Minnesota Vikings: Studs and duds vs. Seahawks in Week 13
Stud: Late-game comeback attempt
Minnesota, which jumped out to a 17-10 lead going into halftime in Seattle following a strong first-half performance, fell behind right out of the break with the Seahawks outscoring the Vikings 17-0 in the third quarter to take the lead at home.
In the fourth quarter, however, the Vikings did a nice job in trying to battle back into the game and a lot of positives — mostly on the offensive end of the field rather than on defense — were present during that comeback attempt. Mainly, the way Kirk Cousins and the offense was able to put some solid drives together to put points on the board quickly late in the contest.
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It didn’t result in Minnesota coming away with the win on the road at the end of the night, but that late-game comeback attempt was a positive and something that the Vikings can try and draw from moving forward and possibly even while they begin postseason play.
Dud: Rushing defense
For a majority of the season up to this point, the Vikings defense has consisted of a strong rushing defense, while lacking more in the passing attack and allowing opposing offenses to air the ball out throughout the course of a matchup.
On Monday night in Week 13, however, it was almost the exact opposite on Monday Night Football, with the Seahawks running game putting on a show against the Vikings.
Seattle managed to tally a total of 218 yards and two touchdowns on 43 rushing attempts on the ground, averaging 5.1 yards per run. Chris Carson led the way with 102 yards and one touchdown, backed up by Rashaad Penny’s 74 yards rushing and one touchdown out of the backfield.
Moving forward, it will be important for Minnesota to get back to displaying a strong defensive unit for the remainder of the regular season.