Vikings Defense Falls 1 Play Short Twice on Seattle's Final Drive

It was nearly the exact same situation as a week ago for the Vikings defense. Fourth-and-goal in the waning moments of the game, and the unit was trying to protect a late lead against the opposing offense. And unlike in Week 4 against Houston, the Vikings defense couldn’t make one final play to seal the win. Minnesota lost 27-26 to Seattle on Sunday Night Football, with the Vikings giving up the go-ahead touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to D.K. Metcalf with just 15 seconds remaining. The Vikings are now 1-4 on the season, with the past two losses each coming by a single point. “On that final drive, I think our defense did a great job of having a chance to win,” said linebacker Eric Wilson. “We’ve had a couple chances to win the game on defense that final drive, we just have to finish the game.“We just have to finish the game. We’re right there,” Wilson added. “The plays are right there to be made … we just have to finish it.” The Vikings defense actually made the majority of the plays on Seattle’s final possession, which began at the Seahawks own 6-yard line after Minnesota’s offense was stuffed short on fourth-and-1. On first-and-10 from the 6, Wilson scrambled for 17 yards, but then threw three straight incomplete passes. But on fourth-and-10 from his own 23, Wilson lofted a 39-yard completion to Metcalf, who snatched the ball away from where rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler thought it was going. Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer gave his assessment of the conversion. “Well, I thought [Dantzler] was on top of the guy and then he turned, and it looked like he turned the wrong way, and the guy made a good catch,” Zimmer said. “So that kid’s a good player, too. So, I thought we were going to intercept it, honestly.” Wilson threw incomplete again on first down before moving the chains with a 17-yard pass to Tyler Lockett that put the ball at the Vikings 21.It was more of same on the next two plays: an incompletion, followed by a 15-yard pass to Metcalf down to Minnesota’s 6. Wilson threw incomplete on three tries from the 6 before finding Metcalf for the dramatic score. And while Wilson finished just 4-of-12 on his final drive, his four completions racked up 77 yards, and two of them came on fourth down. His 17-yard run made sure he accounted for all 94 of Seattle’s yards on the eventual game-winning drive. “Yeah, well he’s good,” Zimmer said. “He used his legs a couple times and got two fourth downs. He’s a good player. Eric Wilson added: “The game is there to be won. We had many different plays to win. Fourth down and whatever to win the football game, it was there. It wasn’t just one time, it was a couple times.” The blown lead overshadowed a big day for the Vikings linebacker, who had an interception and a first-half sack. He has taken on an increased role with Anthony Barr lost for the season. “Yeah, I feel like I’m getting better every game,” Wilson said. “Especially a big game like this one, Sunday Night Football against a good team, it’s great to make big plays. But it’s even better to win, so we have to put it all together.”The Vikings loss also drowned out a stellar first-half performance in which Russell Wilson had just 40 passing yards, Seattle was shut out and the Seahawks didn’t convert on any of their three tries on third downs. In the second half, the Vikings gave up 248 yards but also held the Seahawks without a single conversion on four third downs. Seattle was 0-for-7 on the night on third downs. “I like my team. Regardless of what’s happened, I like my team,” Eric Wilson said. “I know we’re a good football team. Unfortunately, we just didn’t win. “The game was there to be won on our part,” Wilson added. “I know we’re a good football team and if we can keep putting in the work to get better, we’ll finish games.” Added Zimmer: "It's frustrating and they're disappointed. They fought their rear ends off [Sunday night]. … We'll just keep fighting and keep getting better. We had a lot of young guys playing … it is what it is. We're just going to keep trying to get better each and every week.”

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