What do you get a guy making his head coaching debut in Week 12 of the regular season?
If you’re Brett Favre, you get him something that would have gone a long way toward guaranteeing he didn’t get the job in the first place. For just the second time this season, Favre went a whole game without throwing an interception and the Vikings walked out of FedEx Field with a 17-13 win over the Redskins.
Frazier helped Favre avoid any backbreaking turnovers by assuring that he’d play a minimal role in the offense on Sunday. Favre only attempted 23 passes, completing all eight he tried on the two Minnesota touchdown drives, while the Vikings remained committed to the run even after Adrian Peterson left the game with an ankle injury early in the second quarter. Toby Gerhart ran 22 times and scored a touchdown in the third quarter to put the Vikes up 17-7.
The Redskins would make the score more respectable, but never really put the pressure on Minnesota because they couldn’t move the ball offensively on a day where a win would have kept slim playoff hopes alive. After gaining 83 yards on their first drive of the game, the home team managed just 133 more yards over the rest of the afternoon. Dropped passes were a major problem for Washington as the team seemed to decide to protest Joey Galloway’s release by letting Donovan McNabb’s passes clang off their hands.
They also had an apparent Brandon Banks punt return for a touchdown nullified by an illegal block. Banks also had a 65-yard punt return to set up one of Graham Gano’s field goals, making him the most dangerous weapon the ‘Skins had on Sunday.
The Vikings lost their biggest weapon early -- Peterson will go for tests on his ankle on Monday -- but they found a way to make Frazier a winner all the same.