Fourth quarter comeback gives Vikings 20-17 win over Commanders

LANDOVER, Md. - Taylor Heinicke lofted the ball into triple coverage like it was a Hail Mary throw.

On the sideline, coach Ron Rivera thought to himself, "Are you kidding me?"

That was just the beginning of one of the most bizarre plays of the NFL season. What should have been an easy interception turned into a catch by Curtis Samuel for a 49-yard Washington Commanders touchdown Sunday when an official ran into Minnesota Vikings defender Camryn Bynum.

Talk about the nutty play buzzed in the visiting locker room afterward, and the Vikings could laugh and joke about it because they came back to win 20-17 for their sixth consecutive victory to improve to 7-1. But that didn't make it any less weird to those on either side who were a part of it.

"It was pretty wacky," safety Harrison Smith said. "I was kind of surprised the ball was coming that way. Kind of knew Cam was kind of waiting on it."

Bynum, Smith and cornerback Patrick Peterson were all there, and that throw turns into an interception probably 99 times out of a 100.

"I saw a punt return interception coming," Bynum said. "I almost had to fair catch it because it was in the air that long."

Problem is, back judge Steve Patrick stumbled and effectively set a pick for Samuel.

"He ran right into you!" Peterson said to Bynum afterward. "We just had a little bump in the road - a speed bump."

Across the bowels of FedEx Field, Heinicke joked: "Definitely need to give a game ball to that ref for knocking down that safety."

Bynum was steaming but accepted Patrick's apology for getting in the way. From the sideline, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell wasn't too happy, either, but he understood sometimes these things happen.

"As the coach of the team it happens to, it's very hard to react to in the moment, especially when I felt like that had a good chance to be an interception going back the other way," O'Connell said. "And then for not only it to happen that way but then also go from an interception to a touchdown was unfortunate."

The play was reviewed to see if Samuel was touched down at the 1-yard line or got into the end zone. There was no question about the collision between the back judge and a player.

"I want to assure you that all officials are working to not be contacted by the players," NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said. "There are times where they can make adjustments, and they normally do. They are all working and trying to avoid contact as best they can. It's just one of those unfortunate things out on the football field, occasionally officials do contact players."

Heinicke, who threw a jump ball to Terry McLaurin last week in a win at Indianapolis, had plenty of praise for Samuel making the catch through traffic - both in purple and white and in stripes.

"When you get the coverage like that, you want to give him a shot," Heinicke said. "I know he had a pretty good shot at catching it and the ref made a pretty good play for us."

The play from start to finish rendered Peterson, a 12-year veteran, "speechless."

"We've never seen that happen before," Peterson said. "Hat off to the receiver keeping his focus on the ball to get a touchdown. Unfortunately they did not win the game. Fortunately, we won the game."

The Vikings won thanks in part to Harrison intercepting Heinicke midway through the fourth quarter, setting up Kirk Cousin's 12-yard touchdown pass to Dalvin Cook that tied the score. That was one of Minnesota's highlights, but O'Connell is glad the strangest play of the game didn't come back to bite his team after all.

"A couple times a year in this league, stuff like that happens," he said. "I'm just proud of our team for overcoming it."

The Commanders ran just one play after getting the ball back. Running back Antonio Gibson was tackled in bounds, and with no timeouts, the clock hit double zeroes on the Commanders.

The Vikings win 20-17 and move to 7-1 on the season.

The Commanders fall to 4-5.

The Vikings lead 20-17 after Greg Joseph nailed a short field goal with 12 seconds remaining.

The Commanders will get the ball back, albeit with no timeouts.

The Vikings were set to settle for a field goal to take a 20-17 lead over the Commanders, but a defensive penalty on the kick gives them a fresh set of downs.

A personal foul on defensive tackle John Ridgeway on the kick gave the Vikings a first down.

Kirk Cousins lofted a pass to Dalvin Cook in the corner of the end zone, and the running back secured it with one hand for the touchdown.

The score is now tied 17-17 with about 8 minutes left.

The Vikings have a chance to tie the game after Harrison Smith intercepted an errant Taylor Heinicke throw over the middle of the field.

The Vikings have the ball in the red zone trailing 17-10.

The Vikings now trail by just a touchdown after Greg Joseph hit a 25-yard field goal to make it 17-10.

There are nearly 11 minutes left in the game. 

It appeared as if Kirk Cousins' 3rd and 7 heave to Justin Jefferson was a costly one, as the quarterback stayed down on the field before being replaced by backup Nick Mullens.

But Cousins missed only one play before coming back in. The Vikings are deep in Commanders territory.

Kirk Cousins threw an interception that the Commanders returned for a touchdown, but a pass interference penalty negated the play. 

The Vikings catch a break.

The Vikings offense has been anemic in the second half, and the defense looks like it's starting to wear down.

A long Commanders drive, spurred in part by an inopportune facemask penalty on Za'Darius Smith, ends in a Dax Milne touchdown from Taylor Heinicke.

The Vikings trail 17-7. They have plenty of time left, but the offense needs to get out of its funk if there's to be any hope.

With a 4th and 1 in Vikings territory, the Commanders decided to go for it. 

Taylor Heinicke had a man open, but rookie cornerback Akaylab Evans broke it up. The Vikings till take over trailing 10-7 in the third quarter.

Commanders quarterback heaved up a prayer, and thanks to some interference from a referee, Curtis Samuel snagged it for a long touchdown that gave Washington a 10-7 lead.

Three Vikings defenders were around, and safety Cam Bynum looked like he was poised to pick off the pass. But a ref ran right into him, and Samuel was able to complete the catch. He rolled into the end zone for a TD.

Vikings cornerback Cam Dantzler will miss the rest of Sunday's game with an ankle injury, the team announced.

Kirk Cousins took a shot to Justin Jefferson in the end zone late in the first half, but the Commanders were all over it. Cornerback Danny Johnson snagged it off a tip, and the Commanders took over.

Taylor Heinicke kneeled out the remaining few seconds of the half. The Vikings lead 7-3, and Washington will start the second half with the ball.

The Vikings defense has been fairly stout all day, and they held the Commanders to a field goal on a 12-play drive late in the first half.

The Vikings will have just over 30 seconds to try and score before halftime. It's 7-3 Minnesota after the field goal.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen has joined a couple of Vikings greats in the record books.

During Sunday's game, Thielen notched his 500th career reception. Cris Carter and Randy Moss are the only other receivers to do that in team history.

Thielen has one catch for 22 yards so far on Sunday. So far this year, he has 36 catches for 373 yards.

The Vikings lead the Commanders 7-0 late in the first half.

Justin Jefferson had three catches on the Vikings' opening drive, and the third was a touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

Jefferson had 42 total yards on the drive. His 9-yard TD catch came over former Minnesota Gopher Benjamin St-Juste. 

It was Jefferson's first TD catch since week one.

New Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson also had a big catch, grabbing a 19-yard third down conversion over the middle of the field.

Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson is officially inactive for Sunday's game against the Commanders.

The Vikings' other inactive players are Luiji Vilain, Benton Whitley, Chris Reed, Vederian Lowe, Jalen Nailor and Esezi Otomewo.

On the Commanders' side, Jahan Dotson, J.D. McKissic, David Mayo, Cole Holcomb, Shaka Toney, Chris Paul and Cole Turner are inactive.

The Vikings are hoping for a win on Sunday to move to 7-1, but head coach Kevin O'Connell already had a big win earlier this week.

The team said O'Connell's wife, Leah, gave birth to their fourth child on Friday night. Mom and the baby girl are both doing well, the Vikings said.

The Vikings play the Commanders at noon on Sunday. O'Connell spent three years coaching in Washington, first as quarterbacks coach and then as offensive coordinator.