In a wild, back-and-forth affair between two teams jockeying for NFC playoff position, the Minnesota Vikings went into Lumen Field and defeated the Seattle Seahawks 27-24.
Justin Jefferson absolutely owned the afternoon, catching 10 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns — the latter of which served as the game winner. Sam Darnold was both efficient and explosive throughout the game, completing 22 of 35 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns, as he also connected with Jordan Addison for a score early on.
Neither team got much going in the run game all afternoon, which meant this turned into a shootout between Darnold and Geno Smith. Each quarterback made some electrifying throws, and their top targets shined all day long. Jefferson and Addison each scored, as did DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
In the end, this game may have come down to the fact that Smith made one more mistake than did his counterpart — an interception midway through the second quarter. He was pressured by Vikings all-everything defender Josh Metellus on the play, then forced a throw when he probably should have just thrown it away. Rookie linebacker Dallas Turner came away with the pick, which set up a Vikings field goal.
The Seahawks would eventually come back from that miscue, erasing a 10-point deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter after Smith’s third touchdown toss of the game. But the Vikings immediately responded to that drive with a touchdown of their own, as Darnold stepped up in the pocket and, under heavy pressure, delivered a strike to Jefferson between two closing defenders.
Seattle would actually have two late chances to try to tie the game, but Jason Myers’ 60-yard field goal attempt on the first of those two drives fell short and then Smith was picked again on a last-ditch drive that lasted just one snap. In capturing the win, the Vikings improved to 13-2 and kept pace at the top of both the NFC North and the conference race, which will come down to the last two weeks of the season.
Why the Vikings won
They made one more play than did the Seahawks. With the running games struggling, we saw Sam Darnold and Geno Smith trading dimes throughout most of the afternoon. Darnold repeatedly hooked up with Jefferson and Addison, finding them for all three of his scores. He maneuvered himself in and out of pressure, fired the ball into tight windows, extended drives and created big plays. The defense allowed Smith to march the Seahawks up and down the field with relative ease several times, but also came away with two massive interceptions — one toward the end of each half. The first of those resulted in a field goal that provided the margin of victory, while the second ended the game.
Why the Seahawks lost
They made one fewer play than did the Vikings. As mentioned, this turned into a shootout between Darnold and Smith. And Smith nearly matched him throw for throw, including ripping off some absolute lasers that had no business being completed. But he threw two interceptions. The “one play shy” theme carried over to other areas. The Seahawks went 2 of 10 on third down, while the Vikings went 3 of 12. Jason Myers came up short on a 60-yard field goal that would have tied the game late in the fourth. The Seahawks even had a scant 7 more penalty yards than did the Vikings. They were close … but came up just short.
Turning point
With the Vikings trailing 24-20 late in the fourth quarter, they faced a second-and-10 just shy of midfield. Darnold was heavily pressured on the play and eventually sacked by Byron Murphy II … but Murphy grabbed a hold of Darnold’s face mask on the play, turning third-and-18 into first-and-10. That put the Vikings in position for …
Highlight play
We’ve got to go with Justin Jefferson’s second score of the game, which proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
Sam Darnold did a fantastic job of escaping pressure and stepping up in the pocket, then delivering a perfect ball between the two closing defensive backs. Jefferson had to reach slightly behind himself to reel it in, and he spun his way into the end zone to push the Vikings on their way to their latest victory.
What’s next
Minnesota improved to 13-2 with the win and remains in second place in the NFC North by virtue of the Lions holding the head-to-head tiebreaker against them. They are currently the No. 5 seed in the NFC and would head on the road to play the NFC South winner in the first round of the playoffs, if the standings hold. Minnesota hosts the Packers next week and then travels to Detroit to take on the Lions in what could be a de facto NFC North title game, and also determine home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
Seattle dropped to 8-7 with this loss, falling a full game behind the Rams in the NFC West in the process. The Seahawks are two games behind the No. 7 seed Commanders in the NFC playoff race at the moment, so their best path is finding a way to win the division. They travel to Chicago to take on the Bears next week, then visit the Rams in Los Angeles in Week 18. L.A. won the first game between the two teams and thus currently owns the tiebreaker. If Seattle wins that game, the tiebreaker would move to record inside the NFC West, then record against common opponents.
