The Seattle Seahawks have now won three consecutive games, thoroughly dominating the Minnesota Vikings on the road on Sunday, 38-7. They move to 7-5 on the season, well positioned in the playoff race and if they can pull off anything similar to what they managed last year, they will be in great shape.
Seahawks look like they’re back in Super Bowl form
The Seahawks have won three consecutive games and have the postseason in their sights.
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Last season, Seattle was 6-4 and coming off a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11. They then went on to win six straight games, beating the rival Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers twice over that span. They managed to earn a top seed in the NFC and a game against the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Seattle made it all the way to its second straight Super Bowl, an eventual 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots.
This year, the Seahawks were expected to pick up right where they left off, but after losing four of their first six games, things were starting to look dire. Seattle now has a chance to do something similar to what it did last year: Finish on a strong note and enter the playoffs with momentum.
Although the Seahawks trail the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, their remaining schedule isn't exactly intimidating. They will travel to face the Baltimore Ravens before two home games against the Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams. Finally, they will finish on the road in Arizona, in what could be the most important game of their season.
Sunday's win over the Vikings, a team that came into the day with an 8-3 record and leading the NFC North, was also significant. The Seahawks lost their first game against the Cardinals, and fell to both the tough Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers -- teams they could reasonably face in the playoffs or Super Bowl.
Minnesota is the best team they have beaten this season, and it wasn’t close.
Russell Wilson continued his hot streak. He accounted for one rushing touchdown and three through the air, including when he found Doug Baldwin for a 53-yard score:
Wilson finished with 274 passing yards and he added another nine carries for 51 yards. Marshawn Lynch didn't play, but Thomas Rawls went for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Although the Vikings were hurting on defense, with Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith and Linval Joseph all dealing with injuries, Seattle was in cruise control in the second half.
The Seahawks’ defense was also back to impenetrable levels, holding the NFL’s leading rusher, Adrian Peterson, to just 18 yards on eight rushes. Minnesota’s only score came on Cordarrelle Patterson’s 101-yard kickoff return. The Vikings fall to 8-4, now tied with the Packers in the NFC North.
Seattle remains the No. 6 seed in the current NFC playoff standings.
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