3 Up, 3 Down: All the Negatives and Few Positives From Seahawks' 30-17 Meltdown in Minnesota
The Seahawks are 1-2 for the first time since 2018, falling by a score of 30-17 to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. After jumping out to an early 17-7 lead, Seattle possessed the ball for just nine minutes and 50 seconds on its final six drives of the game while its defense allowed 453 yards of total offense to Minnesota.
Let's take a look at the few positives and the laundry list of negatives from the Seahawks' second loss in a row.
3 Up
QB Russell Wilson
You wouldn't be able to tell by glancing at the final box score, but the Seahawks looked like a team on a mission early on. Wilson was surgical through the entire first half, maneuvering the pocket efficiently and utilizing the middle of the field often. Unfortunately, he and the rest of the offense could not find a rhythm in the second half after spending most of it on the sideline as Seattle's defense crumbled drive after drive. Overall, he completed 23 of 32 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown with most of the damage coming in the first two quarters—a solid bounce back after struggling late against the Titans last week, but still not good enough. Ultimately, this one doesn't fall on him.
WR DK Metcalf
After two underwhelming efforts to start the year, Metcalf was right at the center of the Seahawks' hot start in this one. On the receiving end of six completions on the day, the third-year wideout posted 107 yards and a score versus a shaky Vikings secondary. Most importantly: he did not appear bothered by the sore knee he dealt with last week.
WR Tyler Lockett
Lockett cooled down following a monster start to the season, recording just 31 yards on four receptions. However, he's on this list simply for being able to finish this game after going down with what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury in the fourth quarter. Twisted on a tackle by Bashaud Breeland, Lockett was down on the field for several minutes as the Seahawks' training staff tended to him. With his teammates gathered around him—many on one knee—it seemed as if Seattle's day got a whole lot worse than it already was. But the three-time All-Pro was able to miraculously return to action later on in the period.
3 Down
The entire Seahawks' defense
There's really no need to do a three down this week, honestly; the culprits in this loss were quite apparent. The Seahawks' defense as a whole was downright atrocious all afternoon long, showing zero resistance against Kirk Cousins and company.
Aside from Darrell Taylor's strip-sack of Cousins in the third quarter, their pass rush was virtually non-existent. As a result, the Vikings' passing attack walked all over them from start to finish, exposing the deficiencies of D.J. Reed, Tre Flowers and Ugo Amadi. All three were wholly uncompetitive in their assignments against Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn.
Third downs were a nightmare for Seattle, allowing Minnesota to convert on eight of 12 attempts, often in big ways. Only one of those failed attempts led to a punt. In all, the Vikings possessed the ball for 35 minutes and 53 seconds and the Seahawks' offense, consequently, had just four second-half drives.
It's still very early in the season, but there's no way around it right now: this defense is in a bad place and there's no clear fix in sight.
Pete Carroll
Taking everything we just covered on the defense into consideration, Carroll's decision to punt on 4th and 7 from Seattle's 43-yard line—down 10 points with less than 12 minutes on the clock—is truly mind-boggling. And, to no one's surprise, Minnesota subsequently marched down the field on a 12-play, 88-yard drive capped, coming away with a field goal while eating seven minutes and eight seconds off the game clock. This was a proverbial waving of the white flag by Carroll, who needed to take a chance but instead put his faith in his team's biggest weakness.
K Jason Myers
Myers was ultimately the least of Seattle's concerns on Sunday, but his streak of 37-straight made field goals came to an unfortunate end on a 44-yard attempt faded left of the goal posts. That proved to be the Seahawks' last real chance to put up points in this one.
