Seahawks-Vikings GameCenter: Live updates, highlights, how to watch, stream

The Seahawks dropped to 1-2 — yes, 1-2 — after the Vikings overcame a 10-point second-quarter deficit for a 30-17 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Here are instant impressions from the game.

MINNEAPOLIS – Remember when the Seahawks used to always start slow but then rally late, leading to Pete Carroll’s famous statement about winning games in the fourth quarter?

Those days might have been stressful but they were also a heck of a lot more fun and successful than what fans are seeing from the 2021 Seahawks three games in.

For the second straight game, the Seahawks came out hot and opened up a double-digit lead.

And for the second straight week, they blew it all, with the defense unable to stop much of anything and the offense going cold turkey in the second half as the Vikings stormed to a 30-17 win in Minnesota.

Read more here.

The drive: Five plays, 17 yards, 2:03.

Next possession: Vikings take over at own 43.

Time left: 2:28 in 4Q.

The scoring play: Greg Joseph hits a 20-yard field goal as the Vikings opt for a short field goal, instead of going for it on the 1-yard line late in this one.

The drive: 12 plays, 88 yards, 7:08.

The story: This sure looks like it's over. The Vikings just imposed its will across 12 plays, but at least they chose to not make it a three-score game, for some reason.

The score: Vikings 30, Seahawks 17. 4:31 left in 4Q.

The drive: Five plays, 18 yards, 1:59.

The story: Lots of hits and misses on this drive. Tyler Lockett was hurt on an apparent fumble, but the call was overturned and Lockett walked off on his own and appeared to want back in. But Russell Wilson missed Freddie Swain on a key third-and-7 and the Seahawks punted back to the Vikings.

Next possession: Vikings on own 11.

Time left: 11:48 left in 4Q.

The scoring play: Greg Joseph hits a 34-yard field goal to extend the Vikings' lead.

The drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 5:01.

The score: Vikings 27, Seahawks 17. 13:47 in 4Q.

Carson exits

Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse for the Seahawks, Chris Carson limped off the field after the Seahawks’ first snap of the third quarter.
Carson appeared to favor his left leg as he gingerly jogged off the field.

With Rashaad Penny (calf strain) again out this week, Alex Collins and Travis Homer are the next up at running back. 

Third-quarter disasters

Third quarters have doomed the Seahawks so far this season.
Midway through the second quarter today, the Seahawks led 17-7.

At the end of the third quarter, they trail 24-17.

Disaster.

The offense has yet to score in any third quarter through three games. Granted, Russell Wilson has had just two possessions in each of the past two third quarters — against Tennessee last week and against the Vikings today — but they still haven’t done enough with even those limited touches.

And the defense? Well, that’s a whole ‘nother issue.

Questions about on defense

What can this Seahawks defense do well?

That’s an honest question.

Because right now it’s difficult to identify to any one thing that it can hang it hat on.

We thought it had a chance to be a great pass-rush team. In the season-opening win against the Colts, the Seahawks looked like they had 10 guys capable of getting to the QB on any given down.

Now?

Now they can’t do anything well. They can’t stop the run. They can’t stop the pass. They can’t rush the QB. They can’t get off the field on third down.

This defense doesn’t look any better than it did in the first half of 2020, and that’s a scary thought.

The drive: Five plays, 7 yards, 1:57.

The story: A long sack on second down stalled the Seahawks offense here. They'll punt back to the Vikings following two straight Minnesota scoring drives.

Next possession: Vikings on own 25.

Time left: 3:48 in 3Q.

The scoring play: Vikings kicker Greg Joseph hit a 43-yard field goal.

The drive: 16 plays, 50 yards, 8:26.

The story: Holding the Vikings to just a field goal was huge here for the Seahawks. But paired with the drive to end the first half, another easy, efficient drive for Minnesota is not a good sign for the Seahawks defense.

The score: Vikings 24, Seahawks 17. 6:34 left in 3Q.

About that pass defense …

For the second straight week Seattle has blown an early double-digit lead, allowing the Vikings to rally from a 17-7 deficit to a 21-17 halftime lead. We’ll see if this time it also turns into a loss.

But Pete Carroll cannot be happy about the defense and especially the pass defense as Kirk Cousins is 16 for 20 for 185 yards and three touchdowns.

And he’s picked on cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Tre Flowers pretty equally, though Reed has given up the last two TDs.

Cousins has often had all day to throw as the Seahawks have no sacks and just one QB hit (one sack was negated due to a holding penalty on Ugo Amadi).

Seattle is already playing without Benson Mayowa, inactive with a neck injury, while Kerry Hyder is now being evaluated for a concussion.

Where are the turnovers?

Carroll preaches constantly that “it’s all about the ball," meaning taking care of it on offense and getting it on defense.

Seattle has done a good job this year taking care of it, with just one lost turnover this year.

But they aren’t getting it a whole lot, forcing just two fumbles, one on a fourth-down play by Carson Wentz two weeks ago.

That Seattle does not have any interceptions seems illustrative of the issues Seattle is having with its pass defense, which has struggled the past two games.

DK, DK, DK

DK Metcalf good-naturedly answered questions this week about his slow start to the season. But it also seemed evident he didn’t intend to stay down long.

And this was as opposite from a slow start as possible as Metcalf had three receptions on Seattle’s first drive, ending it with a 10-yard catch for a TD.

He finished the half with five receptions for 88 yards and a TD, and it looks like the Seahawks are going to need a whole lot more where that came from to pull this one out.

Adams hit and miss so far

There was a lot of discussion this week about the Seahawks still trying to figure out how best to use safety Jamal Adams.

That chatter won’t stop based on the first half.

Adams has a team-high six tackles, including a nice play on a bootleg to keep Cousins to just a 2-yard gain.

But he’s also had a few misses,

He whiffed on an attempted shoulder tackle of Alexander Mattison on a play that helped jump-start Minnesota’s second TD drive.

And on the TD itself, Adams blitzed up the middle but basically just ran into blocks. That helped leave the middle open for Adam Thielen to catch a 15-yard TD pass from Cousins that cut Seattle’s lead to 17-14.

And as the Vikings offensive prowess shows, opponents are not at all in fear of Seattle’s secondary.

The scoring play: QB Kirk Cousins hit WR Justin Jefferson for a 3-yard touchdown to the right.

The drive: 12 plays, 66 yards, 2:58.

The story: The Vikings were 3-for-3 on third down on that drive to grab the lead right before halftime. Oh and Minnesota starts with the ball to open the second half.

The score: Vikings 21, Seahawks 17. 0:16 left in 2Q.

The highlight:

The drive: Six plays, 53 yards, 2:14.

The story: Jason Myers missed a 44-yard field goal as the Seahawks kicker's streak of 37 consecutive field goals made comes to an end.

Next possession: Vikings have possession at their 26.

Time left: 3:14 in 2Q.

The scoring play: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins hits WR Adam Thielen for a 15-yard touchdown.

The drive: Nine plays, 85 yards, 5:44.

The score: Seahawks 17, Vikings 14. 5:28 in 2Q.

The highlight:

The scoring play: Chris Carson takes a handoff to the left and goes untouched 30 yards for the touchdown.

The drive: Six plays, 76 yards, 3:333

The story: The run has been established for the Seahawks.

The score: Seahawks 17, Vikings 7. 11:12 in 2Q.

The highlight:

The drive: Three plays, 3 yards, 0:42.

Next possession: Seahawks start with ball at their own 35.

Time left: 14:45 in 2Q.

The scoring play: Jason Myers hit a 53-yard field goal to retake the lead.

The drive: 11 plays, 40 yards, 6:10.

The score: Seahawks 10, Vikings 7. 0:27 left in 1Q.

Scoring play: Kirk Cousins hit tight end Tyler Conklin with a short pass to the left for a 7-yard touchdown.

The drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:49.

The score: Seahawks 7, Vikings 7. 6:37 left in 1Q.

The highlight:

The scoring play: Seahawks QB Russell Wilson passes right to WR DK Metcalf for a 10-yard touchdown.

The drive: Six plays, 75 yards, 6:08

The story: DK Metcalf. So much for this slow start to the season. Wilson found Metcalf three times for a total of 54 yards and the touchdown.

The score: Seahawks 7, Vikings 0. 10:26 left in 1Q.

The highlight:

MINNEAPOLIS — Receiver Josh Gordon, a member of the Seahawks the past two seasons, is expected to be reinstated by the NFL soon, according to a report Friday from ESPN.

And when he is, the Seahawks will explore signing him, general manager John Schneider said during his regular segment on the team’s pregame radio show Sunday in Minnesota.

The ESPN report stated Gordon could be available to play as soon as next week.

Schneider, when asked about Gordon, said there is nothing official yet from the NFL.

Read more here.

RENTON — When NFL schedules were released in May, the quartet of games that begins Sunday for the Seahawks loomed large.

Sunday’s contest at Minnesota, which kicks off at 1:25 p.m., is the first of three over the next four weeks on the road against teams with legitimate playoff aspirations, sandwiching a game against the dreaded Los Angeles Rams.

After the trip to Minnesota comes a visit to the 49ers next Sunday. After a quick turnaround for a Thursday night home game Oct. 7 against the Rams, the Seahawks head to Pittsburgh in what is technically the game added once the NFL expanded its regular season to 17 games.

Which is why what happened last Sunday — blowing a 14-point fourth-quarter lead at home against Tennessee to stunningly lose 33-30 in overtime — could hang over the Seahawks.

At 2-0, the Seahawks would at least have a cushion heading into this stretch. 

But at 1-1, the Seahawks would have to win at least two of the three road games to have a winning record in mid-October.

Read more here.

No, it’s not just your imagination. The Seahawks and Vikings have indeed played a lot recently — six times in the regular season since 2012 and another in the playoffs, and the last three years in Seattle.

“Yeah, I thought they signed a contract for us to go over there,” Vikings running back Dalvin Cook joked last week. “It’s been crazy.”

It’s also just been something of a quirk due in part to Seattle and the Vikings often finishing in the same place in their respective divisions and then playing each other the following year based on the league’s scheduling formula, though this year is because the NFC West is playing the NFC North.

And this year, the game is in Minnesota, where the Vikings will have fans in the stands for the first time since 2019 after starting the season with two on the road.

Here’s our weekly look at some keys to the game.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL with 192 yards, will not play against the Seahawks Sunday due to an ankle injury.

Among Seattle’s seven inactive players is 2019 first-round pick L.J. Collier, a heathy scratch for the second time in three games. Seattle's other inactive players are Dee Eskridge, Benson Mayowa, Jake Luton, Rashaad Penny, Brandon Shell and Marquise Blair.

Seahawks GM John Schneider said on the team’s pregame radio show that Blair banged his knee during practice this week and realized during pregame warmups that he couldn’t go. John Reid, who had been set to be inactive, will be active with Blair out. Schneider said the injury to Blair "doesn’t appear to be anything extremely serious."

Mayowa dealt with a neck injury all week while Eskridge is out with a concussion, Shell an ankle injury and Penny a calf injury.

Seattle elevated receiver Cody Thompson and defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche from the practice squad Saturday and each will play today.

Cook was listed as questionable for the game but the fact he practiced some on Friday led to the belief he would play.

But Cook was listed as one of Minnesota’s seven inactives before the game and the Vikings will instead go with Alexander Mattison, a former Boise State star, as their starting running back.

Other Vikings inactive are: QB Kellen Mond, CB Harrison Hand, LB Anthony Barr, T Christian Darrisaw, DT James Lynch, DE Patrick Jones II.