The score doesn't tell the whole story in the Seattle Seahawks 41-20 defeat of the Minnesota Vikings. This was actually a fairly close game until Vikings quarterbacks started tossing interceptions at their own end of the field in the fourth quarter. Christian Ponder threw two ugly interceptions. One was returned for a touchdown by Walter Thurmond. The other set the Seahawks up for a quick and easy touchdown. Matt Cassel came in for Ponder and promptly had a pass tipped for a third interception in about four minutes of game time. Suddenly, a decent game wasn't.
For some reason, Ponder's least accurate throws are often his shortest throws.
I was very surprised to see Vikings receiver Greg Jennings declared inactive for the game. I'm not sure when he might have hurt his achilles but apparently he did.
The Vikings offensive line really needs to get it together. They have much better talent than they are showing. At least, I always thought that they did. It didn't help that center and line leader John Sullivan left the game with a concussion early in the fourth quarter.
Vikings receiver Jarius Wright made Seahawks corner Richard Sherman look silly on his 38-yard touchdown. Wright added a second touchdown late in the game. The injury to Jennings opened the door for Wright but he should see more action even when everybody's healthy. He has some nice skills.
Seahawks receiver Golden Tate frequently looks very confused.
Welcome back Percy Harvin. His diving, juggling 17-yard reception on 3rd and 10 keyed the Seahawks second touchdown drive. His 58-yard kick return set up a touchdown right before the half.
Vikings corner Josh Robinson on Harvin is a serious mismatch. Robinson had coverage once and it wasn't pretty.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is sure fun to watch. I wish that he was less fun yesterday.
Giving up that touchdown at the end of the first half in about 38 seconds was really the only breakdown by the Vikings defense. They gave up some plays throughout the game, outside of that but they didn't give up big play after big play like they have all season. The offense often put them in ridiculous situations with the turnovers. 20 points came off of those turnovers. Nearly half of the Seahawks points. Against a terrific offense, the Vikings defense played better than they have all season. If the Vikings offense hadn't fallen apart in the fourth quarter, the defense played well enough to keep the team in the game.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is one of the most annoying coaches in the league. Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz is up there too. Seahawks fans and players certainly love Carroll but he's simply annoying to watch prance around the sideline. His stupid challenge when the game was no longer in doubt was just a waste of time.
I had the Vikings winning this game. I always have the Vikings winning their games. My world is brighter than the real one. The Vikings are now 2-8 in the real one. They have a visit to Lambeau up next.
I only saw the end of the San Francisco 49ers-New Orleans Saints game. It looked like a terrific game. The penalty on 49ers gunner Kassim Osgood for hitting Saints returner Darren Sproles after signaling for a fair catch was a tough one. You could clearly see Osgood tracking the ball as Sproles signaled for a fair catch. Osgood never saw it. He couldn't assume the fair catch was signaled so he had to make the tackle. The penalty set up the Saints for a drive that ended with the game-winning field goal.
Safety Ed Reed signed with the New York Jets last Thursday. He started for his new team three days later. It helps that Reed is a very smart football player. It also helps that Jets coach Rex Ryan was in Baltimore for most of Reed's career. Including four seasons as Reed's defensive coordinator. It further helps that Jets defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman was Reed's secondary coach while Ryan was his defensive coordinator. Reed with the Jets was probably a better match than Reed and the Houston Texans ever was.
The throwback uniforms worn by the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday have always looked like prison garb to me.
LeSean McCoy swiped a Redskins banner from a Redskins fan before the game. I can't decide if it was hilarious or stupid.
Weather rarely puts a halt to a football game but it happens. The weather in Chicago put a halt to the Baltimore Ravens-Chicago Bears game in the first quarter. The game resumed nearly two hours later. It ended up in overtime so start to finish was over five hours.
The Detroit Lions can put the hurt on a defense in a hurry with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. In the second quarter against the Steelers, Stafford threw for 267 yards. 163 of those yards went to Johnson. Incredible. They weren't so incredible in the second half as the Steelers took over the game and took down the Lions, 37-27.
I was pleasantly surprised when I finally realized that NBC had swapped their regularly scheduled Green Bay Packers-New York Giants game for the suddenly more appealing Kansas City Chiefs-Denver Broncos game. I thought that I'd miss the Chiefs-Broncos since it was opposite the Vikings-Seahawks.
I figured that this would happen eventually. Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin was in on a tackle of Arizona Cardinals back Andre Ellington. Babin came up with a fistful of Ellington's hair.
Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Floyd had a breakout game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 6 catches for 193 yards and a 91-yard touchdown. The Cardinals drafted him to be a difference-maker opposite the brilliant Larry Fitzgerald. Floyd has the talent to impact games like he did yesterday.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins are smiling again. The Kansas City Chiefs are no longer undefeated.
I found it amazing that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was not sacked. No Ryan Clady. High ankle sprain. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston rushing. Tackles Chris Clark and Orlando Franklin did a great job of keeping their quarterback clean.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe was an intriguing player in the draft a few years ago. He's huge at nearly 350 lbs. He's turned into a fantastic football player for the Chiefs.
It was cool to see Cris Collinsworth's focus on the first half matchup between Chiefs corner Brandon Flowers and Broncos receiver Wes Welker. It got pretty fierce. As a television viewer of a football game, you don't always get to see much of the action away from the ball.
Nice little tidbit tossed out during the Chiefs-Broncos game: Dominique Rogers-Cromartie is the longest full name in NFL history.
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