Observations from Seahawks’ crushing 27-24 loss to Vikings

The Seattle Seahawks’ playoff hopes are now on the brink.

The Seahawks dropped their second straight game at home to a top-tier NFC opponent, falling 27-24 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.

With the Los Angeles Rams beating the New York Jets earlier in the day, Seattle (8-7) is now one game behind the Rams (9-6) in the NFC West race with two weeks left in the regular season.

That means the Seahawks will likely need a win over the Chicago Bears (4-11) on Thursday night and a Rams loss to the Arizona Cardinals (7-8) next Sunday to ensure they are still alive for the division title when they face the Rams in their Week 18 regular-season finale.

Here are three things that stood out from the Seahawks’ deflating loss:

• Costly penalties doom Seahawks: Seattle committed two back-breaking defensive penalties that gave Minnesota extra life. The first came midway through the second quarter with Minnesota facing a third-and-8 from the Seattle 19-yard line. Cornerback Tre Brown, playing his first defensive snaps since Week 6, was flagged for lining up offside. The penalty negated a third-down sack from Derick Hall, which would have forced Minnesota to settle for a field goal. Given an extra opportunity, the Vikings capitalized on the very next play, as star wideout Justin Jefferson beat Brown for a 14-yard touchdown reception that gave Minnesota a 14-7 lead. An even more devastating sequence occurred in the fourth quarter, with Seattle clinging to a four-point lead with four minutes to play. Rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II initially appeared to come up with an 8-yard sack, putting Minnesota into a third-and-16 from its own 38-yard line. But Murphy grabbed quarterback Sam Darnold’s facemask while bringing him down, which resulted in a fresh sets of downs for the Vikings and a 23-yard swing in field position. On the very next play, Darnold stepped up in the pocket and again found Jefferson for a go-ahead 39-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the difference in the game.

• Geno has another roller-coaster game: It was another game full of highs and lows for Geno Smith, whose performance on Sunday epitomized the up-and-down nature of his season. Smith completed 31 of 43 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns – including a go-ahead score with 4:21 left – but also had two costly interceptions. Smith’s first pick came in the latter minutes of the first play. As he rolled out to the right on play-action, Minnesota safety Joshua Metellus chased him down and hit Smith just after he released a pass toward tight end Noah Fant. Smith’s throw was off-target and picked off by linebacker Dallas Turner. The interception spotted Minnesota the ball at the Seattle 31-yard line, which led to a field goal that extended the Vikings’ lead to 17-7. Smith rebounded by leading a five-play, 88-yard TD drive in the closing minutes of the first half and then directed an impressive 11-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that gave Seattle a 24-20 lead with under five minutes to play. If not for the Seahawks’ ensuing defensive lapse, it would have been Smith’s eighth fourth-quarter comeback of the past two seasons, which would lead the league. But instead, it ends up as another footnote in a Smith’s up-and-down year.

• O-line holds up well, but late sack looms large: Coming off a miserable seven-sack night in last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, Seattle’s offensive line held up pretty well for most of the day. The Seahawks allowed just two sacks to the Vikings’ fearsome pass rush, including no sacks through the first three quarters. But the second of those two sacks was particularly costly. Trailing 27-24 in the closing minutes, Seattle had a first-and-10 from the Minnesota 37 when Smith was sacked for a 6-yard loss. That put the Seahawks behind the chains, and an ensuing incompletion on second down and a 1-yard completion on third down left Seattle with a fourth-and-15 from the Vikings 42. Seattle elected to send Jason Myers out for a potential 60-yard field-goal attempt, but his kick was well short.

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