It’s a good time to be a cardiologist in the Seattle area thanks to all these heart-pounding Seahawks games. For the second time in three games, the Seahawks were back on “Monday Night Football” and yet again it came down to a wild fourth quarter.
The Seahawks downed the 8-win Vikings in front of a national audience to improve to 10-2 and take first place in the NFC West. Meanwhile, the Vikings stay put at the No. 6 seed and a game and a half behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.
For whatever reason, the Seahawks can never seem to play a normal game as they always come down to nail-biters late. As a result, here’s who stood out in the Seahawks’ explosive win.
No. 1 Stud – Seattle’s running backs
When Rashaad Penny was drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, it was expected the Seahawks would employ a 1-2-punch at running back. For the most part, this dream was not realized as Chris Carson took off as the clear No. 1 back.
However, the dream came to fruition on Monday Night as both Carson and Penny had strong performances against one of the best defenses in the entire NFL. Carson bounced back from a forgettable afternoon against the Eagles with 23 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Penny had 74 yards on 15 carries, along with 33 yards through the air and a receiving touchdown.
When Carson and Penny are both rolling, this Seahawks offense is hard to stop.
No. 1 Dud – Seahawks fourth-quarter defense
This game was over at the start of the fourth quarter. The Seahawks were up 34-17 and managed to score two touchdowns in the span of 60 seconds. Momentum was squarely in their corner and looked like they were cruising to a dominant victory.
Then the Vikings struck back. Hard. Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins certainly wanted to prove he could win in a big moment and exploded in the final quarter. The Seahawks gave up two touchdown passes to Cousins, including a 58-yard bomb to receiver Laquon Treadwell.
Seattle’s defense reopened a slammed-shut door and made the game much closer than it needed to be.
No. 2 Stud – Courageous coaching
For as well respected and regarded as Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is, he is also often criticized for his fourth-down decision making.
In a league becoming increasingly more aggressive, Carroll has stuck to his trademark conservative philosophy, which draws the ire of many Seahawk fans.
On Monday, Carroll and his staff likely earned a little goodwill from the naysayers. With momentum about to be tilting towards the Vikings as they cut Seattle’s lead to only 10, the Seahawks ran a fake punt deep in their own territory to flip the field and set the offense up nicely.
Unfortunately, this attempt at recapturing momentum did not last.
No. 2 Dud – DK Metcalf
Admittedly, this might be a tad harsh. Metcalf bounced back well from a multiple-drop day versus the Eagles. Seattle’s top rookie caught six of seven passes for a team-high 75 yards.
Unfortunately, Metcalf makes the list because of the biggest mistake of the night. On the same drive extended by the gutsy fake-punt, Metcalf ended it with a crucial fumble to keep momentum still with the Vikings.
Metcalf has made remarkable plays this season and in this game, but his inconsistency seems to strike at the most inopportune moments.
No. 3 Stud – Russell Wilson
This was not Wilson’s best day. Although he completed 21 of 31 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, he also had one of the most bizarre pick-sixes as well as a 13-yard sack with ample protection to essentially kill a drive and give Minnesota one more chance to win it.
But Wilson makes the Studs list this week for two reasons. First, Wilson is now an astonishing 6-0 against the Vikings. Wilson simply owns the Purple People Eaters.
Second, Wilson improved to 9-2 on Monday Night Football, which just beat out Randall Cunningham as the quarterback with the highest win percentage on Mondays.
Each week it seems as if Wilson is breaking new records, and continues to prove why he is deserving of being in the MVP race.
