftime and I’m not sure what. Something is missing. Maybe they’re playing farther back than they had. They need to step up again and mush Jackson a couple good times. First and goal isn’t where the Vikings should be right now. Maybe another turnover right here? Maybe?

10:50 – Jackson scrambled right up the middle. Crap. 25-14. Where did the pass rush go?

Oh, and we need to put out an APB for Cooley on the offensive side of the ball. One reception for 33 yards is not good.

10:57 – The Redskins just got too smart for their own good. They rush to the line to head off a challenge on a Moss reception and fumble the snap. The momentum is swinging to the Vikings and the ‘Skins need to head that off right now.

And now Gibbs is challenging the play – saying the Vikings had 12 men on the field on defense.

11:01 – And he wins! Redskins keep the ball and pick up five yards. If they can score big here, that could be the momentum-breaker the ‘Skins need. That was seriously strange. Whoever told Gibbs to challenge that ought to be getting a nice, fat Christmas bonus. That saved the season so far.

Back to the running game. Just run Portis until his legs fall off. That’s Redskins football and it works.

11:08 – Portis to the right and a very nifty run nets an easy touchdown. 32-14. Man did he make that defensive back look stupid right on national television. To quote Steve Buckhantz, “BACKBREAKER!”

This game has been almost textbook Redskins Football. Run the ball. Run the ball. And run the ball some more. Sprinkle in a couple key passes to keep the linebackers honest and you win the game. Makes you wonder why it took so blasted long .

11:20 – Late Vikings touchdown from Jackson again. It’ll be a two-possession game. Is it too late to call the game over? I think so, but the Redskins will need to recover the onsides kick attempt and get at least one first down. A three-and-out could be bad news.

By the by, Jackson is the Vikings leading rusher. Good on Gregg Williams and the Redskins D. They played exactly the game they needed, save for a few minutes in the second half when they slacked off and let the Vikings score a couple TDs. This game could have been a blowout.

11:25 – Ummm…guys? We do need a first down here. Seriously.

Post-Game: I’m impressed. Really impressed. The Redskins, who have this season showed a notable lack of guts, came into a very hostile stadium against a team needing a win to stay alive for the playoffs and beat them. They held up under a third quarter Vikings rally that earlier this season would have undone them completely. They scored the second-highest point total of the season against the number one rushing defense in the league. The held All-Universe Adrian Peterson and his Thousand Yard Sidekick Chester Taylor to a paltry sum of yards. They beat Tavaris Jackson like a drum when they had to and forced two interceptions. They dictated the pace of the game pretty much all game. The coaching staff made shrewd decisions and the 12-man challenge quite literally saved the game. Give Joe Gibbs a ton of credit. His team has rallied around him and he still knows how to win a football game.

Next week is Dallas Week. At home. With the playoffs on the line.

Oh, baby.