Seahawks’ defense reigns supreme in 21-7 win over Vikings

SEATTLE — The Seahawks, entering Monday, ranked among the best offenses in the NFL during their three-game winning streak.

On a night Russell Wilson struggled in front of a prime-time audience, Seattle’s young, upstart defense picked its quarterback up in a big way.

“Everybody was making plays when we needed it, and it was very evident tonight,” Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald said.

Seattle blanked Minnesota for nearly 59 minutes, as the Seahawks’ secondary shut down Kirk Cousins and the Vikings’ passing attack in a 21-7 win at CenturyLink Field.

Wilson threw for a career-low 72 yards on 10-of-20 passing, but the Seahawks’ rushing attack eclipsed 200 yards for the second time this year. Chris Carson ran for a game-high 90 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Wilson chipped in 61 yards on seven carries and Rashaad Penny added 44 on eight carries.

Seattle (8-5) never trailed despite struggling to score points, thanks in large part to timely stops by Seattle’s defense.

Minnesota didn’t run a play in Seattle territory until midway through the third quarter, but the Seahawks came up with critical fourth-quarter stops.

Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner continued his brilliant season with a blocked fourth-quarter field goal that preserved a Seattle 6-0 lead, and the Seahawks turned Minnesota over on downs after the Vikings failed to score with four plays inside Seattle’s 5-yard line on the previous drive.

“It’s a mindset,” Wagner said. “It’s a mindset that we have that no matter how they got down (in the red zone) we don’t think anybody can score on us. The more nobody scores, the more and more our confidence grows.”

The win all but clinches a wild card berth for the Seahawks, who own two-game leads or tiebreakers over Minnesota (6-6-1), Carolina (6-7), Philadelphia (6-7) and Washington (6-7) with three weeks to play.

A Sebastian Janikowski 37-yard field goal put Seattle in front 3-0 with 14:11 left in the second quarter and accounted for all of the first-half scoring. The field goal capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:39.

Seattle’s defense stuffed Minnesota throughout the first two quarters. The Vikings gained just 61 yards from scrimmage, as Cousins routinely faced pressure from Seattle’s pass rush.

Frank Clark recorded his 11th sack to stem an early second-quarter drive, and the Seahawks didn’t let the Vikings convert a first-half third down (0-for-4).

Seattle missed several first-half scoring chances. A personal foul knocked the Seahawks out of field-goal range after they moved the ball to the Vikings’ 35 midway through the second quarter.

But the biggest missed opportunity came right before half.

Seattle spent nearly six minutes and 11 plays moving from its own 40 down to Minnesota’s 1-yard line. With 16 seconds left and no timeouts, Wilson dropped back to pass, retreated after facing pressure from Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter and desperately tried to throw the ball away out of bounds as Hunter brought him down. The ball came up well short of the sideline and was picked off by Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks.

Seattle’s defense continued making critical stops into the second half. Minnesota, venturing into Seattle territory for the first time, gambled on a fourth-and-1 on the Seahawks’ 40, but Latavius Murray was denied at the line of scrimmage.

Janikowski extended Seattle’s lead to 6-0 on the following drive. Tyler Lockett drew a 31-yard pass interference call on Minnesota’s Xavier Rhodes, giving the Seahawks a first-and-goal on the Vikings’ 10. A run for no gain, an incompletion and a sack set up Janikowski’s 35-yard kick with 13:22 to play in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota wide receiver Stefon Diggs finally breathed some life into the Vikings’ offense on the ensuing drive, hauling in a 48-yard pass from Cousins over Seattle corner Tre Flowers, who had an otherwise impressive game. The pass put Minnesota on Seattle’s 17, but the Seahawks defense turned the Vikings away with four consecutive stops inside their own 5-yard line.

On first-and-goal from the 4, Murray gained 2 yards. Cousins then threw an incomplete pass followed by a Dalvin Cook run for no gain. Cousins again came up empty on a fourth-and-goal from the 2, as his pass to Kyle Rudolph in the back of the end zone was knocked away by McDougald with 9:06 remaining in the fourth.

Wagner then flashed his athleticism, blocking Dan Bailey’s 46-yard field goal attempt. The All-Pro linebacker leaped over the Vikings’ line between the guard and tackle at the snap and blocked the attempted kick with his left hand, preserving the shutout with 5:46 to go in the fourth.

Carson sealed the game on the following drive, plunging in from the 2-yard line on an inside handoff to give Seattle a 14-0 lead with 2:53 to play.

Following Carson’s score, the Seahawks’ defense for the second straight week found its way into the end zone. Defensive lineman Jacob Martin stripped Cousins before cornerback Justin Coleman scooped the ball up from Minnesota’s 29 and worked around the left side for a score that gave Seattle a 21-0 lead with 2:35 left.

Minnesota avoided the shutout when Cousins threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cook with 1:10 to play. The score cut Seattle’s lead to 21-7.

IMPACT

Seattle (8-5) all but clinched an NFC Wild Card birth with Monday’s win. The Seahawks own comfortable leads over wild card contenders Minnesota (6-6-1), Carolina (6-7), Philadelphia (6-7), Washington (6-7). Despite the loss, the Vikings still slot in as the NFC’s second wild card team.

TOP PERFORMERS

Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks — Wagner led the Seahawks with nine total tackles and had one quarterback hit, but his biggest play was a blocked field goal with 5:46 to play in the fourth. Seattle led 6-0 at the time and followed the block with a touchdown drive.

Justin Coleman, Seattle Seahawks — Coleman was a part of a Seattle secondary that did a great job limiting the dynamic Minnesota pass-catching duo of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. QB Kirk Cousins was held to 208 yards and a late, meaningless touchdown. Coleman also scooped up a fourth-quarter fumble and returned it 29 yards for a TD.

Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks — Carson again paced Seattle’s rushing attack, this week finishing with 90 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. His fourth quarter 2-yard touchdown run gave Seattle a 14-0 lead and effectively sealed the game.

Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings — Minnesota made clear it wanted to establish the run Monday night, and Cook led the Vikings with 55 yards on 13 carries. He also caught five passes for 28 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown reception.

KEY NUMBERS

72 — Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s passing total. The 72 yards marked the lowest output of his Seahawks career. He completed just 10-of-20 passes and was held without a passing touchdown for the second time this year.

40:66 — The amount of time that passed before Minnesota reached Seattle territory. The Vikings didn’t get out of their own end of the field until a 3-yard Dalvin Cook run with 4:16 to play in the third quarter.

214 — Seattle’s rushing total. For the 10th time this year the Seahawks recorded more than 150 rushing yards and eclipsed the 200-yard mark for the second time.

COUNTY CONNECTION

Minnesota reserve linebacker Devante Downs, a Mountlake Terrace Class of 2014 graduate, was active Monday night. He played on several special teams units but didn’t find his way onto the stat sheet.