Vikings-Washington scouting report

Sunday: Noon at FedEx Field (Ch. 9, 100.3-FM, 1130-AM)

• The Redskins (4-4) scored with 59 seconds left (and benefited from three missed Blair Walsh field goals) to beat the Seahawks on the road last Sunday.

• Washington has weathered a series of offensive line injuries, playing its last two games without tackle Trent Williams and guard Brandon Scherff because of knee injuries. Former Viking T.J. Clemmings started at left tackle in Seattle, though Ty Nsekhe could return from a groin injury on Sunday.

• The Redskins have faced the toughest schedule in the NFL so far this season, with opponents compiling a winning percentage of .609. The Vikings, to this point, have played teams with a .446 winning percentage.

• Washington's defense has been able to goad opposing offensive lines into penalties, to the point it earned Mike Zimmer's admiration on Wednesday. "The thing they do is, they're the second-least penalized team in the NFL," Zimmer said. "They seem to cause all their [opposing] offenses penalties. So they end up being second-and-15, second-and-20, first-and-20. Up front, they kind of get after them a little bit."

• Cousins, it seems, is perpetually in limbo, playing again without a long-term contract this year, but the free agent-to-be is making a case for a big payday, throwing 13 touchdowns against four interceptions. His passer rating of 102.0 is a career high.

• The 29-year-old has also shown a flair for the dramatic this season, directing three game-winning drives in the fourth quarter to set up three of the Redskins' four wins. Last week, Cousins connected on passes of 31 and 38 yards to set up Robert Kelley's go-ahead touchdown.

• Redskins coach Jay Gruden on Cousins: "He's getting more and more opportunities to make come-from-behind victories; we don't want to do that too often, but now that we're in that position, I think he has the confidence we can succeed."

• Gruden is in his fourth season in Washington, having joined the Redskins after interviewing for the Vikings job that eventually went to Zimmer in 2014. He is 25-30-1 as a head coach.

• Gruden was the Bengals' offensive coordinator from 2011-13, while Zimmer as the defensive coordinator there. He was replaced by Hue Jackson, who worked for Zimmer as a defensive backs coach in 2012 and is the Browns' coach now.

• On the Redskins' O-line: "We've had five of our top six guys miss time: Trent [Williams], Ty [Nsekhe], Brandon [Scherff], Spencer Long and Shawn Lauvao. The only guy that's played is Morgan [Moses]. We've had to go out and get some patchwork guys. Chase Roullier's played good at center. Tyler Catalina's played guard a little bit. We've got Arie Kouandjio back at left guard, and T.J. [Clemmings] at left tackle."

• On the performance of T.J. Clemmings: "T.J. has done some good things. Hats off to him for coming here and learning a system in a short amount of time. He's given up a few pressures here and there, but for the most part, he gave us the ability to win some games and done some good things."