Seahawks could have had win of season. Instead they gave it away to Vikings.


Seahawks could have had win of season. Instead they gave it away to Vikings.

If it were Week 4, or if their playoff hopes didn't just take a haymaker, maybe they could walk away with some encouragement.

After all, for the first time all season, the Seahawks showed that they could hang with NFL A-listers.

But there is no glimmer of gratification from that 27-24 loss to the Vikings Sunday, no hint of optimism. The Seahawks had the victory -- then they gave it away.

I would imagine the 30-13 bludgeoning the Seahawks endured a week earlier at the hands of the Packers was much easier to stomach than this one. Green Bay dominated them from the opening drive and left no room from what-ifs or what-could-have-beens.

But the eye test -- not to mention the score with less than four minutes to go -- indicated that the home team was outplaying mighty Minnesota (13-2). Then unforced errors, blown coverages, sacks and interceptions did the Seahawks in. Now the what-ifs may stay with them all offseason.

"That's a tough one ... it sucks," linebacker Ernest Jones IV said.

No need for a particularly eloquent quote to try and summarize how the Seahawks (8-7) are feeling right now. If the Rams (9-6) win on Saturday, they will almost surely clinch the division regardless of how the Seahawks play in their final two games.

It didn't have to be that way. Not with the Seahawks leading 24-20 with 3:51 left in the game. Not when preventing an explosive play or avoiding a costly penalty seemed like the only requisites in pulling off the upset. Not when anything but a sack would have kept them in field-goal range on their penultimate drive.

Total yards favored the Seahawks by a significant margin. Doesn't matter when there's a total collapse.

The breakdown: After trailing 17-7 midway through the second quarter, the Seahawks scored 10 unanswered points thanks largely to defensive adjustments and the Geno Smith-led passing attack. Minnesota went up 20-17 on its first drive of the second half, but after forcing two straight punts, the Seahawks took a 24-20 lead on the heels of an 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Smith to tight end AJ Barner.

It looked as if Geno had just engineered his fourth game-winning drive and fourth-quarter comeback of the season -- two areas in which he led the NFL last year. This outcome seemed even more likely after the Seahawks' defense appeared to have sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold on the ensuing possession, which would have made it third-and-18 from Minnesota's 38.

Alas, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II was called for a face mask on that play, negating the sack and giving the Vikings a first down on the Seahawks' 39. They scored one play later when Darnold dropped a pass into the hands of receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught the ball between cornerback Riq Woolen and safety Julian Love for the touchdown.

Murphy said the flag was bull you-know-what, but the replay said otherwise. Moreover, that was one of 11 accepted penalties for a Seahawks team that came into the game as the fifth-most penalized team in the NFL.

"Against a team like this, the unforced errors have to get cleaned up, that starts with me," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said.

The game was far from over at that point, though. The Seahawks got the ball back with just a shade less than four minutes to go and marched down to the Vikings' 37. Then on first-and-10, Smith took a 6-yard sack that, two plays later, forced the Seahawks to choose between punting, trying a 60-yard field goal to tie or going for the first down. They chose the 60-yard kick, which fell at least 5 yards short with 1:55 left in the game. They actually got the ball back, but a Smith interception derailed any chance on a comeback.

Smith's thoughts on the sack?

"I got sacked. I'm pretty sure y'all were watching and can figure it out, but I got sacked."

And the pick?

"It was an interception, man. Anything you see that goes wrong, put it on me," said Smith, who had two interceptions and three touchdown passes on the day. "If it don't look right, put it on me."

This loss isn't on Geno, even if there were some mishaps. This was a collective effort from a group that, let's be frank, has been getting in its own way all season.

Sunday could have been the catalyst the Seahawks needed to not only put them in a situation where they could win the division, but provide confidence that they can go deep into the playoffs. Now, barring an extreme tiebreaker scenario, they need the Rams to lose to the Cardinals on Saturday to have any chance at the playoffs. L.A. has won eight of its last 10 and Arizona has lost four of its past six. Seattle's desired outcome is unlikely.

This could have gone down as the win of the season. Now the Seahawks need help if they want to extend their season.

They gave Minnesota a run, no doubt. But in the end, they gave it away.

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