Vikings vs. Redskins 2012: Minnesota just got beat

The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Washington Redskins, 38-26, on Sunday due to an inability to find the end zone early in the game and to keep Robert Griffin III out of it late. The Vikings ended up with four field goals on their first four trips into the red zone and found themselves down, 31-12, before being able to mount a mini-comeback.

Christopher Gates of Daily Norseman put the game in simple terms, saying the Vikings just got beat.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the Minnesota Vikings beat themselves, because they didn't. I'm not going to tell you they got jobbed by the referees, because they didn't. For three hours, starting at about 3:30 PM Central time, the Washington Redskins were simply a better football team than the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings were firmly in charge for the entire first quarter of the game, making three trips into the red zone and keeping the Redskins offense from moving the ball; yet they only came out with a 9-0 lead. Washington began to put it together in the second quarter and entered the half up, 17-9.

Still, Gates doesn't believe this should give Vikings fans a reason to panic. Minnesota is 4-2, and as Gates says their fans should be pleased with that:

A lot of us would have accepted a 4-2 record for the Minnesota Vikings through the first six games of the season had you asked us before the regular season started, and I count myself among that group