A back-and-forth affair on Monday Night Football resulted in a narrow Seattle Seahawks victory, 37-30, over the Minnesota Vikings.
The win brings the Seahawks to 10-2 on the season, and gives them sole possession of first place in the NFC West over the 49ers – who have an identical record but who Seattle holds a tiebreaker over.
The Seahawks and Vikings kept things close in the first half, with Minnesota heading into the locker room with a 17-10 lead after drilling a field goal as time expired.
The score would have been tied had it not been for a bizarre interception thrown by Russell Wilson. Wilson threw a pass that was batted away at the line by defensive tackle Armon Watts. Wilson attempted to knock the ball through the air to a receiver but it was instead picked off by defensive back Anthony Harris who ran it in for a touchdown.
Seattle rebounded with a strong third quarter however, as the team rattled off 24 unanswered points, 17 in the third, thanks to a one-yard touchdown run from Rashaad Penny, a Jason Myers field goal and a 60-yard bomb from Wilson to David Moore with five seconds remaining in the quarter. It was the first passing touchdown of the game for either side.
Seattle carried that momentum into the fourth, with a Tre Flowers interception leading to the second passing touchdown of the game, this time a 13-yard reception by Rashaad Penny – his second score in another remarkable performance for the second-year pro.
However, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins got in on the fun shortly after, finding Laquon Treadwell on a 58-yard touchdown to bring the score within 10.
Seattle looked to have the game in hand midway through the fourth, but a costly DK Metcalf fumble allowed Cousins to march back down the field, and he found veteran Kyle Rudolph for a touchdown to bring the game within four, thanks to a missed PAT by Dan Bailey.
Seattle managed to hang on however, and while it wasn’t pretty, and Wilson certainly didn’t do anything to help his MVP candidacy, (240 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, 98.9 passer rating) the Seahawks are now in possession of first place in the NFC West, and dramatically improved their odds of securing a playoff spot and potentially a first round bye.
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