Seahawks Seize Momentum in 4th Quarter to Top Vikings 21-7

The Vikings kept it close until the fourth quarter against the Seahawks but are leaving Seattle with a 21-7 loss. Seattle seized momentum by keeping Minnesota out of the end zone on four plays from the 4-yard line and using illegal leverage to block a 47-yard field goal attempt by Dan Bailey. Former official Jeff Triplette, who is now an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football said that Bobby Wagner benefitted from pushing off teammates to jump over the line of scrimmage. Triplette said the play should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty, which would have moved the ball to the Seattle 14 and given Minnesota a fresh set of downs when the Vikings still trailed by just 6-0. Instead, Russell Wilson scrambled for a 40-yard gain two plays later to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Chris Carson for a 14-0 lead with 2:53 remaining. Kirk Cousins fumbled during a sack by Jacob Martin, and Justin Coleman returned the fumble 29 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead. Cousins and the Vikings then drove 70 yards in six plays for a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dalvin Cook with 1:10 remaining. The Seahawks recovered the onside kick to improve to 8-5 on the season. Seattle would be the No. 5 seed in the NFC Playoffs if the postseason began this week. Minnesota fell to 6-6-1 but received tremendous help over the weekend and would still be the No. 6 seed. Three games remain in the regular season. The Vikings finished with 276 yards, compared to 274 by the Seahawks. Minnesota was 2-for-10 on third downs, and Seattle finished 3-for-11. Cousins was 20-of-33 passing for 208 yards and a passer rating of 89.0. Stefon Diggs led the Vikings with 76 yards on four receptions, and Cook rushed 13 times for 55 yards. Wilson finished with 72 yards passing but gained 61 on the ground. Carson led Seattle with 90 yards on 22 rushes. The Seahawks totaled 214 rushing yards and limited the Vikings to 77 on the ground. Seattle opened the game with three consecutive runs, but Anthony Barr stuffed Chris Carson for no gain on a third-and-1 to force a quick punt. The Seahawks again pounded the ball on their second possession, but the drive stalled in the red zone when Danielle Hunter recorded a sack on a third-and-9. In addition to forcing a field goal, the takedown gave Hunter 12.5 sacks for the season, which tied his career high from 2016. He has 38 in his first four seasons with Minnesota, which is third all-time behind Jared Allen (62 from 2008-11) and Alan Page (39 from 1967-70). Hunter also pressured Wilson into a poor decision just before halftime. The defensive end closed in and got a hit on Wilson as the quarterback lobbed a no-look pass that Eric Kendricks bobbled but secured as he fell to the ground. If Kendricks had caught the ball cleanly, he had nothing but turf in his path to the opposite end zone and might have been able to take it the distance. The most important part was securing the catch because Seattle dominated the first half in multiple aspects, outgaining Minnesota 175 to 61, averaging 5.0 yards and allowing just 3.1 yards per play. The Seahawks racked up 136 rushing yards on 22 rushes, earned 12 first downs and held the ball for 17:51 of the first half. Although yielding yardage on the ground, Minnesota’s defense limited Russell Wilson to 7-of-12 passing for 44 yards and the interception. The Vikings were 0-for-4 on third downs in the first half, Cousins was limited to 27 yards on 4-of-8 passing, and Minnesota didn’t snap an offensive play in Seahawks territory. Cousins’ 27 yards were a career low in a first half. Adam Thielen, who entered Week 14 leading the NFL with 98 receptions wasn’t targeted in the first half. Thielen finished with five receptions for 70 yards, becoming the first Viking to have more than 100 receptions in a season since Randy Moss in 2003.Scoring Drives Q2, 14:11 remaining Seahawks 3, Vikings 0 Sebastian Janikowski kicks a 37-yard field goal [13 plays, 70 yards, 6:39] Freshly ground: Seattle rushed seven times for 47 yards, combining power runs, zone reads and a scramble out of trouble by Russell Wilson. Q4, 13:22 remaining Seahawks 6, Vikings 0 Janikowski kicks a 35-yard field goal [8 plays, 43 yards, 3:39] Thanks for the penalty and points: Tyler Lockett went to the ground and drew a 31-yard penalty on Xavier Rhodes on a third-and-8 from the Minnesota 41, even though the ball landed out of bounds. Q4, 2:53 remaining Seahawks 14, Vikings 0 Chris Carson rushes for a 2-yard touchdown (Wilson conversion pass to Lockett) [7 plays, 63 yards, 2:45] Set up by scramble: The drive involved five run plays and a 40-yard scramble by Wilson on the lone pass play of the possession. Q4, 2:35 remaining Seahawks 21, Vikings 0 Justin Coleman returns a fumble 29 yards for a touchdown (Janikowski kick) Grab and go: Coleman, who spent time with the Vikings in 2015, picked up a fumble that was forced during a sack of Kirk Cousins by Jacob Martin. Q4, 1:10 remaining Seahawks 21, Vikings 7 Dalvin Cook catches a 6-yard pass from Cousins (Bailey kick) [6 plays, 70 yards, 1:25] Avoid the snide: The score kept Minnesota from suffering its first shutout since 2007.

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