The Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings played a back-and-forth affair in the second preseason game of the year Sunday, with Minnesota prevailing 25-19.
Seattle’s starters played the majority of the first half but gave way to the backups for the final two quarters.
Quarterback Russell Wilson got his first preseason action of the year, finishing 6-of-9 for 82 yards. He found veteran wide receiver Jaron Brown twice and Tyler Lockett three times in their first action this preseason as well.
Paxton Lynch took over after that and played until he was removed from the game following a vicious hit to the helmet from Vikings defensive back Holton Hill, who was ejected.
Lynch finished 6-of-15 for 67 yards, a far cry from his strong performance in the preseason opener.
The offense struggled as a whole, gaining 221 yards total, including only 103 in the second half. Preseason darling Jazz Ferguson was quiet, with just two receptions on seven targets for 24 yards.
Fellow rookie John Ursua had one reception for 25 yards and one sweep play out of the backfield that went for 11 yards.
Gary Jennings did not receive a single target until the final play of the game, which was way overthrown and intercepted. David Moore only had one target, an 8-yard gain, and he was replaced by Malik Turner early in the game.
Defensively, the team was led once again by Austin Calitro, who had eight combined tackles — although the defensive play of the game went to veteran safety DeShawn Shead, who picked off Sean Mannion and took it 88 yards for a touchdown.
However, the rest of the defensive backs struggled, with Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers both getting beaten badly by Adam Thielen early in the contest. Akeem King, Jamar Taylor and Kalan Reed all got exposed throughout the contest as well, not helping the cause for any of them in the hotly contested battle at nickelback.
The defensive line had their moments, with Poona Ford, Jamie Meder, Al Woods and Rasheem Green all making tackles for loss. The team got decent pressure early in the contest, with Cassius Marsh and Barkevious Mingo helping to cause the interception by Mannion.
However, the Seahawks didn’t record a single sack, further emphasizing the team’s need for more of a pass rush this year.
The Seahawks have a short week before their third preseason game, which will take place on Saturday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. against the Los Angeles Chargers in Carson, California.
