LANDOVER, Md. — The Vikings were just 21 yards from ending their losing streak when an encouraging drive feel apart.

Minnesota lost 26-20 in Washington on Sunday but put together a late drive that was squashed by two sacks and two incompletions in the final minute.

The Vikings and quarterback Sam Bradford, who engineered the drive with no timeouts, fell just short.

"I missed a pass and took a sack," Bradford said. "There you have it. The drive ends."

Plenty of people in the Minnesota huddle thought the Vikings were about to put together a game-winning drive.

"Every time we go on the field, we expect to score," said Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. "We just didn't make a play or two in those last seconds."

Bradford put together a strong performance in which he completed 31 of 40 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

But a lack of consistency couldn't help Minnesota as its losing skid reached four games.

"Obviously it's frustrating. I think in order for us to get back on track, we have to go out there and execute," Bradford said. "I think that's the bottom line. We were able to do it early in the year.

"We've shown flashes of it in the past two weeks," he added. "We've just got to be more consistent at sustaining drives, converting third downs and putting points on the board." 

Minnesota trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter before Bradford rallied Minnesota with a trio of scoring drives.

Matt Asiata had a 1-yard touchdown run before Bradford found tight end Kyle Rudolph for a 20-yard score to tie the game at 14. Thielen then caught a 3-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half for a 20-14 lead.

The Vikings later trailed 23-20 midway through the fourth quarter when Bradford threw just his second interception of the season.

Washington's Preston Smith snuck back in zone coverage and tipped a pass to himself that led to a Washington field goal.

I just didn't see him. He made a good play," Bradford said. "They brought internal pressure and dropped him out, and he got under our slant.

"I've got to be able to see him when he drops into coverage," he added.

The Vikings will try for their sixth win of the season as they host Arizona at noon (CT) on Sunday.

Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said the team will stay the course on offense after a day in which there were plenty of positives, but not enough for a victory.

"Everybody is frustrated right now. I'd be disappointed if they weren't frustrated," Zimmer said. "We did some decent things on offense today. We moved the ball.

"I think we had three straight scores, and then we didn't score any in the second half," he added.