Observations from Seattle Seahawks’ crushing loss to Vikings

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ADM 22 de December de 2024 0 Comments

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks were on the verge of a signature victory that would have kept them in control of their playoff destiny.

Instead, they were dealt a crushing defeat that put their postseason hopes on the brink.

Seahawks lose | Rost’s thoughts | Reaction | Costly mistakes | Stats

Seattle lost at home to a top-tier NFC opponent for the second week in a row, falling 27-24 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field. Geno Smith marched the Seahawks downfield for a go-ahead touchdown with 4:21 remaining, but the Vikings responded just 30 seconds later when star wideout Justin Jefferson got behind the defense for a 39-yard TD reception that proved to be the deciding score.

What loss to Vikings means for Seahawks’ playoff hopes

With the Los Angeles Rams beating the New York Jets earlier in the day, Seattle (8-7) is now one game behind the Rams (9-6) in the NFC West race with two weeks left in the regular season. That means the Seahawks likely need a win over the Chicago Bears (4-11) on Thursday night and a Rams loss to the Arizona Cardinals (7-8) next Sunday to ensure they are still alive for the division title when they face the Rams in their Week 18 regular-season finale.

Here are three things that stood out from the Seahawks’ deflating defeat:

• Costly penalties doom Seahawks: Seattle committed two back-breaking defensive penalties that significantly altered the game. The first came midway through the second quarter, when cornerback Tre Brown was flagged for lining up in the neutral zone on a third-and-8 from the Seattle 19-yard line. The offside penalty negated a third-down sack from edge rusher Derick Hall, which would have forced Minnesota to settle for a field goal. Instead, the Vikings took advantage of the extra opportunity, with Jefferson beating Brown on the ensuing play for a 14-yard touchdown reception. An even more devastating sequence occurred in the fourth quarter. With four minutes to play and the Seahawks holding a four-point lead, rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II initially appeared to come up with an 8-yard sack, which would have backed Minnesota into a third-and-16 from its own 38-yard line. But Murphy grabbed quarterback Sam Darnold’s facemask while bringing him down, which resulted in a fresh set of downs for the Vikings and a 23-yard swing in field position. And on the very next play, Darnold stepped up in the pocket and found Jefferson for a go-ahead 39-yard touchdown pass that ended up being the game-winner.

• Geno has another roller-coaster game: It was another game full of highs and lows for Geno Smith, whose performance on Sunday epitomized the up-and-down nature of his season. Smith completed 31 of 43 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns – including a go-ahead score with 4:21 left – but also had two interceptions and several other passes that could have been picked off. On Smith’s first interception, he rolled out and was chased down by safety Joshua Metellus, who hit him just after he released a pass for tight end Noah Fant. Smith’s throw was off-target and picked off by linebacker Dallas Turner, which spotted Minnesota the ball at Seattle’s 31-yard line and resulted in a Vikings field goal. But as he so often does, Smith rebounded in a major way. In the closing moments of the first half, he quickly pushed the ball downfield for a five-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. In the fourth quarter, he directed an impressive 11-play, 68-yard TD drive that gave Seattle a 24-20 lead. If not for the Seahawks’ ensuing defensive lapse, it would have been Smith’s league-leading eighth fourth-quarter comeback of the past two seasons. Instead, it ended up being another bittersweet moment in Smith’s roller-coaster year.

• O-line holds up pretty well, but late sack looms large: Coming off a miserable seven-sack night in last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, Seattle’s offensive line held up pretty well for most of the day. The Seahawks allowed just two sacks to the Vikings’ fearsome pass rush, including no sacks through the first three quarters. It was a notable feat, given that Minnesota entered with the fourth-most sacks in the league this season. But the second of those two sacks was particularly costly. Trailing 27-24 in the closing minutes, Seattle had a first-and-10 from the Minnesota 37 when Smith was brought down for a 6-yard loss. That put the Seahawks behind the chains, and an ensuing second-down incompletion followed by a 1-yard completion on third down left Seattle with a fourth-and-15 from the Vikings 42. Seattle elected to send Jason Myers out for a potential 60-yard field-goal attempt, but his kick was well short.

• Miscues overshadow solid defensive performance: For the most part, the Seahawks turned in a pretty good defensive outing against the eighth-highest scoring team in the league. Seattle held Minnesota to just 298 total yards, which was the Vikings’ fifth-lowest output of the season. Seattle gave up just 81 rushing yards, which was the Vikings’ third-lowest mark of the season. And after surrendering a 70-yard TD drive on the game’s opening possession, the Seahawks surrendered just 13 points and 196 yards over the next three-plus quarters until Murphy’s fateful facemask penalty. Seattle gave up 27 points, but that number easily could’ve been quite a bit lower if not for Smith’s interception that handed Minnesota a field goal and the two costly defensive penalties that were immediately followed by Vikings touchdowns.

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