Gerhart needs more fuel to finish off his long run

LANDOVER, MD. — In case you're wondering, yes, Toby Gerhart was gassed by the time Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson caught him from behind at the 8-yard line Saturday. Heck, Gerhart had just delivered the longest run the Vikings have had all season, a 67-yarder in which he hit the hole, made a sharp cut back and got into open space along the left sideline.

Gerhart's run was 2 yards longer than Joe Webb's 65-yard TD run in Detroit on Dec. 11. It was 13 yards longer than Adrian Peterson's best this season, a 54-yard burst against Green Bay in Week 7.

So cut Gerhart some slack for not having the breath to make it all the way to the end zone.

"I broke through and it was just air in my face," he said. "I was running, looking at the screen and saw the guys coming. And I think I hit that 25-yard line going in to score and the field might have tilted [uphill] a little bit."

Gerhart's 11-carry, 109-yard effort Saturday was a major bright spot for the Vikings, who had to play nearly the entire second half without Peterson.

Yet when the superstar left the game after suffering a gruesome knee injury on the first play after halftime, his understudy was ready to step in. Gerhart continually pushed the pile on runs and continued to impress the coaching staff with his toughness.

"His confidence is there," coach Leslie Frazier said. "He's getting the carries and getting the opportunities. And he's making the most of it."

He did record his 12th rushing touchdown of the season in the second quarter. Peterson's 1-yard score came with a whole lot of big bodies paving the way.

Defensive tackle Letroy Guion was in at fullback. The Vikings also had three tight ends at the line of scrimmage with Visanthe Shiancoe, Kyle Rudolph and Jim Kleinsasser providing some push.

No such Luck The Vikings' victory officially takes them out of the running for the No. 1 pick (read: Andrew Luck) in next April's draft. That stifles the conversation that had mushroomed earlier in the week after Indianapolis upset Houston to record its second victory of the season, leaving an opening for the Vikings to land the top pick.

The Colts and Rams are tied at the bottom of the NFL at 2-13. The Vikings are a game ahead but now have no way of leapfrogging Indianapolis in the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker.

Asked whether he was aware of the escalation of Luck chatter in the Twin Cities recently, Frazier shook his head.

Zamberletti absent Former trainer and current team historian Fred Zamberletti missed Saturday's game because of illness, marking the first time in franchise history he did not attend a game. Including preseason, regular season and postseason games, Zamberletti had attended 1,049 in a row.

Frazier called Zamberletti before the team left Minnesota and promised to give him a game ball when he returned to Minnesota.

Zamberletti told Frazier to "bring back a win," Frazier said.

"He said it with his voice breaking, and it was really emotional for me," Frazier said. "I shared that with our players. As you know, Fred is extremely loyal. We're going to make sure he has a game ball from this."

Backup plan The Redskins suffered a significant blow Saturday morning when they were forced to put running back Roy Helu on the inactive list. Helu, who had rushed for 387 yards over Washington's previous four games, has been dealing with toe and knee injuries recently.

Injury update Cornerback Asher Allen and left guard Steve Hutchinson were the most significant players on the Vikings' inactive list, both forced to sit as they continue recovering from concussions suffered in Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints.

Joe Berger started in Hutchinson's place on the offensive line. Cedric Griffin worked back into the starting lineup in place of Allen.

Right guard Anthony Herrera missed some time because of a back injury, pushing rookie lineman Brandon Fusco into action.

Fusco was flagged for unnecessary roughness at the end of a 12-yard Peterson run late in the first half.

Off target Veteran kicker Ryan Longwell missed a 49-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. Worse, he pushed an extra-point attempt wide right late in the third quarter. Including postseason action, that was his 10th missed PAT in 639 career attempts.