After a convincing victory over the Denver Broncos last week, the Seattle Seahawks sputtered against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday night. Displaying considerable struggles moving the ball and getting timely defensive stops, the Seahawks drop to 1-1 on the preseason this summer.
In the end, the depth of the Vikings proved too much for a young Seahawks squad resting and giving limited action to many of their core starters. Seattle was able to hang on to make it competitive, but Minnesota had built an insurmountable lead late.
As a result, here are 3 Duds compared to only 2 Studs from Seattle’s second preseason game.
No. 1 Dud – Seahawks offensive line
Stop if you have heard this one before: The Seahawks offensive line struggled mightily and it helped cost the team a winnable game.
The line was bullied early and often by the talented defensive front of the Vikings, making it feel like Seattle was playing catch-up for the entirety of the game. Several drives were ended before they began due to holding calls on first or second down, pushing the struggling offense back further.
The telling statistic of the night was this: Seattle only finished with 76 rushing yards despite eight total players carrying the football.
No. 1 Stud – Jason Myers
You can tell what kind of game it is when the kicker is the No. 1 stud of the week, but this honor absolutely goes to Jason Myers. After missing his first kick of the preseason last week, the 2018 Pro Bowler has been a sharpshooter since.
On Sunday night, Myers nailed all four of his kicks and his lone PAT. When it was all said and done, Myers finished the night scoring 13 of Seattle’s 19 total points.
Considering the immense kicking struggles the Seahawks have faced the last three seasons, Seattle can at least rest easy knowing they have a reliable player at this position even after a loss.
No. 2 Dud – Paxton Lynch
Lynch was the star of the game last week against the Denver Broncos, but on Sunday night in Minneapolis, he was anything but.
With Geno Smith sitting due to his knee procedure, and the natural reluctance to play Russell Wilson in preseason, Lynch was given the opportunity to play nearly the entire game. He followed his strong performance last week with a complete setback, completing only 6-of-15 passes for 67 yards, no touchdowns, and a passer rating of 54.
Lynch left the game after a helmet-to-helmet hit and promptly entered the concussion protocol.
It appears there is still much to determine in Seattle’s backup quarterback competition.
No. 2 Stud – DeShawn Shead
Shead is having himself a nice summer and continued his strong play against the Vikings in a big way.
With the game tied at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, the Vikings reached Seattle’s 18-yard line. Backup quarterback Sean Mannion’s errant pass was intercepted by Shead, who returned the ball 88 yards for a touchdown.
Shead also finished the night with five tackles and one pass deflection. Scoring Seattle’s only touchdown of the night is a good way to end up on the Stud list.
No. 3 Dud – Rashaad Penny
Penny made the Dud list last week and finds himself here once again. While on some level criticizing his struggles might not be entirely fair, given the poor play of the offensive line, it should be noted his performance on Sunday regressed strongly from last week.
Against Denver, Penny had only 15 yards on six carries. Against Minnesota, Penny finished with minus-2 yards on six more carries, coming in dead last among Seattle rushers in the game.
Penny’s lofty draft status as a former first-round pick likely keeps his roster spot out of immediate danger, but it will not bode well for his long-term future should his production continue to falter.
