To solve the energy consumption and congestion problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), while ensuring the network performance, we propose a Virtual Force Traffic-aware Routing protocol (VFTR) in this study. The VFTR protocol designs a hybrid virtual force with node locations and normalized queue length, to force the packets to steer clear of obstacles created by congestion and eventually move toward the sink. The simulation results show that the proposed protocol significantly improves the delivery rate and maintains high energy efficiency at the same time. Furthermore, VFTR achieves lower transmission delay compared with other protocols.