This one will be analyzed for a long time.
Russell Wilson hit D.K. Metcalf for a fourth-down touchdown with 15 seconds left to give the Seahawks a 27-26 win, ending a 95-yard drive that Wilson executed in under two minutes. He also connected on a 4th and 10 seconds earlier. Mike Zimmer had an agonizing decision to make with two minutes to go: Kick a field goal on 4th and inches and give Seattle a chance down by eight, or pick up a first down and effectively end the game.
He chose wrong, and Wilson worked his magic for an astounding win.
HOW’D THE OFFENSE DO?
What a rollercoaster.
Aside from one quarter of complete implosion, this was a brilliant offensive game by the Vikings. Drives of 11, 11, 12, 15 and 17 plays? Ten points off of two drives that started inside the 5-yard line? Over 200 rushing yards and 249 passing yards? An amazing effort. The Vikings trailed 21-13 with zero momentum, only to drive the field twice to retake the lead. Adam Thielen torched the Seahawks secondary for nine catches, 80 yards and two touchdowns and caught the go-ahead touchdown with 7:08 to go. Kirk Cousins had a miserable third quarter but responded in the fourth with what could have been a season-defining comeback.
Minnesota needs to figure out how to function without Dalvin Cook… especially in Seattle. For the second straight year, in primetime, a third quarter injury to Cook left the Vikings punch drunk as Seattle rattled off three scores quickly as Minnesota’s offense fell apart. Following Cook’s injury — a groin pull on a reception in the flat — Minnesota went three and out, Cousins fumbled, and he threw an interception. A 13-0 lead turned into a 21-13 deficit in a flash. That sequence proved to be devastating.
The Vikings came out dominant again with a 12-play, 77-yard touchdown drive to open the game, but it got more difficult after that in the first half. Minnesota wanted to run the ball and control the clock, a formula that worked well, but it also kept the Vikings from stepping on the Seahawks’ throat when they had a chance. Minnesota settled for two field goals thereafter when they played well enough to be leading by three possessions. Their persistence with the run, however, paid off later in the game as Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone rumbled over Seahawks during Minnesota’s comeback that wound up being for naught.
HOW’D THE DEFENSE DO?
Ultimately, it came down to the Vikings vs. Wilson, and the MVP frontrunner won the battle. Wilson drove his team the length of the field in the rain and delivered a dime on fourth and goal. It wasn’t his best night, but he delivered in the clutch for the umpteenth time.
We saw a Minnesota defense in the first half that looked like the Vikings defenses of yesteryear, and I’m not talking 2015-19. I’m talking Purple People Eaters. Minnesota sacked Wilson four times in the first half and shut out the Seahawks in the first 30 minutes for just the sixth time in Wilson’s career. The prolific Seahawks offense was out of whack, and Minnesota front seven had four sacks to head into halftime up 13.
The Vikings even got a stop to start the second half on a tremendous third-down tackle by Eric Kendricks. Then the wheels fell off for a spell. Seattle scored quickly on its second drive of the half to pull within six following Cook’s injury, then capitalized on two turnovers to score two more touchdowns in the span of three offensive plays — the best red zone offense in football showing off.
X-FACTOR
Mattison took over for Cook in the third quarter and had a career game — or at least a career half. His 20 carries for 112 yards came through tough running that resembled the colleague above him on the depth chart. Unfortunately, he may have missed a hole on his final run of the night, the critical 4th and 1, where there appeared to be daylight on the other side of C.J. Ham‘s block.
BIG PICTURE
A gut punch, to say the least. It will be hard to recover emotionally from this one after it looked like the Vikings could recover to go 3-3 at the bye week. Now they have to muster the morale to beat Atlanta just to go 2-4. Their last two defeats have been by one point in gut-wrenching fashion.
