By Adam Roberts – 10/12/2020
With the ball at the Seahawks’ 6 yard line, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had a decision to make. Up 26-21 late in the fourth quarter, with his starting running back Dalvin Cook dealing with a groin injury, there were two options on the table: kick the chip shot field goal and go up 8, or try and sink the dagger into the Seahawks’ heart.
The odds would probably suggest kick the field goal, but Zimmer went for it all. And in doing so, he came up completely empty. Running in place of Cook, Alexander Mattison was stopped at the line of scrimmage, turning things over to MVP-candidate Russell Wilson. The former Badger used the opportunity to complete a 13 play, 94 yard drive, capped by a DK Metcalf touchdown with 15 seconds left for a 27-26 win. With no time left to mount a real threat, the Vikings now find themselves at 1-4.
Going over the stats, it really feels like the Vikings gave this one away. They led tome of possession 39:28 to 20:32, had 31 first downs to Seattle’s 18, led in total offense by 135 yards, 201 of which were on the ground, and didn’t allow a single Seahawk third down conversion (0-7 on the night).
But on that final drive, Wilson and Metcalf were electric, going 3-5 on the drive with two critical fourth down conversions; one on 4th and 10 on the first set of downs, and then the exclamation point in the endzone.
Minnesota welcomes the 0-5 Falcons on Sunday, who themselves are without a permanent general manager or head coach this morning following the firing of GM Thomas Dimitroff and HC Dan Quinn.